Strike Friday at Amazon.it

http://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/11/strike-friday-amazon-italy-unions-logistics
Date Written:  2017-11-29
Publisher:  Jacobin
Year Published:  2017
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX21938

Amazon workers at the Castel San Giovanni hub launched their first strike on Black Friday 2017. The facility is Amazon's largest in Italy, where the retail giant employs up to four thousand workers, less than half of whom have a permanent contract.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

The Black Friday strike signals logistics workers' growing anger and increasing organization. The three largest unions called the strike to respond to this anger and to prevent independent unions from expanding their base to the core workforce.

CGIL officials reported that a group of "very young and courageous" workers held the first union meetings at Amazon in 2015, and, indeed, many young workers, both Italian and immigrants, took part in the strike.

The strike still showed many of the movement’s limitations. CGIL, CISL, and UIL called the strike against Amazon and agencies like Adecco, Manpower, and Gi Group, which employ temporary workers for only a few days or weeks. Many workers on short-term and on-demand contracts did not join the strike in fear of losing future gigs. Amazon could also bring in about 2,600 on-demand workers to replace strikers.

But some precarious workers did walk out, arguing that they would probably lose their job but not their dignity.

Subject Headings

• Labour Organizing