Dear Friend,

Amazon has announced that it will start charging third-party sellers an
extra 5% starting next week -- an unreasonable “fuel and inflation"
surcharge that will be passed on to us.(1) This price jump comes just as
Amazon profits are at an all-time high, double what they were a year
before.(2) And there’s just nothing sellers can do about it, considering
the mega retailer’s strong monopoly over the market.

You can be assured that this megacorporation also has no plans to share
its new spoils with its badly mistreated workforce. New documents show the
retail giant spent $4.3 million on union-busting in 2021.(3)

Enough is enough. With no end in sight to Amazon’s soaring profits and
soaking of its sellers and customers, it’s past time that Congress pass
anti-monopoly legislation to stop Amazon’s outrageous actions. Courage
California is ramping up its advertising and social media campaign to
break up Amazon and stop its abuses.

[ [link removed] ]Will you chip in $5 and help Courage California’s
campaign to rein in Amazon?

The secret is out: Amazon does whatever it takes to increase its bottom
line, no matter how its workers, its third-party sellers, or its customers
suffer.

The company makes promotions nearly impossible and encourages high
turnover. It forces overtime and extra shifts, making it one of the most
dangerous places to work in America.(4) And its highly touted $15 minimum
wage is actually bringing wages down in surrounding areas.(5)

In California, a new report shows how the injury rate at warehouses jumped
a whopping 20% last year -- despite the company’s safety promises.(6)

The mega retailer has also been caught taking ideas from third-party
sellers and creating cheaper versions, then using its algorithm to push
those sellers’ products lower in search results.(7) Now the company is
raising prices on sellers just because it knows they have nowhere else to
go.

Public outrage against Amazon is building, and we need to leverage this
moment to get Congress to pass antitrust legislation to rein Amazon in.

[ [link removed] ]Will you chip in $5 to Courage California and help stop
Amazon?

Yours in the fight against corporate power,

Irene, along with Amber, Angela, Annie, Isidra, Jay, Lindsay, LisaMarie,
Mai, Mai, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team) 

PS: Courage California is fighting for equity and justice across the state
and country. [ [link removed] ]Will you become a monthly donor and help sustain our work?

Donations go to support all of Courage California's work for a more
progressive California and country. Follow us now on [ [link removed] ]Facebook or
[ [link removed] ]Twitter!

Footnotes:
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Courage California (formerly Courage Campaign) makes sure our democracy works for ALL of us by fighting corruption in California politics. We believe the solution lies in exposing and solving systemic problems through strategic organizing, enhancing coordination between progressive organizations, and mobilizing civic engagement from our communities, particularly voters of color, young voters, and self-identified progressives.

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