Amazon and worker exploitation

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As almost 90% of UK the population use Amazon, it is highly likely that you or someone in your household ordered something from the online retailing giant in the lead-up to Christmas.

Amazon is considered one of the Big Five American information technology companies, which then poses the question; is Jeff Bezos’s business model and ensuing growth reliant upon the exploitation and dehumanisation of his workers – and are we complicit?

From the outside looking in, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Bezos is running his firm like a Victorian poor house, especially as it recently emerged that the rate for serious injuries at Amazon facilities is 40% higher than at non-Amazon facilities.

These injuries include compound fractures, amputation of limbs and even scalping. Many critics believe that these workplace injuries are due to the ruthless quota requirements employees must meet – meaning that comfort breaks are not being taken which then fuels reports of staff urinating into plastic bottles.

So, what can Amazon warehouse workers do exactly to improve their pay and conditions, whilst also maintaining their dignity?

“Join a union!”

Well they can, but Amazon UK does not recognise GMB and refuses to even engage with the union, thus rendering it virtually redundant.

It is therefore understandable that minimum wage workers would be reticent to spend £14.57 a month (as of Jan 2023) to join a union which their employer won’t even meet at the table to discuss their pay and conditions – let alone improve them. Amazon’s detractors believe that this disheartening scenario cannot possibly foster a positive working environment.

In America, the situation is slightly different but alas, not much better. But there is hope. This hope comes in the form of Chris Smalls, a 34-year-old native of New Jersey who has been catapulted to celebrity status for being behind what many have called “the most important labour victory in the US since the 1930s”.

Smalls, a former rapper, worked at Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse (JFK8), to support his young family, where he became an assistant manager when it first opened in 2018.

Initially he enjoyed his job, but it wasn’t long before he began noticing “deep systemic” issues and alleged that Amazon was rife with ageism, sexism and racism. This all culminated in Smalls being fired on the very same day he organised a walk-out due to unsafe working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Attorney General of New York, Letitia James, later found that Amazon had unlawfully terminated Smalls’ contract whilst Senator Bernie Sanders even referred to his sacking as “disgraceful”.

The tide then truly turned when it was revealed that Amazon were attempting to undermine Smalls when a leaked memo revealed that they were keen to make him “the face of the entire union/organising movement” because they felt he was “not smart or articulate”.

On April 20, 2021, a defiant and highly motivated Smalls established the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) and ran it from a bus stop outside the Staten Island warehouse. Here he would gather the necessary signatures from employees to win a union authorisation vote despite Amazon spending millions of dollars on ‘union busting’ their attempts.

Despite the landmark union victory, Amazon, like in the UK has so far refused to formally recognise the grassroots worker group, or come to the bargaining table.

Despite this, Smalls, a distinctive figure wearing his ‘union drip’ attire, has remained an iconic figure to many marginalised blue-collar American workers, who feel utterly powerless against giant corporations.

The only other industry I can think of which is not unionised is professional wrestling which is as close to a basket case business as there is possible, with generational reports of sexual exploitation, substance/alcohol abuse and in many cases, premature death.

What people generally fail to acknowledge is that without unions we wouldn’t have; a minimum wage, annual leave, sick pay, a two-day weekend, maternity leave or protection from discrimination in the workplace. These are all pretty much givens which we all now take for granted.

Most recently, talk of workers’ rights spilled out before the World Cup final between Argentina and France when former Manchester United footballer Gary Neville stated on live TV that:

“It is worth mentioning we’ve got a current government in our country who are demonising rail workers, ambulance workers and – terrifyingly – nurses. We can’t have people being paid an absolute pittance to work… it shouldn’t happen with the wealth that exists”.

Neville’s comments then elicited, what many saw as a dismissive response from PM Rishi Sunak, “I think when most people are tuning in to watch Gary Neville they want to hear about the football and watch the football. They don’t want to discuss politics.”

The irony of course is that by the time of the next World Cup in 2026, it is perfectly plausible that Amazon will be a major player in the streaming of the tournament taking place on American soil.

2026 is also the year that it has been projected that Jeff Bezos will become the world’s first trillionaire – an accolade I’m sure Chris Smalls and the current 1.5 million Amazon employees will certainly not see as a cause for celebration – unless of course, circumstances radically change, however unrealistic they may be.

How can Oakwood Solicitors help?

Our team can represent warehouse workers and workers in general in a whole range of matters, from contract disputes, grievances and disciplinaries, to unfair dismissal, harassment and stress. Contact us today to see how we can help you.

As almost 90% of UK the population use Amazon, it is highly likely that you or someone in your household ordered something from the online retailing giant in the lead-up to Christmas.

“Join a union!”

How can Oakwood Solicitors help?

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