by Dori Goldberg
I work at one of the most profitable companies in the world, yet I’m barely able to get by.
In August 2023, I got hired as a warehouse associate at an Amazon delivery station in San Francisco. Within months, it became clear just how unjust and dysfunctional the workplace was.
I start work at 3:20 a.m. and spend eight hours a day processing thousands of packages. By the end of the shift, my shoulders are sore, I’m lightheaded, and I often feel like I’m running on empty.
Our workplace isn’t safe. Heavy boxes routinely fall on my co-workers’ heads. I’ve seen people get chemical burns from cleaning up hazardous materials. It’s not unusual to sustain long-term injuries from being overworked.
In short, my co-workers and I come to work every day, breaking our backs for a company that treats us as disposable — and refuses to offer living wages or adequate health care plans. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We have the power to demand better.
That’s why my co-workers and I are organizing with the Teamsters Union, standing up to our bosses, and demanding Amazon recognize our union.
Management makes false promises, wanting us to believe that if we just work hard enough, we’ll climb the ranks to become a manager or get a raise. But favoritism is rampant, and consistent understaffing makes us physically, mentally and emotionally stressed, leading to burnout.
We won’t let this company continue to exploit us. We’re demanding union recognition and a Teamsters contract because we know that when we stand together, Amazon will be forced to hear our demands.
Management has tried their best to stop us from talking to each other about workplace issues. They say they can only deal with people’s issues one-on-one, because Amazon knows that when we come together as a group, we have the power to actually change things for the better.
We’re showing our co-workers and the company that we can make our workplace safer and healthier as a union. We are fighting for a living wage, a safe workplace that’s free from harassment, and quality health care and benefits. We’re unionizing in order to have a voice and call out Amazon for their mistreatment of workers.
So at 3:00 a.m. one day this fall, my coworkers and I marched into work and demanded recognition for our union.
Amazon wasted no time in launching their union-busting crusade. We aren’t falling for it. They made $30 billion last year while paying us pennies. Amazon is scared of us. They see we have strength in numbers, and we’re not backing down.
Getting Amazon to recognize our union is going to take considerable community support. The day after we demanded recognition, we rallied outside of our facility with our co-workers, fellow union members, and elected officials. As we continue to fight for recognition and a Teamsters contract, we must continue to show that organized labor, officials, and the community stand with us.
We’re taking on this fight not just at one facility, but around the country. I’m proud to be standing with my fellow Amazon Teamsters in San Bernardino, California; Skokie, Illinois; Queens and Staten Island, New York; and Northern Kentucky. As our numbers grow, our power grows. We must set our sights on forcing Amazon to come to the bargaining table and win a strong contract.
This is our moment. Let’s seize it.
OtherWords
Dori Goldberg, an Amazon warehouse worker who says that workers all across the country are uniting to defeat Amazon's union busting crusade. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
New York’s mayor Eric Adams has recently been on a trip to Mexico and parts of South America preaching the urgent message, “Don’t come to New York City!” It’s good that he is making this evangelistic crusade to convert those being fooled in third world countries. New York has become a migrant magnet with over 100,00 migrants housed in hotels or wherever they can find shelter.
This should be a trip for President Joe Biden. He seems totally indifferent to the chaos on America’s border. Chaos that has now taken over some of America’s cities. Mayors and Governors are going to have to lead this parade since we do not have a President who cares enough to do anything about the mass invasion of our country.
Mayor Adams went on to declare, “Don’t count on working in NYC. Don’t plan on being housed in a five-star hotel. Life is going to be much more difficult than what is being falsely communicated on the Internet.”
Has Homeland Security become an oxymoron?
While chaos from the millions of illegal immigrants engulfs America, Congress, of course, cannot get their act together. For the first time in America’s history the Speaker of the House was ousted from his position. Kevin McCarthy was punished for trying to keep the country going for a couple of more weeks. Military personnel, Social Security recipients, government workers and more could go without pay. It is definitely time to make serious spending cuts and decisions but not at the expense of America’s most vulnerable. Some of our leaders in Congress would rather make our nation’s elderly and military members suffer than to come up with a bipartisan plan.
While chaos erupts in Congress, our border and our cities, Fentanyl is killing more in America every day than Russia is killing in Ukraine. Over 106,000 drug related deaths were reported in 2021. The chaotic flow of drugs coming into this country must be stopped. Families are being shattered every day in this nation because of America’s chaos.
While all this is happening, our auto workers, Kaiser health care workers, the Writer’s Guild and most everyone else is demanding more money. If enough people continue to strike for larger pay increases there won’t be enough business left in America to pay anybody anything.
We are in chaos in this country. We must have a change of leadership or Americans will be looking for someplace to go. Or, everybody will be fighting. Then, that will be the end.
While all this craziness is happening, millions of Americans are breaking their necks trying to catch of glimpse of Taylor Swift at a football game.
My boyfriend, aged 32, embodies the quintessential extrovert—gregarious, enamored with nightlife, and perpetually surrounded by a coterie of approximately twenty friends who reside in close proximity and convene incessantly. Initially, I admired his vivacity and character.
