Worldwide actions demand: ‘Make Amazon pay!’

Protesting Amazon’s treatment of workers and its practices that contribute to the climate crisis, coordinated demonstrations in over 30 countries on five continents demanded, “Make Amazon pay!” Held for the third consecutive year on Nov. 25 — “Black Friday” — the actions were called by a broad global coalition of labor, environmental and social justice organizations.

Leipzig, Germany, Nov. 25.
Credit: Progressive International

Workers struck, marched and rallied to protest Amazon’s union busting and the unsafe conditions in the company’s warehouses and across the supply chain. (progressive.international)

Christy Hoffman, UNI Global Union’s General Secretary, said, “Today, unions, civil society and progressive elected officials will stand shoulder to shoulder in a massive global day of action to denounce Amazon’s despicable multimillion dollar campaigns to kill worker-led union efforts. It’s time for the tech giant to cease their awful, unsafe practices immediately, respect the law and negotiate with the workers who want to make their jobs better.”

Tokyo, Japan  Credit: #MakeAmazonPay

Hoffman’s union is a co-convenor of Make Amazon Pay. (uniglobalunion.org)

“Garment workers, like those I represent, toil to swell Amazon’s coffers often without any recognition that we are even Amazon workers. Amazon is the third largest direct employer in the world, but when you take us in the supply chain into account, it is even larger. At work we can face sexual harassment from management and victimization when we try to organize in a trade union against that violence and for better pay and conditions,” said Nazma Akhter, president of the Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation in Bangladesh.

“In Bangladesh, we are on the frontline of climate breakdown, so we know climate justice and social justice cannot be separated. We have to Make Amazon Pay all its workers a decent wage in dignified workplaces and for its environmental damage.”