New York Labor Leaders: Amazon Has 'Record Of Routinely Mistreating Workers'

[appalachiablue]

Last edited Wed Nov 28, 2018, 07:14 PM - Edit history (2)

Source: The Guardian

As Amazon looks to come to town, New York labor leaders tore into the company's record on worker treatment in a new report issued on Wednesday.

The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) and city lawmakers said Amazon's record of grueling conditions for warehouse workers and opposition to union organizing should make the tech giant unwelcome in the city.

The company plans to open a massive new office in Long Island City, Queens - splitting its planned second headquarters between there and Arlington, Virginia. The plan, backed by the mayor and governor, has sparked a backlash and protests in the city.

"Amazon has a record of routinely mistreating and exploiting its workers at all levels, whether they are employed in its corporate offices or in its warehouses," said the RWDSU president, Stuart Appelbaum. "Amazon has operated as an anti-worker, union-busting company across the United States and across Europe." At least nine workers have died at Amazon facilities since 2013, the union's report says. -MORE...


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/28/new-york-labor-leaders-amazon-workers

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The report states that at a warehouse in Pennsylvania there were so many calls for medical assistance during a heatwave that the company had ambulances stationed outside. It also cited accusations, denied by Amazon, that UK workers were urinating in bottles because they were too afraid to take a bathroom break.

Amazon has also fought efforts to unionize, issuing a training video to teach managers to find "warning signs" of union organizing and hiring a law firm that specializes in opposing unionization.

Black Friday demonstrations were held outside Amazon warehouses in the UK; and strikes took place in Germany, Italy and Spain.

NY Union Leaders Protest Amazon Headquarters, WCBS880Radion, Nov. 28, 2018
https://wcbs880.radio.com/articles/new-york-union-leaders-protest-amazon-headquarters-claim-company-anti-labor



New York Union leaders protest Amazon headquarters.

[LisaM]

1. "de Blasio has said he believes the city's union-friendly attitudes will rub off on the company"

Asked about Amazon’s hostility to unions, Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he believes the city’s union-friendly attitudes will rub off on the company.

“I am very happy that Amazon will benefit from being in an environment that’s pro-union and we’ll start to see why this union town works so well,” he said at a press conference this month. “We’re always going to be supportive of the union movement

Who is he kidding? Does he know that Seattle used to be a strong union town, basically built off the back of union labor? 2nd Avenue used to be full of union halls. Now it's full of stuff like boutique hotels. Guess the union-friendly vibe didn't rub off on Amazon for some reason.....

[appalachiablue]

3. Pipe dreaming by de Blasio. Seattle couldn't even tame the tech beast

Sad and unhealthy to watch the demise of labor union power this nation once had, all that went with it, foremost the largest, strongest middle class the world has ever seen.

[4u2]

2. As a retired officer in a NY labor union

I do not understand protesting Amazon locating in NY. Let Amazon spend the money to build in the city and only then organize the workers they hire. It can be done. New York is not an anti-labor city. My union has tripled in size over the last 20 years with an average wage of more than 75,000 dollars. New York is a union city which should welcome all new employers, not chase them away.

[appalachiablue]

4. IMO labor leaders are advocating for better working conditions

more than trying to run off Amazon, kill the deal that incl. $3 Bill tax breaks, already negotiated. But I could be mistaken.

[rpannier]

5. Neither was Seattle anti-union

But, Amazon had a negative effect on the union climate there
What makes anyone think it will be different in New York?

[appalachiablue]

7. Amazon employees: homeless & disabled Vicky Shannon Allen, others.

Amazon was ranked one of the 12 worst companies to work for by the National Center for Occupational Safety and Heath, a nonprofit that advocates for worker safety and conditions.