John,
After years of Amazon workers fighting for better treatment and better pay, Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, are on the verge of a revolutionary moment.
Black Lives Matter is proud to be in solidarity with the countless workers in Bessemer and throughout the entire country who are fighting to unionize their workplaces. Unionizing is one of the best ways workers can address racial inequities in the workplace and collectively fight for other benefits like higher wages and better health care.
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Thanks to the grassroots, people-power of Black Lives Matter, we were able to raise over $50,000 toward combating anti-union propaganda put out by Amazon, as well as our successful caravan event in Bessemer last weekend with BLM Birmingham. About 75 folks and their families came to the event, lining up their cars, blowing horns, and blasting music as we enjoyed speakers and uplifted our workers and their demands for dignity in the workplace.
Over 80% of the workers at Bessemer Amazon are Black -- and the fight for unionization led by Black organizers in Alabama is courageous and bold and could very much lead to the first-ever Amazon warehouse union.
Patrisse Cullors, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, said it best:
“Black workers have historically been the backbone of this country, its institutions, and innovations. Therefore, it is fully within our rights and dignity that we be treated and compensated fairly. Just as we have the right to live, we also have the right to work.”
Amazon slapped a Black Lives Matter banner on their website last summer post-George Floyd. But if Amazon truly believes that Black Lives Matter, Amazon would have no problems with unionization, livable wages, fair working conditions, and the utmost respect for its majority Black workers -- especially those in Bessemer, Alabama.
Less than 2 weeks left John -- let's do this.
In love and solidarity,
Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation
