Amazon staff at an air freight hub in San Bernardino, Calif., walked off the job on Monday for larger pay and higher working situations, in line with a union representing the employees.
“We’ve been organizing for a $5 pay enhance, secure working situations & an finish to retaliation on the warehouse,” Inland Empire Amazon Employees United wrote on Twitter. “Our calls for have been ignored by @amazon, and we’ve had sufficient.”
The union stated 160 staff participated within the walkout.
A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed the walkout, however stated that solely 74 of roughly 1,500 workers left their workstations and exited the Amazon air hub, generally known as KSBD.
“Whereas there are lots of established methods of guaranteeing we hear the opinions of our workers inside our enterprise, we additionally respect their proper to make their opinions recognized externally,” the spokesperson stated.
The Warehouse Employee Useful resource Heart, a supporter of Inland Empire Amazon Employees United, stated about 900 staff have signed a petition calling for the bottom pay on the facility to be raised to $22 an hour, up from $17, in line with a press launch on Monday.
Together with calls for for larger pay, staff complained of temperatures on the San Bernardino airport that reached 95 levels or extra for 24 days in July.
“Working within the warmth seems like you’re suffocating,” Melissa Ojeda, a lady stated to have labored on the facility for greater than a yr, famous within the press launch. “It is advisable to take breaks, and you’ll overheat actually simply. They don’t make it simple to take breaks to permit your physique to chill down.”
Employees stated they’re struggling to afford to reside within the present financial system, and that the majority of their earnings goes towards lease.
On Twitter, Inland Empire Amazon Employees United described the area because the nation’s largest warehouse hub and stated that staff are its spine.
“It’s the coronary heart of our nation’s provide chain, and it’s made doable by a whole lot of 1000’s of working individuals like us,” it wrote.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has since voiced his help for the Amazon staff on Twitter.
“Amazon is certainly one of only a handful of TRILLION-dollar corporations on the earth,” he wrote. “It’s owned by one of many richest guys on the face of the planet. So why are staff at an Amazon facility in San Bernardino pressured to reside on meals stamps to make ends meet?”
