Amazon workers organize in fight to win a union
https://themilitant.com/2021/03/06/amazon-workers-organize-in-fight-to-win-a-union/
BY SUSAN LAMONT
Vol. 85/No. 10
March 15, 2021
ATLANTA — In the midst of their seven-week-long mail-in vote on whether
or not Amazon bosses have to allow workers to be represented by the
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, workers at the company’s
Bessemer, Alabama, fulfillment center are getting support from fellow
workers and union members. Some 5,800 workers are eligible to vote in
the election, which ends March 29.
The Militant calls on workers to join in sending messages of solidarity
and building support for the organizing effort among co-workers, in your
union, church and anywhere else you can! Send this support to
midsouth@xxxxxxxxx.
RWDSU members from other workplaces, including a number of poultry
processing plants, have come to Bessemer to stand at entrances to the
warehouse and talk to workers about why they should vote “yes” and
answer any questions they have.
Actor Danny Glover joined these workers at the plant Feb. 22 to show
support for the union-organizing drive. Actress Tina Fey and over 1,760
television and film writers, members of the Writers Guild of America,
have signed a petition supporting the organizing drive.
At the same time, the company is stepping up efforts to pressure workers
not to back the union. They’re texting workers multiple times a day with
anti-union messages, says Darryl Richardson, one of the Amazon workers
who helped get the union drive off the ground. They’ve forced workers to
attend mandatory “information” meetings where managers try to convince
workers the union will be bad for them and their families. They even put
anti-union posters in the bathroom stalls.
Richardson, who is 51 years old, used to work in an auto parts plant in
the area, which was organized by the United Auto Workers union. The
Birmingham-Bessemer area has a long history of union-organized coal
mines, steel mills and other industries.
The auto parts plant closed and he decided to get a job at the
warehouse. “I thought the opportunities for moving up would be better. I
thought safety at the plant would be better,” he told the Guardian Feb.
23. “And when it comes to letting people go for no reason — job security
— I thought it would be different.”
But, he said, he quickly learned that workers are fired regularly at
Amazon for not meeting production quotas. That’s 315 items an hour for
his job as a “picker.” Nearby video monitors tell him what to do minute
by minute. “You’re running at a consistent, fast pace,” Richardson said.
“You get treated like a number. You don’t get treated like a person.
They work you like a robot.”
Injury rates at a fifth of Amazon warehouse facilities are at 10% or
higher, with the industry average being four serious injuries per 100
workers.
So Richardson jumped in when the RWDSU began looking for people to help
lead the organizing drive. They quickly got over 30% of the warehouse
workers to sign up.
“We’re working for Amazon and one of the richest men in the world,” he
said, referring to owner Jeff Bezos, who is worth around $190 billion.
The company propaganda says pay and benefits are great and the union
would just take money from workers in dues. But, Richardson explains,
“Amazon says they’re giving you great stuff that nobody else gives you,
yet Amazon has big turnover.”
Amazon bosses attack the union
Warehouse bosses have put up a mailbox right in front of the fulfillment
center for workers to cast their votes, and texted “instructions” to all
workers, urging them to vote “no” and to do it by March 1.
Placement of the mailbox “creates all sorts of possibilities for
intimidation,” RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum told the news website
Al.com Feb. 24. People “understand Amazon’s ability to survey everything
they do. Also they may feel compelled to show supervisors that they’re
mailing at the facility. People are not sure whether or not Amazon will
know how they voted because they know every other thing that goes on at
their facility.”
The RWDSU also reports that Amazon workers in Bessemer got notice in
late February that the company is making a $1,000 bonus offer for any
worker who isn’t happy and wants to quit. This is aimed at getting
workers who are angry over pay and conditions to leave, as opposed to
fighting for the union. Amazon responded by claiming the program isn’t
new, but they admit the idea is to give workers who don’t like working
at Amazon an incentive to resign. The union has also accused the company
of pressuring Jefferson County officials to alter the traffic lights
near the fulfillment center to keep union members from talking to workers.
The union-organizing fight is important, and the workers deserve all the
support they can get.
Support union battles at Marathon, Amazon!
ST. PAUL PARK, Minn. — Two hundred oil refinery workers have been locked
in battle here since Jan. 21 against Marathon Petroleum, the largest oil
refining company in the country. They deserve and need solidarity from
working people. At issue…
Manchester bus drivers strike against attack on hours, pay
MANCHESTER, England — Bus drivers at Go North West here went on strike
Feb. 28 after bosses tried to impose a new contract with longer working
hours for the same pay. The company insisted workers individually sign
the contract, bypassing…
Striking UK bus drivers, gas workers exchange solidarity
LONDON — Striking bus drivers mounted a lively picket at London’s Park
Royal depot here Feb. 22-24. They are fighting wage cuts of up to 2,500
pounds ($3,500) a year and longer shifts. Some 2,000 drivers took strike
action. They’re…
Front Page Articles
Support union battles at Marathon, Amazon!
Amazon workers organize in fight to win a union
SWP campaign says struggles can help build stronger unions
Myanmar protests defy new military crackdown
Protests in seven cities demand: Stop US economic war on Cuba!
In first attack of Biden presidency, US airstrikes hit targets in Syria
Democrats push attacks on free speech, rights workers need
Feature Articles
Pathfinder’s new website — easier to search, browse, buy
Also In This Issue
Books by revolutionary leaders sell well at Tehran fair
Striking UK bus drivers, gas workers exchange solidarity
Special ‘stimulus’ fund for ‘Militant’ over $80,000!
US troops out of the Middle East!
Iran: Hundreds protest gov’t killings in Saravan
On the Picket Line
Manchester bus drivers strike against attack on hours, pay
Books of the Month
‘The fashion world became a capitalist gold mine’
25, 50 and 75 years ago
Corrections
© Copyright 2021 The Militant - 306 W. 37th Street, 13th floor - New
York, NY 10018 - themilitant@xxxxxxx
Cookies
This site uses cookies to improve your experience. Learn more.
Okay, thanks
--
Charles Bukowski “For those who believe in God, most of the big
questions are answered. But for those of us who can't readily accept the
God formula, the big answers don't remain stone-written. We adjust to
new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a
command nor faith a dictum. I am my own god. We are here to unlearn the
teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here
to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds
and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.” ―
Charles Bukowski