New York, New York - Amazon workers in more than 20 countries worldwide hit the streets on Black Friday for labor rights and climate justice.

In New York, workers gathered outside the multi-million dollar penthouse of Amazon's founder and executive chairman, Jeff Bezos, to protest.

"We are all in this fight together, no matter where we work, and no matter what language we speak," said Stuart Appelbaum, chair of Amazon Global Alliance and president of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU).

"Because no matter where Amazon operates, it disrespects it employees, it mistreats its employees, it ignores their rights and their value – and we will not stand by it, and we will not be silent," he insisted.

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Across the country, members of the Amazon Teamsters and Amazon Labor Union, both affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, staged walkouts ahead of the busiest shopping weekend, vowing resistance until pay is improved and their right to unionize is recognized.

Amazon was recently ordered by federal authorities to facilitate a third union election in its Bessemer, Alabama fulfillment center, after the company twice violated labor laws in an effort to sway the vote.

Hailing the pioneering work of those workers in Bessemer, Appelbaum continued: "Amazon can and will be held accountable. United, we will make Amazon pay!"

The US walkouts were part of a coordinated effort which is seeing Amazon workers strike or protest in more than 20 countries from Black Friday through Cyber Monday.

Participating workers are located in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Brazil, India, Japan, and more countries.

Make Amazon Pay is a coalition of more than 80 groups worldwide, led by the UNI Global Union and Progressive International. They have organized Black Friday actions annually since 2020.

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During this year's protests, workers are raising a series of urgent demands, including higher wages, better working conditions, and meaningful measures to rein in the company's planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

The campaign notes that Bezos was the first person in history to amass $200 billion in personal wealth, while its workers often labor under extreme conditions and make barely enough to get by.

Meanwhile, Amazon accounts for more pollution than the 71 lowest-emitting countries combined.

Amazon workers showed their force and solidarity across nations and borders as the company prepared for one of its biggest shopping days of the year.

Images and videos flooded the internet of workers and allies raising their voices for an end to corporate exploitation.

In a clip shared on social media, a worker in New Delhi states, "We, the Amazon India Workers Union, stand in solidarity with Amazon workers across the world. Decent work is our right. Make Amazon pay!"

"The Make Amazon Pay campaign fights for all of us for fair wages, safe working conditions, and dignity," said Surendra Kumar Lama, whom Amazon recruited from his native Nepal to work in Saudi Arabia. "It's not just about one company or country. It's about challenging a system that prioritizes profit over people."

In Germany, a large crowd marched through the town of Bad Hersfeld – home to two Amazon fulfillment centers – chanting "Make Amazon Pay!"

Christy Hoffman, general secretary of the UNI Global Union, said, "This fight is global. Every picket, every strike, every action of solidarity matters. Another world is possible, and we are building that world one strike, one conversation at a time. Together, we are unstoppable."