But some of the policies have been temporary: Amazon, for example, provided unlimited unpaid leave for workers but only until the end of April. Amazon and Target both raised wages by $2 an hour, expanded sick leave, and increased cleaning at facilities. Companies announced new measures as the number of Covid-19 cases in the US grew, and with it safety concerns. The protesters share many of the same demands, including increased hazard pay, expanded sick-leave policies, and stricter cleaning and social distancing measures to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus in facilities. In press releases and statements, all three companies say they take workers’ safety seriously and have spent millions of dollars to support their workforces during the pandemic. Each company has hundreds of thousands of workers across the country Amazon and Instacart are hiring thousands more, as shutdowns dramatically increased demand. Instacart, too, is valued at billions of dollars. We're all in this struggle as workers who are deemed essential, on the front lines, and we’re struggling against giants.”Īmazon, which owns Whole Foods, and Target, which owns Shipt, are among the nation’s largest retailers. “But at the end of the day, our organizing should be interconnected. “An Amazon warehouse worker has different rights and protections than an Instacart shopper,” says Vanessa Bain, an Instacart worker who helped plan Friday’s strike. It marks the first time workers from all those companies will strike together as one united force with similar demands. Friday’s strike follows individual walk-outs at Amazon warehouses and Whole Foods stores, as well as protests from delivery workers at Instacart and Shipt. But the pandemic, which has placed these workers under a spotlight, has raised the temperature significantly. Worker dissatisfaction at these companies has been simmering for years. Despite being classified as essential workers in a crisis, they say, their companies treat them as disposable. But all of them claim that the companies they work for have denied them basic protections on the job, even as the pandemic poses greater risks to their health and safety. Some of them are classified as independent contractors and others as employees. Some stock shelves in warehouses, and others ring up customers in stores. Some of these workers deliver packages others deliver groceries. On Friday, front-line workers from Amazon, Instacart, Shipt, Target, and Whole Foods have organized to walk out of their jobs together over demands that their companies provide better pay, benefits, and protections.
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