Amazon Organizers Should Study the Fight for 15
Nothing is more important for unions right now than organizing Amazon. Organizers can learn from the Fight for 15’s success at building pressure through a broad public campaign — and its failure to build a real organization of, by, and for workers.
The Fight for 15, aimed at organizing fast food workers into unions and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, gave a glimpse of what is possible when a union devotes significant resources and staff to a broad campaign. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)
If the labor movement is to maintain and raise standards, then we must organize Amazon — one of the largest employers and most powerful corporations in the United States today.
Already thousands of Amazon workers have engaged in organizing campaigns in dozens of delivery stations, fulfillment centers, and air hubs. Although Amazon has responded by raising its starting wage to around $21, so far workers have won only one big unionization election, at a Staten Island warehouse, and as yet, no union contracts.
Some of these campaigns began as independent union drives; today they’re supported mainly by the Teamsters. But now that Amazon’s aggressive expansion into groceries, health care, entertainment, and internet web services are threatening labor standards in those sectors, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and other unions are considering making a serious commitment of resources to support a broader Amazon campaign.
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