In the dispute over a collective agreement at Amazon in Germany, which has raged for years, employees of the online retailer in the United States once again stopped working at several locations on Monday. A spokesman for Verdi’s services union said there would be strikes, some of which lasted several days, at the two freight centers in Bad Hersfeld and in Koblenz, Leipzig, Rheinberg, Graben and Verne. The federation expects about 2,500 rackets during the week.
Verdi is demanding that Amazon workers be paid according to the retail and postal tariff – a requirement the union has been trying to enforce for years without success. According to Verdi, employees also request information about data stored about them by the group.
“Workers have a right to know if Amazon collects video, audio, social media, union membership or other personal information,” said Kristi Hoffman, UNI’s general secretary. Clarify whether Amazon has violated EU data protection laws.
Verdi: “Growing international solidarity”
Verdi on Monday emphasized the “growing international solidarity of Amazon employees.” In France, too, Amazon employees went on strike last month to demand higher wages. In late March, workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York, voted to join the Amazon Workers’ Union (ALU), for the first time. At another Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, a vote was held last week to represent unions. The counting should start on Monday.
According to their own data, ALU representatives are already receiving inquiries from across the country from employees at other Amazon locations. Even US President Joe Biden congratulated the first union at the end of March. Amazon is under fire in the US for its working conditions. Trade unions and politicians criticize the fact that employees of the group, which was founded in 1994, are subjected to high work pressure and constant surveillance.
Amazon had previously expressed its “disappointment” with the formation of the union at JFK8 and announced that it was reviewing its options for business. This includes potential objections to “undue influence” by the US Department of Labor and Labor, the NLRB, which oversaw the vote. In Germany, Amazon always confirms that it is a good employer even without a collective agreement. The company said of the recent strike at seven locations that Amazon offers “attractive jobs with good opportunities.” Amazon does not anticipate any effects on package delivery.
