NEW YORK, NY — Amazon employees in more than 20 countries, including the United States, plan to strike during the high-demand shopping days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday to demand changes in labor practices, according to labor organizers.
The coordinated protests, called “Make Amazon Pay Days,” aim to hold the e-commerce giant accountable for alleged labor abuses, environmental impacts, and what organizers describe as threats to democracy.
The strikes are supported by unions, labor rights organizations, and anti-poverty groups across the globe.
“No matter how much they spend to fight us, corporations like Amazon cannot break the power of workers standing together,” said Christy Hoffman, general secretary of UNI Global Union, one of the strike’s organizing groups. Workers from the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, India, Japan, Brazil, and other nations will participate, with protests planned in major cities and Amazon facilities.
Amazon pushed back against the accusations in a statement, calling the organizers’ claims “intentionally misleading” and defending the company’s record. “We provide great pay, great benefits, and great opportunities — all from day one,” Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards said, adding that the company has created more than 1.5 million jobs globally.
This is not the first time Amazon has faced international worker protests during the holiday season. Similar demonstrations have grown in scale over the years, reflecting ongoing tensions between the company and its workforce.
So far, customers have not experienced any delivery delays. At this time, it is not known whether or not workers in the New Jersey and New York area facilities are participating in the action.