The caffeinatedhebrew’s Podcast
$30 Min Wage: Amazons fight against workers!
Hey, welcome back to another episode of the caffeinated Hebrew podcast. I'm Greg Parker, your creator and host of this debacle. This podcast is brought to you by Podbean Podcast. You can download today at Podbean.com. You can also listen to this podcast on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcast, and of course, Podbean. Listen up and listen in. I hope you learned something and if you don't, I'm not responsible. Okay, so this is an article from the nation, Jonathan Rosenblum. For Amazon workers, $30 is the new $15. Recent skirmishes signal, the growing confidence of Amazon workers demonstrating that withdrawal of labor can force even the most powerful company in the world into concessions. Big movements need bold demands. A dozen years ago, some 200 New York City fast food workers sparked a movement when they first hoisted picket signs demanding $15 an hour in the union. The New York State minimum wage was then $7.25 an hour and mainstream political pundits and the media dismissed the idea of 100% wage increases as absurd. But the bold demand electrified workers sparking a movement in the last decade has won $15 an hour wage and more. For more than 26 million low wage workers, I guess that's what they figure the number is of people who make low wages, including those pioneering New York workers and where the fight for $15 was married to serious unionizing organizations, excuse me, union organizing, such as at Sea Tech Airport in Washington State, here in Washington State. These wage campaigns led to unions and contracts. Today, workers at Amazon need a similar bold demand to build the kind of movement necessary to beat Jeff Bezos and the billionaires. I just have a question, why does it take so much effort and energy for someone like Jeff Bezos to, like at the drop of a hat, just make it 30 bucks an hour? I'm not an economist and I'm not a financial strategist, obviously, I'm just a guy with an opinion, but it seems, I'm not reading the article right now. This is my opinion. It just seems that it wouldn't even make a dent in his profit, but, okay, and in warehouses across the country, many workers are already coalescing around one, a $30 an hour starting wage for the lowest paid US Amazon worker. Workers outside the US too have begun raising bold wage demands at Amazon, whose shareholders reaped a mind boggling $30.4 billion net profit last year and recently reported second quarter profits of $13.5 billion nearly doubled the previous year. Just imagine what's possible if that $30 an hour starting wage demand and it's equivalent outside the US becomes the unifying rally cry of Amazon's 2.8 million workers and contractors worldwide backed up by labor movement resources and a good portion of the company's 200 million on prime subscribers. Among the myriad challenges facing the US labor movement and indeed the global labor movement, none is bigger or more important than organizing Amazon. What began a generation ago as an upstart internet bookseller is today a global e-commerce, cloud computing and content streaming tech giant expanding into every nook and cranny of the economy. Amazon just surpassed UPS in parcel business and it's poised to pass the US Postal Service currently number one in parcel shipping in the coming years. It dominates the lucrative cloud computing sector and it has tens of billions in cash to expand into virtually any sector of the economy, it's executive's fancy. From home security to food shopping nothing is off limits. Boy talk to your UPS driver about Amazon or talk to your postal service carrier about Amazon you'll get a fiery lengthy lecture I've done it a few times. Later this year shoppers will be able to arrange financing and purchase cars directly through Amazon. If Amazon were a country its market capitalization would make it bigger than economies of about 12 nations in the world. Well it's got Amazon prime 200 million subscribers those would be the citizens and then the $35 million in profits and I guess it's kind of like a country isn't well yeah I guess save the Amazon oh my gosh I'm on to something hey unionized logistics workers have fought hard to secure better pay and benefits in bargaining. Most recently with last summer's UPS contract fight do you remember that when UPS said to fight to get a living wage and air conditioning in the trucks. But unless the labor movement mounts a herculean effort to help Amazon workers win then workers throughout the logistics sector and beyond everywhere that Amazon can reach will face an accelerating economic race to the bottom. What does that bleak future look like a university of Illinois survey this spring found that a majority of US Amazon workers were food insecure I don't like that word food insecure. Are you hungry I'm just I'm just a little insecure. Nearly half reported being housing insecure housing insecure hey have you been living on the street no I'm just I'm just a little insecure I'm just a little insecure. So I digress okay so nearly the point is people are food insecure they're housing insecure right so the same proportion of workers reported having no emergency savings. For years US labor leaders dithered while Amazon grew by leaps and bounds Amazon has 2,843 warehouses and delivery stations in the US but you can count on your fingers the number of serious union recognition campaigns at those sites. The retail wholesale and department store union famously took a run at organizing workers in Bessemer Alabama in 2021 but failed to build a strong enough organizing committee and consequently lost to union representation elections and I believe Alabama is a right to work state so good luck passing it in Alabama thank you Koch brothers. Lacking institutional support Amazon workers began organizing into independent formations like Amazonians united a loose national network of warehouse and delivery workers and Carolina Amazonians united for solidarian empowerment cause. These groups staged local workplace actions including small scale strikes and have rested concessions from the company on safety and pay. Members that Amazon's massive JFK 8 warehouse on Staten Island organizing independently as Amazon labor union won their union representation election in April of 2022 but it since failed to get Amazon to bargain. The fledging union also led to failed campaigns in nearby warehouses. The previous lack of a coherent US organizing center may be about to change. The last month in July the JFK 8 workers voted to bring their independent union into the 1.3 million member international brotherhood of teamsters. An emerging caucus of JFK 8 rank and file workers just swept into union leadership and is pushing for revitalized shop floor organizing in a national Amazon union drive. Two months before the JFK 8 workers at Amazon's massive K C V G air hub in northern Kentucky who had been organizing as an independent union also voted to join the teamsters disclosure. This author has been assisting with the K C V G Amazon workers with those two affiliation votes the campaigns at Amazon's largest air cargo center and single largest warehouse are now under the same teamster organizing umbrella. Additionally workers at numerous delivery stations across the country have been organizing with the teamsters. Workers at two stations in southern California and outside of Chicago are now waging union recognition strikes against the company. Independent Amazon worker groups seeing this movement are gravitating toward the teamsters as well to build industrial union power that makes eminent sense. The teamsters union includes hundreds of thousands of workers at UPS, DHL and other logistics firms its new president Sean O'Brien has pledged millions for Amazon organizing. Notably many of these grassroots campaigns gained steam in the last three years as workers picked up the $30 an hour banner. The demand was a centerpiece of the initial organizing at JFK eight $30 was the driving force for the northern Kentucky air cargo campaign. It's a cornerstone of the cause demand and it has played a central role in the delivery driver organizing labor leaders and strategists strategy I sound like George Bush their strategically do you remember that most of you are too probably too young to remember when George Bush would just make up his own words. Okay so you get the gist Amazon workers only make between $15 and $18 an hour. So just to give you an example of how much $15 an hour is right. So in Washington state if you make $15 an hour we'll just pull up the calculator here. So let's say you work 80 hours at Amazon. You make $1,200 minus 20%. You make $9.60, okay that's $9.60 times two. That's about $19.20 a month. Okay well what's the what's your point what's your point caffeinated Hebrew okay well alright smarty mr. smarty I'll tell you the average rent in Seattle I'm looking here at rent.com is 1900 3000 1900 2000 1600 and this is for a one bedroom. That's not counting the utilities that that you're gonna have to pay. So 1867 30 so the rent in these cities would be the total amount of your income. So you make 2000 a month that Amazon that's your rent. And Staten Island Staten Island where the JFK eight okay. The island's home value and is the island Staten Island's home value index is 224 meaning it is 124% above the national average. This is according to outpost club.com and this figure is not unique to American metropolitan areas by comparison green wood village Colorado a suburb of Denver has a home value index of 421 and San Francisco has an even higher index of 596 okay so you get the point. The average home price in Staten Island can range from 150,000 to several million. The most expensive home sold on Staten Island in 2020 was 3.4 million Wow that's a lot okay well so in the United States workers are truly exploited so the $30 an hour demand is important because eventually Amazon in my opinion Amazon will phase out companies like UPS and the United States Postal Service and that's been on the the goal for a lot of people in government has been to phase out the United States Postal Service okay so we can't afford to keep living like this these companies these corporations they don't care about you and honestly a $30 an hour minimum wage would be a drop in the bucket to them but if you can't afford to live and as the article pointed out these wages and these problems are dismissed by rich media personalities like Joy Behar, Jen Ziers can't afford to buy a house well what does Joy Behar have to say about this what do these strong media personalities have to say let's take listen in defense of Gen Z they're not hitting the milestones the way every generation of four of them did they're owning homes at a lower rate this is wild 45% of people between ages 18 to 29 still live with their parents they feel left behind by the economy and they also see everybody trying to not age so please get a job no but they have jobs no they have to work with a job what's it get a job no but they have jobs let's hear everybody trying to not age so please get a job no but they have jobs no they have to work with a job there's a million jobs oh job openings in this crisis you get a job they both will live through a pandemic they've lived through the worst of listen to these do you hear the babble fuck times I'm raising two Gen Ziers so boo hoo boo hoo boo hoo boo hoo the cost of living in Seattle is 50% higher than the national average it's a hundred and percent a hundred and eleven percent higher than the national average utilities are six percent higher than the national average groceries are 24 25% higher than the national average an apartment here in Seattle is three thousand a month easy people make I think the minimum wage in Seattle is like 19 and people have to work multiple jobs um does Joy Behar have to work multiple jobs to be able to avoid uh avoid does she have to be able to avoid a house she's like uh Fredo and the godfather I'm smart I can do things too how much is Joy Behar net worth thirty million dollars thirty million dollars and all she has to say is boo hoo hey you can't make this stuff up people you can't make this stuff up why is Amazon fighting so hard how much is Jeff Bezos worth let's see Jeff Bezos Jeff Bezos net worth one hundred and eighty two point three billion dollars remember when we had people who were trying to fight for the for the million is do you remember when Bernie Sanders was running we have to fight for the million is we have to fight against the billion is to make sure that regular people are you ready for a revolution what happened to Bernie Sanders huh he was supposed to help the workers who's helping the workers now are you are you doing your part are you are you exercising your rights are you standing up for the workers for the little guy well are you is thirty dollars too high then and uh the state media pundits are going to fight as hard as they can to uh to tell you that it's too much okay it's too much so according to this article 26 million people in the United States are low wage workers what is a low wage worker what's the definition the low wage worker track force ok that's not examples of a low wage worker agricultural and food services ok so according to work worker work risen dot work risen network 17% of low wage workforce are agricultural and food services the backbone of the country agricultural right they provide the food so the most important people in America are the people who provide us the food and the truckers who drive the food to you and deliver it but you will be propagandized by the state media pundits who will tell you they'll tell you what will they tell you hold on what will they tell you this is this what they'll tell you this is a million jobs are a job is a million jobs are a job openings in this country so what get a job fuck off go pounce and they both will live through there's a million job openings in this country you fucking cry baby get a job move out of your parents basement you fucking liner when I was your age it's not like that anymore man it's not like that night what are you gonna do what are you gonna do you're you're making fifteen dollars an hour in Alabama I mean what is the cost living in Alabama what's rent like in Alabama let's see here Alabama Alabama I don't know it's cheap it's cheap I support it do you I don't think thirty dollars is too much honestly I think that's about right I think that's about what you need to live in this booming economy right okay well hey that's it that's it Amazon workers fight you know Amazon workers might set the standard because if Amazon eventually replaces UPS FedEx it's in it might prepare if you're a if you're an Amazon prime subscriber you know you might you might be interested in that maybe shifting your money to a maybe a different maybe a different streaming service maybe if you're an Amazon subscriber you might consider switching over to let's say she's who do I know that runs a good entertainment of entertainment show could it be the caffeinated Hebrew maybe and that's going to do it for today on is it though is again do for today most of you today's payday that's it okay that'll do it for today's episode of the caffeinated Hebrew podcast I want to thank you for tuning in and probably tuning out I want to remind you that you can listen to this episode on podbean podcasts you can also listen on iHeartRadio Spotify Apple podcasts you can catch me on Instagram at the underscore caffeinated Hebrew podcast okay hey thanks for listening I'll see you next time I love you and... the next episode of the caffeinated Hebrew podcast 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