| Dear Friend, Last week, Amazon drivers in Palmdale made history by walking off the job in a first-ever strike! Eighty-four drivers -- including Cecilia, whom you heard from -- refused to deliver thousands of packages in order to demand that Amazon provide safe working conditions and a living wage, and the effects are already rippling across Amazon’s operations.(1) But so far, the multibillion-dollar corporation is refusing to budge, so the drivers need to keep up their strike. And in order to ramp up the strike’s effectiveness, Courage California is using our network of partnerships and media machine to elevate the Palmdale workers to a statewide level. The temperatures in Palmdale are going to soar into the 90s in the next week, and drivers who don’t have reliable air conditioning or water supplies don’t have a moment to lose. Will you donate to help support the strike? 70% of your donation will support the Amazon Drivers Worker Solidarity Fund, and 30% will support our work to spread the word across California, where millions of people use Amazon. Yes, I’ll donate to support the drivers' fight against Amazon! Amazon keeps claiming that they don’t have to bargain with the drivers because they are contractors, not employees.(2) We beg to differ. As Cecilia said on the picket line, “The back of an Amazon van feels like an oven in the summer. I’ve felt dizzy and dehydrated, but if I take a break, I’ll get a call [from Amazon] asking why I’m behind on deliveries.”(3) It’s Amazon’s van, Amazon’s schedules, Amazon’s dispatchers pushing drivers to unsafe standards. Amazon is running the show, and the corporation needs to negotiate. We stand behind the drivers 100%, and Courage California and our 1.4 million membership can ensure that the strike captures the public eye. We are creating a TikTok series with video interviews of the drivers. We’re also connecting the workers with media outlets, amplifying the strike across social media channels, and more to make sure the Palmdale drivers are on millions of people’s radars. Safe work and a living wage should be minimum requirements of a multibillion-dollar corporation, and we want to do everything possible to keep this strike going until Amazon comes to the table. Thanks for your critical support. –Irene, along with Angela, Annie, Isidra, Jen, Lindsay, and Scottie (and the rest of the Courage team)
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