| Dear, 
Amazon is offering bonuses to fill 1,500 jobs in its new California warehouse in Mira Loma.(1) But Amazon is still not protecting its warehouse workers. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) just this month levied fines on two warehouses in California, with more to come.(2) This holiday season, we are sending Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos a message: Treat your workers better, or lose our money. We’re boycotting Amazon for Christmas, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and we’re asking everyone to join us to #BlackOutBezos. Will you sign our pledge to #BlackOutBezos this holiday season and do your shopping elsewhere? 20,000 Amazon employees have tested positive for COVID since the pandemic began, but the company is not taking the steps to protect those workers.(3) The Cal/OSHA complaint says that Amazon is failing to provide the training necessary for avoiding coronavirus infection, doesn’t allow for social distancing, and doesn’t inform employees when infection breakouts happen in their work areas.(4) Meanwhile, Amazon is hiring 100,000 more employees for the holiday season -- 100,000 more people that will be at risk. It’s not just the coronavirus putting Amazon workers at risk. Bezos is the richest man in America, with a worth of more than $200 billion. But his warehouse workers in Los Angeles, one of the most expensive cities in the country, only make $15.25 an hour, a wage that has only risen by 25 cents in two years.(5) Paid sick leave is minimal, and health insurance is through a for-profit clinic.(6) Workers’ rights aren’t the only reason to #BlackOutBezos this year. COVID and Amazon’s monopoly have crushed small businesses. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 160,000 shops have gone out of business, while Amazon’s profits have soared. Even the independent contractors who work with Amazon have been hurt by Bezos. A recent House of Representatives report found that Amazon has developed software to identify independent products that are becoming successful so the corporation can make a cheaper version to sell.(7) So this holiday season, we need to make the effort to shop local and support our small businesses, while letting Bezos know that we won’t support his treatment of his workers. We’re asking you to pledge to not shop Amazon for your holiday purchases and suport your community’s shops instead. By spending your money with the people who live and work in your neighborhood, you can do a world of good while standing up to Amazon’s abuses. Will you sign our #BlackOutBezos pledge now? Yours in the fight for workers' rights, Irene, along with Angela, Annie, Caitlin, Deepthi, Gabby, Jay, Lindsay, Molly, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team) Footnotes:  |
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