
News & Updates from across the RWDSU…
Member of the media looking for photos and videos or to contact our Communications Department? Head on over to our Press Contact page.
“Amazon has a well-documented history of mistreating and dehumanizing its workers in the U.S. and around the world. The stress can be particularly hard on any day, and especially during Prime Day events. But, this year, the toll on Amazon’s workers will be considerably worse. Prime Day has been expanded to two-days and earlier this year Amazon announced a new policy of one-day shipping that effectively doubles the pace of its workers. Amazon fulfillment workers were already facing speeds of 200-300 orders per hour in 12-hour shifts before the new policy. They were struggling to maintain that pace, even before the one-day shipping policy was announced. Testing hundreds of thousands of workers physical limits as though they were trained triathletes is the wrong approach. Operating at these speeds for this duration means Amazon needs to hire more workers, under more sustainable speeds that don’t put worker’s lives in jeopardy. Amazon needs to understand that human beings are not robots,” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
“With two-day Prime shipping, Amazon fulfillment workers currently face speeds of 200-300 orders per hour in 12-hour shifts. They struggle already to maintain that pace. If Amazon plans to effectively double the speed, it must also address existing workforce needs and ensure its workers are safe. Increasing fulfillment speeds means they need to hire more workers, under more sustainable speeds that don’t put worker’s lives in jeopardy.” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
“We want to congratulate Jumaane Williams on his win as our next Public Advocate. He won a tough race in which so many of the candidates were strong supporters and allies of our union and our members. Jumaane has stood with us time and time again to ensure the rights of New Yorkers are protected and that all workers have a voice and are represented. We look forward to working together on issues that affect our members and low-income New Yorkers. We will climb the hills we are facing together, we will keep moving up together, until we reach the top together,” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
“Rather than addressing the legitimate concerns that have been raised by many New Yorkers, Amazon says you do it our way or not at all, we will not even consider the concerns of New Yorkers – that’s not what a responsible business would do,” said Chelsea Connor, Director of Communications for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
Sign Up for News & Updates!
Looking to organize a union at your workplace?
Organizing a union at your workplace means standing together to win a seat at the table at work. It means having a voice, and a way to say to your boss that the concerns of workers are every bit as important as the employer’s bottom line. Interested in getting started?