Last year, Amazon posted record sales between Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and Cyber Monday. The company earned 17.7% of his Black Friday, according to Numerator data. That’s more than any other retailer.
Black Friday on November 25th this year also kicks off the peak season as Thanksgiving week begins when carriers such as UPS, USPS, DHL, FedEx and Amazon struggle to fulfill orders for the holiday season. It’s the time when many warehouses and couriers have to say to their families, “See you next year.”
Intense workloads during busy periods combined with labor shortages create unique opportunities for workers to put pressure on their employers.
Thanksgiving is a holiday unique to the United States, but “Black Friday” is celebrated in many countries as the start of the Christmas shopping season. In Italy, merchants offer Black Friday discounts, filling stores with bargain-hungry shoppers as in the United States.
That is why the three Italian trade union federations have chosen a strategic day in 2017 to attack Amazon’s one million square foot distribution center in Castel San Giovanni near Piacenza in northern Italy.
The San Giovanni facility opened in 2015. In 2017, about 50% of the 1,650 “blue badges” or full-time employees went on strike. But another 2,000 of his temporary “green badges” (short-term and seasonal employees) mostly turned up.
Amazon in Germany has had some job actions before, but this is one of the first Amazon strikes in Europe, or really anywhere.
An Amazon spokesperson claimed that only 10% of its workforce were on strike because it takes into account temporary workers. Nevertheless, Amazon agreed to negotiate with the union next Monday. Management then canceled negotiations and unilaterally tried to reschedule the next meeting in January. The union warned that without substantial face-to-face talks by 6 December, more action would be taken. With the union’s victory on December 5, management agreed to a meeting and subsequently agreed to improved working conditions.
The actions of Italy and subsequent Amazon strikes in Germany and Poland have inspired many Amazon workers and union organizers. I started pushing socialists to get jobs at Amazon because I believed it would help promote.
Since 2017, there has been an increase in international coordinated actions targeting Amazon. In 2019, UNI Global Union and Progressive International launched Make Amazon Pay, a coalition bringing together more than 70 trade unions, civil society organizations, environmentalists and tax watchdogs. The coalition’s unified demand is that Amazon pay workers fairly, respect their right to join trade unions, pay fair taxes, and be committed to true environmental sustainability.
Last November saw peak season activity in 25 countries around the world. But past participation by US unions and organizations has been modest at best.
Recent organizing successes at Amazon facilities in the U.S., including the Amazon Union’s victory in the NLRB vote at the Staten Island Fulfillment Center in April, and Amazon facilities from Maryland to California. The numerous strikes over wages and conditions in the US reflect the new spirit of the labor struggle in America. America. Based on that opportunity, UNI Global will announce the exact locations and times of planned actions on its website over the next three weeks.
Amazon organizers participating in the Black Friday initiative are working with Amazonians United, Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE), Warehouse Workers for Justice, Warehouse Workers Resource Center, and similar workers in partnership with the Athena Coalition. It is a human resource center and a non-profit organization. Teamster, postal worker, RWDSU organizer.
The Black Friday action is an opportunity for Amazon employees to build strength and strengthen relationships between the various groups organized for justice on Amazon, both domestically and internationally. As the action day builds momentum, hopefully more Amazon labor groups will join.
In addition to a significant increase in worker organizing at Amazon, other factors may contribute to widespread support and participation for Black Friday this year.
- Teamsters has already launched a subscription campaign for 340,000 members on the United Parcel Service.
- West Coast dockworkers, the International Harbor and Warehouse Workers Union (ILWU), are working without a contract as negotiations continue with employers’ group Pacific Maritime Association.
- Railroad workers from 12 different unions are voting on a national deal with the giant freight railroad. Two railroad unions, Maintenance of Way and Railroad Signalmen, voted to reject the contract. Other votes are pending. If enough members voted against it, it could lead to a dramatic work stoppage, affecting his 40% of her GNP in the United States traveling by rail.
- Growing support for trade unions generally means that Black Friday protests are seen as part of the broader labor movement.
Could these compounding developments lead to moments of ‘peak season’ when workers from many companies across the logistics sector act together? Imagine a strike at Amazon. Following a protest at UPS’s barn led by Teamster, members march to his nearby Amazon facility in aid. Or are dockers and railroad workers delivering a message to workers in intermodal facilities that handle Amazon’s freight? Thousands of warehouse and delivery workers from small businesses that dramatize their power and begin to form their own unions.
Much of the above may be just a dream this November, but that’s where the labor movement is headed. For now, it’s realistic to imagine that the US-based peak season action would mesh nicely with Make Amazon Pay activity around the world. That in itself would raise an international war cry: “Workers of the world, unite!” New twist: “logistics Workers of the world, unite! ”
