The richest man in the world vs. a worker?

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April 13, 15:59

"CEO Bezos wants us to pay tribute and raise wages,"


said a 51-year-old man working at a distribution center in Amazon, a giant American IT company.

Amazon's business performance is strong due to the increase in the use of online shopping due to the so-called nesting demand in the corona virus.

The founder, CEO Jeff Bezos, is also known as "the richest man in the world," but on the other hand, there are growing calls from field employees to improve treatment, such as raising wages.

Under such circumstances, "a certain movement" around Amazon is drawing attention.

(Los Angeles bureau reporter Fumio Sugaya)

Formed a union on Amazon?

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"What are we looking for!" "Union!"



This March, in southern Alabama, about 100 people, including Amazon employees, gathered to hold a rally calling for the formation of a trade union.

Participants are calling for improvements in the working environment and wage increases.



Until now, labor unions have not been formed at major IT companies in the United States because wages are determined individually according to business performance.

However, here in Alabama, a mail ballot is held for about 5,800 employees working in distribution centers asking whether or not to form a labor union, and pro-employees and companies that oppose the formation of the union are fighting offensively. I was there.

“Measure toilet time”

One of the employees who called for the formation of a trade union, Darryl Richardson, has been working at this distribution center for a year.

I'm busy with work due to growing demand for nesting, and I feel that work management is overkill.

According to Richardson, "working hours are strictly controlled and the time to go to the bathroom is also measured."



Richardson's hourly wage is about $ 15 (= about 1700 yen), which is about twice the state's minimum hourly wage, but his annual income is still about 3.3 million yen.

Compared to Amazon's clerical workers and engineers, whose average annual income is about 16 million yen, there is a big gap.

In addition, the founder, CEO Bezos, has been at the top of the world's millionaire rankings in the American economic magazine Forbes for four consecutive years.

As of the 11th of this month, we have over $ 196 billion in assets and over 20 trillion yen in Japanese yen.



"I'm working in a pandemic, but $ 15 an hour isn't worth it," Richardson said, calling for the correction of the gap.

"You are responsible for the dues."

Amazon is wary of these movements.


He argued that there was no indication that the working environment was harsh due to benefits such as medical insurance, and called for opposition to the formation of a labor union.



On the dedicated website created by the company, "You are responsible for the union fee", "Employment is not guaranteed even if a union is formed", "Wages are not paid while participating in the strike", etc. He cited 10 items as disadvantages of joining the union and appealed to employees to vote against them.

Politicians also participate!

With income inequality becoming a social issue in the United States, the offense and defense over the pros and cons of forming a labor union is also attracting the attention of politicians from the ruling and opposition parties.



President Biden posted a video message on social media this February.

"Workers are now voting for union formation in Alabama and across the United States. There should be no threats or anti-union publicity," he said, although he didn't mention the company name, but Amazon employees. He expressed his support for the members.



In addition, Senators Sanders of the ruling party and the Democratic Party of Japan and Senator Rubio of the opposition party and the Republican Party have also announced their support for employees one after another.

Not only the Democratic Party, which has traditionally supported the labor union, but also the Republican Party, which is closer to large corporations, have supporters.

It was the first time in the United States that an Amazon trade union was formed, and the postal voting was closed on March 29, with a lot of media coverage.

And the result of the ballot counting is ...

Then, on April 9, the National Labor Relations Board, an independent government agency that oversees voting, announced the aggregated results.



The total number of votes is 3041.

Overturning the expectations of the local media, the formation of the union was rejected by a large margin, with 738 votes in favor and 1798 votes against the majority.



In response to the results, Amazon won, "There has been a lot of noise in the last few months, but I'm glad to hear the consensus of our employees. We're not perfect, but we'll continue to improve." Issued a statement that could be called a declaration.

Meanwhile, the retail trade union, which has helped employees seek to form a union, also immediately issued a statement, outside the company to allow Amazon to disseminate false information about union activities to employees and prevent union formation. Claimed to have sent people in and out of the distribution center.

"Amazon has illegally interfered with the vote," he said.

The final settlement is expected to take longer.

Will the labor movement continue even if the union is rejected?

How do experts view this result?



Professor John Logan of San Francisco State University, who is familiar with the American labor movement, explained the reason why the formation of the union was rejected by a large margin. The number of votes in favor has dropped to less than half of that. There is no doubt that Amazon's approach to employees has had a tremendous effect. "



On the other hand, "According to the retail union that supported the supporters, in addition to the distribution center voted this time, Amazon employees have received more than 1000 inquiries about union formation. The movement may continue to grow. "



As Professor Logan points out, changes are taking place in American IT giants that previously had no trade unions.

In January, employees of Google and the holding company Alphabet formed a labor union.

The number of union members is about 800, which is small compared to the total number of employees, but the policy is to seek protection of employee rights and improvement of treatment regardless of occupation or employment type.

How to deal with inequality and inequality

The reason why the activities of employees aiming to form a labor union in Amazon have attracted attention this time is that many people are concerned about the income disparity that is becoming apparent in the United States.



In addition, the influence of the "Black Lives Matter" movement that spread throughout the United States last year cannot be overlooked.

Most of the employees working at Alabama's distribution centers are black, and an ongoing movement to eradicate discrimination has expressed support for union-seeking employees.

There was widespread sympathy for those seeking better treatment to close the gap.



This time, the formation of a union in Alabama was rejected, but it can be said that it once again highlighted the challenges facing American society, such as inequality and inequality, which became even more serious due to the corona wreck.

Los Angeles bureau reporter


Fumio Sugaya


Joined in 2002


New Delhi bureau


Islamabad bureau


Economic department and current affiliation