According to Bloomberg, workers from Amazon’s Shakopee, Minnesota fulfillment center will be striking on Prime Day to demand better treatment.
Set to take place on July 15, workers say they’re planning to walk out for three hours at the beginning of their shifts and three hours at the end, indicating “that labor unrest persists even after the company committed to paying all employees at least $15 an hour last year.”
“Amazon is going to be telling one story about itself, which is they can ship a Kindle to your house in one day, isn’t that wonderful,” said a Shakopee organizer. “We want to take the opportunity to talk about what it takes to make that work happen and put pressure on Amazon to protect us and provide safe, reliable jobs.”
Shakopee workers have been publicly advocating for better treatment for some time now, and the strike comes on the heels of a pair of recent protests and two official labor-backed complaints filed with the National Labor Relations Board.
Amazon, for its part, said that they already offer “what this outside organization is asking for,” by providing hourly rates from $16.25 to $20.80 with benefits, and they also invited “anyone to see for themselves by taking a tour of the [Shakopee] facility.”
It’s probably worth noting that Amazon’s market power is such that other major retailers have been cornered into celebrating their acutely branded holiday by offering similar deals, and that the strike will affect only one of Amazon’s 100-plus U.S. warehouses, but the story did say the action “coincides with increasing political pressure on the company and could embolden workers elsewhere.”
Love to see it.
You can read more about it at Bloomberg.
