Why You Should #BoycottAmazonPrimeDay 2021: Social Justice Through Consumer Activism
It’s personally mind- boggling to know that Amazon Prime Day is an actual thing! Amazon has used this day for the past few years to urge Prime members to buy discounted deals. They mark it as worth celebrating by throwing extravagant events and marketing campaigns to entice shoppers to log in at 3am E.T July 21 and 22nd. However, these two days come at heavy cost for Amazon workers, communities and earth. Reconsider supporting Amazon Prime Day 2021 and engage in social justice through consumer activism instead.
Amazon Warehouse Workers Are Exploited
Amazon is the second-largest private sector employer in the United States. Although workers earn $15 dollars an hour, it is not a living wage. It also does not justify the stressful workplace conditions workers have to endure. Amazon's warehouse operations force them to work at incredible rates to quickly push out orders to reach customers faster. Amazon needs this fast paced pressure because it is a key reason why Amazon Prime members pay for their membership…… express shipping.
Amazon also pushes anti-union propaganda onto its warehouse workers. Texts, posters and daily conversations remind workers that unions are not in their best interest. Any attempt to create a union is immediately shut down by firing workers
Humans Are Not Robots
Amazon Prime Day increases stress and daily target quotas. This is because 2 million items will be placed on discount this year with a promised one-day shipment perk. In 2019, only 1 million items were offered to customers. This increase of goods may be due to more online shoppers and a greater demand for fast shipping. These shifts will most likely pressure Amazon warehouse workers to move faster, meet bigger quotas and fulfill Amazon's promised one-day shipping deadline. It can also mean working more than the standard 40 hour workweek and risking their wellbeing if they push their physical limits.
It has also been found that Amazon fulfillment centers fire hundreds of workers every year because they don’t work fast enough to reach the daily targets. The workers are subject to heavy managerial and technological surveillance in a normal work day to evaluate their productivity.
Amazon workers' every move is tracked by computers for productivity rates. It records how many goods they pick up, pack or stow every hour and how much time they take when they are not doing a task, also known as Time Off Task (TOT). According to Bates, a pro-union Amazon worker, this has made workers feel stressed and dehumanized.
These work conditions make it typical for workers to not take adequate breaks or even work at a pace they are comfortable with. Meanwhile, a former Amazon data science engineer that specialized in warehouse metrics, explained to Recode that he knew that every tool he developed would just add pressure on the workers.
Warehouse Workers Have Had Enough
The main benefactor from the exploitation of warehouse workers is Bezos. According to Forbes, he has a net worth of $201 billion dollars. Bezos' wealth has been made from the blood and sweat of workers, the majority being Latinx and African American. And with the 2012 technological transformation of Amazon warehouses through the Kiva Systems, increased automation has created more stationary work stations. This has been disastrous for workers' well-being.
Despite Amazon's claim that automation makes jobs easier, workers have become more stressed through increasingly dangerous job conditions and rising quotas. According to The Center for Investigative Reporting by Reveal, Amazon workers experienced more injury rates in robotic warehouse facilities compared to traditional factories. And not surprisingly, injuries on the job rise during busy online shopping seasons…. such as Amazon Prime Day. Boycotting Amazon would therefore mean supporting these workers human rights and wellbeing.
Politicians have addressed these injustices by pushing for labor organizing in Amazon warehouses. Bernie Sanders has been a powerful ally in calling out Amazon’s unrealistic performance goals, over-surveillance tactics, insufficient worker breaks and unexpected firing decisions.
However, Amazon workers across the world (not just in the U.S) are demanding for better working conditions. Amazon Workers International (AWI) was formed in 2015 to unite Polish, German, Spanish, French and American warehouse workers. This is critical when anti-union propaganda is pushed onto Amazon workers. And given COVID-19, Amazon's warehouse workers struggles have only gotten worse. In October 2020, 20,000 Amazon workers tested positive in different warehouses across the nation.
Avoid Endorsing Mass-Consumerism
I often wonder why we need so much! What does it mean to buy products that we didn't even realize we needed or wanted ? Amazon Prime Day will launch at 3am E.T when our minds are slightly woozy from sleep deprivation. I urge you to get a good night's rest instead of supporting a monopolistic corporation that preys on its most vulnerable communities.
Consider avoiding any casual browsing so that you won’t invoke any major damage onto your bank account or Amazon’s BIPOC workers. More products that are sold on Amazon Prime Day means more explorative tactics employed against overworked everyday people for the benefit of one of the wealthiest man in the world.
We Don’t Need Greedy Billionaires
When you shop at a company you support them through your purchasing power. This means that every time you shop at Amazon you support their business practices and executives. So, if you do end up shopping on Amazon Prime Day, you will be supporting Jeff Bezos and his little brother, Mark’s, trip to space next month. They will be on board their rocket called the New Shepard that was made by his company Blue Origin. This is a disconcerting development when millions in the United States are unemployed and struggling to survive.
Bezos trip to the moon also displays his disconnection to the communities he should aim to fully serve. Amazon's customer obsession should extend to not only their customers, but to their workers and local communities. This means making sure products are sustainable, that workers are being paid a living wage and that customers are supporting projects that are good for the Earth. In the midst of a climate crisis, Bezos' decision to explore space marks an era of uncertainty on whether billionaires will take responsibility in ensuring a clean and safe world for generations to come.
Try the following instead of supporting Amazon Prime Day
Support your small local businesses. Try to look for minority-owned businesses if you can! This will help boost your community and local entrepreneurs.
Post on social media that you will be boycotting Amazon Prime Day. Use the hashtags #boycottamazonprimeday #boycottamazon#labororghts #betterthanprime
Stop shopping from Amazon! Consider supporting local shops and creators all year round!
Shop less! Use what you have to save resources, time and money.
Purchase directly from retailers instead of through Amazon. Get away from the middleman and go directly to the source of the product you want.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
