Andy applied through the online portal, submitted to a saliva-based drug test and got his photo taken for an ID. In time, perhaps, they could form an organizing committee and agitate for safer conditions and an increase in starting hourly wages from $15 or $17 to the $25 or $30 that unionized warehouse workers can earn. Earlier this year, workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., once a thriving steel town, voted against unionizing with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The Bessemer defeat has led many major unions to grapple with the role of Amazon in the economy and their members’ lives. He compared Amazon’s close to one million U.S. employees to the several hundred thousand organized by the United Auto Workers at Ford, Chrysler and General Motors in the 1930s and 1940s.

Source: International New York Times July 05, 2021 09:00 UTC