the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Nov 9, 2015
Amazon’s on-demand workers sued the company in Los Angeles in October, seeking back wages and compensation for on the job expenses.
This lawsuit is related to Amazon’s Prime Now service, which promises to deliver goods within one hour for around $8.
Amazon treats the workers responsible for such service as on-demand contractors to avoid benefits and cut labor costs, paying less than minimum wage. However, according to these workers, Amazon treats them like employees, including requiring them to wear uniforms and work within set hours. These workers are sometimes scheduled to work six or seven consecutive days in a week.
Recently, Amazon posted a big profit, causing its shares to skyrocket in the stock market. Amazon’s market value has reached about 264 billion dollars, passing that of Walmart. This makes Amazon one of the largest and richest companies in the world.
This lawsuit shows how Amazon got this big–by squeezing every drop of wealth they could from the people who do the work.