Retail

Will Amazon US Workers Strike for Better Pay?

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: December 21, 2015 6:45 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 3:53 pm

It is too late for employees in the United States to strike Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) over the critical holiday sales period. However, union efforts in Germany and low pay for warehouse workers in Amazon’s American operations make it a possible target.

Amazon faces a warehouse work stoppage in Germany, among its largest markets. Warehouse workers will boycott the e-commerce company until Christmas. According to Local.de:

Workers have been called out on strike by union Verdi in several Amazon depots throughout the country, including in Koblenz, Rheinberg, Werne and Leipzig, reports public broadcaster ARD.

Amazon almost certainly cannot replace these people in the next week, which means some customers will go without deliveries. And Amazon’s U.S. operations have problems that may fuel labor efforts to get higher wages.

According employee review site Glassdoor, Amazon warehouse workers make an average of $13 an hour. The pay level for these people runs between $10 and $15 an hour, according to the website. Some workers are happy with the way they are treated financially. However, they are paid very little above the “living wage.” Amazon’s pay levels are not as low as for typical hourly workers at McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT). However, they are not substantially better.

The U.S. retail labor movement has been emboldened by its success with fast-food chains and big-box retailers. Amazon is big, visible and rich. These are among the factors organized labor looks for when it picks targets.

Labor has made a misstep if it wants to undermine the finances of Amazon when the success of factories matter the most. That does not mean organizers have ignored Amazon as among the largest U.S. companies that pay distribution center employees poorly. It is a potential target, and a valuable one, as labor organizers move from current targets where they have had success to new ones. For Amazon management, possible worker unrest in the United States should create anxiety.