Conditions at Amazon are so bad that in some years, 75% of the approximately 900,000 Amazon “logistics” workers (delivery drivers and warehouse workers) leave the company. Starting pay can be as little as $18.50 an hour. These logistics workers face unpredictable schedules such as short work weeks followed by weeks with compulsory overtime. The unpredictable schedules make it hard for Amazon workers to work second jobs – which many try to do because of how little Amazon pays – to do regular activities with children, or to keep up with a school or college class schedule.
Working at Amazon is also dangerous. A recent investigation by the United States Senate found that Amazon’s warehouses recorded more than 30% more injuries than the industry average in 2023. Over the past seven years, Amazon warehouse workers were nearly twice as likely to be injured as workers at other warehouses. Amazon jobs require workers to repeat the same movements hundreds or thousands of times during shifts, leading to extremely high rates of musculoskeletal disorders. Amazon was aware that these repetitive motions increased injury risks. It conducted internal studies that established a direct link between the speed at which workers were required to perform tasks and an increased risk of injuries. Despite this, Amazon didn’t reduce these risks because it would cost the company money. The Senate report condemned Amazon’s “obsession with speed” as creating a uniquely dangerous work environment where productivity quotas were prioritized over worker safety.
Amazon logistics workers have been organizing to demand better wages and working conditions since 2021. Amazon has repeatedly fired or disciplined workers for exercising their rights to form unions, complaining on the job about abusive managers and work rules, and reporting safety violations to government authorities. It has refused to bargain with representatives elected by its workers. Amazon’s tactics are clear violations of the law, but so far, the Courts have delayed enforcing the law or let Amazon off with token penalties.
The Teamster picket lines this week are designed to publicize the demand that Amazon bargain with its workers, and the Teamsters are reinforcing the picket lines with Teamster members from other companies, like UPS. Amazon workers need all the support they can get from other workers and unions. Some of the picket lines this week may be strong enough to temporarily stop or slow deliveries in and out of the handful of Amazon facilities being targeted. However, forcing Amazon to treat its workers with respect will require a strike that shuts down enough of its facilities to paralyze the whole operation. Let’s hope the pickets this week are a real step in that direction.
