Amazon workers in 20 countries ring in Black Friday with protests
As Amazon prepares to reap record profits on Black Friday, workers around the world are rising up to demand better pay and labor conditions.
Though Amazon is a US company, its tentacles extend across the globe, with warehouses and distribution centers dotting the map.
The company's global reach has helped make founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos into one of the world's richest men, able to blast off into space and still remain on top.
Meanwhile, Amazon workers across the globe struggle to make living wages and often suffer inhumane labor conditions, which have only gotten worse during the pandemic as Bezos' personal fortune has skyrocketed.
Now, Amazon workers are banding together to protest and strike on Black Friday, one of the company's biggest days of the year.
The day of action will include a delivery driver strike in Italy, a walkout at warehouses in France, protests at regional offices under construction in South Africa, and garment worker demonstrations in Bangladesh and Cambodia, VICE reported.
In the United States, several online and in-person actions are in the works, including a town hall about worker organizing in California and a worker panel in Illinois on supply chain disruptions.
Workers lay out their demands
The day of action was organized by Make Amazon Pay, a coalition of over 70 unions and other organizations.
The group has laid out a set of Common Demands, including wage increases, paid sick leave, and an end to workplace surveillance.
They are also calling for the company to pay its fair share in taxes and compensate for its damaging effect on the environment.
Casper Gelderblom, Progressive International's Make Amazon Pay coordinator, told VICE, "From natural resource extraction, to manufacturing; from shipping and storing products around the world to delivering them to consumers; from controlling untold amounts of data and management to influencing our governments: Amazon takes workers, people and the planet for a ride."
"Amazon may be everywhere, but we are too," he insisted. "At every link in this chain of abuse, we are fighting back to Make Amazon Pay."
"On Black Friday 26 November 2021, around the world, workers and activists will rise up in strikes, protests and actions to Make Amazon Pay."
Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Press