Amazon: Workers Shine Bright On Black Friday To #MakeAmazonPay

Working people across the world are leading a coalition taking action today to build pressure on Amazon to improve its treatment of its employees, the environment and the tax system.

Amazon workers and activists in over 20 countries and across six continents are taking part this Black Friday. For full details, see MakeAmazonPay.com.

Make Amazon Pay has chosen eight locations to represent the depth of Amazon’s abuse and the scale of the resistance to its business practices:

• an oil refinery in Latin America
• a supply chain factory in Asia
• a container ship in Latin America
• a warehouse in North America
• a trucking depot in Europe
• a regional office in Africa
• a finance ministry in Europe

Sharan Burrow, the ITUC general secretary, said: “Amazon workers paid for their old boss Jeff Bezos to go to space, but they’re not asking for the moon. They’re demanding nothing more than justice and respect.

“Amazon made so much money during the pandemic it could pay every worker $690,000 and still be as rich as at the start of the pandemic. Amazon makes this money by exploiting its workers, fighting their right to organise unions to improve their working lives, damaging the environment, and not paying its fair share of tax that provides the services we all rely on.

“The ITUC categorically backs this call to make Amazon pay and make Amazon a better company that respects, listens to and values the working people behind its success.”

The Make Amazon Pay coalition includes the ITUC, UNI Global Union,

over 70 trade unions, civil society organisations, environmentalists and tax watchdogs.

At MakeAmazonPay.com anyone can sign up to the Common Demands of the coalition, donate to the campaign or find an action near them to support.

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