Upcoming Events 📅
Interested in volunteering with EWOC’s media team? Join us this Monday, June 21 at 8 p.m. ET for our monthly all comms call. We’ll discuss upcoming projects for the EWOC blog, newsletter, and more. Register in advance here.
Over this last year, as millions fell sick and lost their jobs and small businesses across the country folded, Amazon added hundreds of thousands of jobs and is now the second-largest employer in the country, behind Walmart. As stock-market prices took a nosedive and are slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels, Amazon’s share prices have continued to increase. Jeff Bezos’ wealth has increased by over $75 billion this past year alone.
But this growth hasn’t gone unnoticed. A recent article by the New York Times exposed a jaundiced (and disproportionately white) management culture at Amazon, one that views warehouse workers as inherently “not smart.” Hourly employees rarely receive promotions, which reinforces class barriers and inequality, especially as the turn-over rate at Amazon warehouses remains extremely high. And hailed as a master of efficiency and logistics over this last year, the company failed to properly communicate with tens of thousands of workers who had been placed on unpaid time off during the pandemic, which resulted in many employees being unfairly terminated, to no fault of their own.
At the same time, the confirmation of Lina Khan, the new chair of the FTC, who is a Washington outsider and a proponent of a new anti-trust school of economic thought, might herald an attempt by the Federal Government to take a closer look at the macro, big-picture actions of Amazon. Of course, the need for sectoral or federal-level actions to combat the monopolistic rise of Amazon has been called for on the left for years because. More fault lines will continue to emerge. But as Amazon grows, so must worker power.
World of Work 🌍
VA: Auto workers at Volvo’s truck plant in Dublin, VA are still on strike, the largest ongoing one in the country, after voting down a concessionary contract by 90%. The strike, which began in April, has been a complicated affair, with members at odds not only with management, but occasionally the local and international union as well. The primary focus of the strike is a demand to remove Volvo’s two tier pay system, under which new hires are paid dramatically less than more senior workers. It is unclear what will happen next, but workers have shown that they’re willing to continue to fight for their demands.
NY: The New Yorker union has reached an agreement in principle with management, averting a strike after more than two and half years of negotiations. The contract will include, among other wins, a higher salary floor, guaranteed wage increases, better job security, and lower healthcare costs. It was a hard won victory, as union members and organizers had to fight union busting tactics from management, with little to no support from New Yorker’s star writers. According to a statement from the union, “These gains are a result of collective action – including a credible strike threat – proving that when we stand together and fight, we win.”
CA: United Teachers Los Angeles and Los Angeles school district reached a tentative agreement this week for a full reopening of LA area schools. As part of the agreement, masks and regular COVID screenings will be required of all staff and students, regardless of vaccination status. It will also mandate the presence of a COVID-19 compliance task force at every school. “The agreement maintains the necessary COVID-19 protocols that have proven to keep students, staff, families, and the education community safe,” said a statement by UTLA.
From Our Blog 🗣
EWOC volunteer Sharon Peters gives an overview of workplace leaders; Who they are, how to identify them, and why they’re so important to a successful campaign.
Why is it so hard for restaurants to hire workers right? EWOC volunteer and career waiter Mack Harden writes about the labor shortage in the restaurant industry for Grubstreet.
