The company has declined to comment on the strike.
It's not certain how Amazon will respond. Although Amazon isn't likely to face a major disruption due to the sheer number of fulfillment centers in the US, the strike could draw attention to ongoing worries that Amazon is demanding too much from its staff and putting them on a tight leash. The company recently raised its minimum pay to $15 per hour, but that mainly came after pressure from Senator Bernie Sanders and others calling for laws to rein in Amazon and other firms accused of shortchanging workers.
There are also concerns about the potential aftermath of the strike. Amazon workers recently filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that the tech giant's staffing vendor, Integrity Staffing Solutions, retaliated against strikers by firing one organizer and deducting strike time from their quarterly leave allowance. Amazon said it hadn't seen the complaints, but they suggest that the strikers are risking punishment if they dare step away.
Update 7/8 5:57PM ET: An Amazon spokesperson claims the company "already" offers what workers are asking for, including "excellent pay" and "great employment opportunities." This probably won't have the strikers changing their minds, but you can read the full statement below.
fece on July 8th, 2019 at 18:50 UTC »
I'm guessing the IT workers aren't going to strike in solidarity in Seattle.. failing to do work on the site/AWS would really send a message.
NostalgiaSchmaltz on July 8th, 2019 at 18:00 UTC »
I work over at Whole Foods as an Amazon shopper, and while the job itself is perfectly fine, the thing I'd protest over is the way you apply for shifts.
Instead of just having a set shift (y'know, like a normal job) you instead have to manually apply for every single day that you want to work, and it's first-come-first-serve....with 60+ employees all fighting over the same handful of shift slots. It's so competitive that the shifts literally disappear in under 10 seconds after they become available. I consider myself lucky if I get to work 3 days per week.
And despite this, they just keep hiring more and more people. I think they're just hiring way more employees than they need, to ensure that no single employee works more than 30 hours a week, so they don't have to give us benefits.
theshamwowguy on July 8th, 2019 at 17:34 UTC »
Good for them.