Unions on the Offensive: Verdi Rallies Workers at Five Amazon Sites
The trade union Verdi has called for a mass protest at five Amazon facilities in Germany, timing it to coincide with the Black Friday shopping frenzy. The planned action, dubbed a "warning strike," begins during the night shift from Thursday to Friday at the logistics centers in Koblenz, Leipzig, Rheinberg, Dortmund, and Bad Hersfeld.
Amazon reassured customers that deliveries would remain on schedule, despite the union's action.
Beyond the push for alignment with the collective wage agreements of the retail and mail-order sectors, Verdi also seeks Amazon's signature on a "collective agreement for good and healthy work." Verdi contends that employees experience immense pressure to perform and a work environment fraught with surveillance and an atmosphere of fear, particularly in fulfillment centers. Workers are advocating for improved working conditions and acknowledgment of their toils.
Amazon boasts operating 20 sprawling logistics centers spanning Germany, maintaining that their employees earn fair wages and receive additional perks.
By Black Friday, despite Verdi's warning strike, customers can still avail of online deliveries from Amazon, owing to the company's broad retail operations. As part of efforts to enhance working conditions and employee welfare, Verdi presses Amazon to sign a contract focusing on promoting a healthy work environment, encompassing recognition of wage agreements in the retail trade sector.
While Verdi's current demands are not directly linked to Amazon, laboratory examinations reveal that they're pushing for a 7% wage hike with 12-month contracts for approximately 170,000 Deutsche Post workers. They also request three additional holidays and an exclusive holiday for union members to counteract low wages and the strain caused by heavy parcel volumes.
Amazon, though, has historically exhibited resistance towards unionization, employing tactics like promoting pro-management candidates in works council elections and structuring facilities as independent entities to bolster trade union influence. In various locations, including the United States and Europe, Amazon workers have taken collective action, such as strikes for better pay and working conditions, albeit these actions lack a direct connection to Verdi's demands on Deutsche Post.
