| 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. 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. 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. 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 Facebook or Twitter! Footnotes:  |
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