“We have to keep pace. My workday feels like an intense nine-hour workout every day. And they track every move we make – if your computer isn’t scanning, you’re in charge of staying out of the task,” said Bates, a learning ambassador who helps train other workers on the premises and who has been a vocal organizer behind the union movement. “From the beginning, I learned that if I worked very slowly or had a lot of free time, I could be disciplined or even fired.”
Bates was invited by Senator Bernie Sanders to speak on the topic “Crisis of income and wealth inequality in America”. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was also invited to speak, but declined the offer. In a statement last week, an Amazon spokesman said, “We fully support Senator Sanders’ efforts to reduce income inequality with legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour for all workers, as we did for ours in 2018. ”
“We take employee feedback seriously, including that of Ms. Bates, but we do not believe that their comments represent more than 90% of their colleagues at the distribution center who say they would recommend Amazon as a great place to work for friends and family. , “said an Amazon spokesman in a statement on Wednesday. The spokesman added that Amazon employees “earn at least $ 15 an hour, receive comprehensive health care and paid leave benefits”.
Bates described 10-hour shifts with just two 30-minute breaks that “are not long enough to give you time to rest” due to the expansive size of the facility.
“Just walking the long way to the bathroom and back takes precious time to rest,” said Bates, who said the elevators on the premises had signs indicating they were for “just material, no passengers”. “I couldn’t believe that they built a facility with so many elevators for materials and made employees go up the stairs in a huge four-story facility.”
As CNN Business previously reported, Amazon undertook an aggressive anti-union campaign that led to the vote. Workers have often been informed of Amazon’s position that a union is an unnecessary expense. Workers saw anti-union signs in the bathroom stalls; they were taken to individual meetings on the warehouse floor and were also required to attend group meetings every few shifts. The company sent numerous text messages to workers and launched an anti-union website that warns against paying fees: “Don’t buy that dinner, don’t buy that school supplies, don’t buy these gifts because you won’t have to pay nearly $ 500. in debt. “
“It is frustrating that all we want to do is make Amazon a better place to work. Even so, Amazon is acting as if it is under attack. Perhaps if they spent less time – and money – trying to stop the union, they would hear what we are saying. And maybe they would create a company as good for workers and our community as it is for shareholders and executives, “said Bates.
“Why can’t such a large, wealthy company do better for its workers?” Said Bates. “Amazon even took our essential wages from workers in the middle of the pandemic. Meanwhile, Amazon made a lot of money during this crisis. Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world. And now he is even richer thanks to us workers. “