What started as an online bookstore in a garage, Amazon has now become one of the largest multinational companies in the world, diversifying from an online bookstore to one of the biggest e-retailers in the world, dealing in the sales of electronics, entertainment, food, music and many other things. However, this growth did not occur overnight nor was it free of controversy. When talking about Amazon the person who comes to everyone’s mind is Jeff Bezos, CEO, founder and face of Amazon.
Jeff Bezos left his job on Wall Street in pursuit of establishing a business using the rising popularity and importance of the internet. Operating out of his garage, Bezos founded Amazon, which today employs over 876,000 full time workers and is generating an annual revenue of $386.1 billion.
One may applaud Bezos for the impressive feats he accomplished, but on the other hand, the question becomes whether or not that is really enough for one to ignore the plights of the workers exploited by Amazon over the years? There has been much controversy over the conditions of Amazon’s workers and how unfairly they have been treated, sadly even in these troubling times when the whole world is suffering from a pandemic, the people having it the worst are the labour force, underpaid and undervalued, the workers suffer in silence, afraid of losing their jobs if they ever speak up.
“We are not anti-union, but we are not neutral either. We do not believe unions are in the best interest of our customers or shareholders or most importantly, our associates.”
-leaked amazon training video (2018)
In 2001, after a unionization drive in Seattle more than 850 employees were laid off by Amazon. The company’s hostile behaviour towards their employees unionizing has been one of the major criticisms of the organization. Workers being unorganized lets Amazon and other corporations exploit them by deducting wages, reducing break times, and forcing workers to work in unsafe and dangerous work environments. The pandemic has only led to more mistreatment of workers as employees were not given any special training and were forced to work in unsafe conditions on the frontlines of the pandemic with no extra pay even though the multinational giant was profiting from it. In a time where unemployment rates are high and job security is low, it is no surprise that these mistreated workers suffer in silence, afraid that they can be replaced easily because to the greedy corporations these workers are not essential, they are just ants in a factory, hoping not to be discarded.
The debate against the rich is crucial, it makes us wonder how billionaires like Bezos can be so inconsiderate to basic labour rights. Why do people who make $2000 per second not spare a small fraction of that amount to help people make rent or pay their children’s school fee?
Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic, the slogan “I’m not a robot” was chanted across Amazon employees as they pushed for Unionization so that their basic rights as workers could be safeguarded.The deprivation of basic labour rights by the company is expressed in the following statement by a former Amazon employee “I would rather go back to a state correctional facility and work for 18 cents an hour than do that job’
Even though organizations such as the amnesty organization, called out Jeff Bezos for employee mistreatment, not much visible change could be seen.
Jeff Bezos started his online business uncertain of his investments Today, Amazon is worth $1.7 trillion. Although Bezos decided he would step down as CEO, he will become the Executive Chairman of the Amazon board. Even though people may assume Bezos stepping down would benefit employees, however, this will only allow him the power to rule his business empire without any objections, free from media scrutiny and empowered by the skyrocketing profits.
