MINNESOTA — Some Amazon warehouse workers still appear to be disgruntled, even after the company committed to paying all employees at least $15 an hour last year.
According to a Bloomberg report, workers at a Shakopee, Minnesota fulfillment center are planning a six-hour work stoppage on July 15 — the first day of Prime Day when the online retail giant offers deep discounts on televisions, toys and clothes for its members who pay subscription fees in exchange for free shipping and other perks.
The reported strike points to persistent labor unrest despite moves from the company to provide competitive hourly pay rates.
“Amazon is going to be telling one story about itself, which is they can ship a Kindle to your house in one day, isn’t that wonderful,” William Stolz, one of the Shakopee employees organizing the strike, was quoted as saying. “We want to take the opportunity to talk about what it takes to make that work happen and put pressure on Amazon to protect us and provide safe, reliable jobs.”
The strike comes at a time when Amazon is facing increasing competition from rivals like Target and Walmart over its next-day delivery service.
To up the ante, Amazon opened its second delivery station tucked off Holloway Street in East Durham last week. It’s also building a bigger distribution center at 4851 Jones Sausage Road will occupy 2.6 million square feet of space. The center is expected to employ up to 1,500 people and bring a payroll of at least $45 million to the town of Garner.
Amazon officially opens Durham station, stepping up one-day delivery for Triangle
