With more than one hundred strikes underway in the U.S., the fall of 2021 has quickly become the season for labor organizing. Now, a German labor union, Verdi, is calling on Amazon
"It is unacceptable that a multinational company that makes huge profits still refuses to give its workers the wage increases that other companies in the sector pay," Orhan Akman, Verdi's representative, said in a statement.
For its part, Amazon claims that it's paying its workers plenty while also providing career opportunities and benefits.
"No-one here earns less than 12 euros ($13.87) gross per hour plus extras," the company said in a statement.
Verdi is demanding that Amazon raise its pay rates to bring them in line with the agreements the union has made with the broader retail and mail-order industries. A specific increase has not been requested.
It's unclear the exact number of Amazon workers that this strike will affect. Amazon is by far the most popular e-commerce site used in Germany, and Germany is the company's second-largest market after the U.S. After the company completes its plans to hire 5,000 more German staff members, it will employ roughly 28,000 people in the country.
This isn't the first time that Verdi has called on Amazon workers to strike. Last year, the union supported a Black Friday strike covering 2,500 Amazon workers in Germany. These strikes have resulted in increased compensation from Amazon, but the company still refuses to recognize the standard set by local collective agreements.
"Under the pressure of the strikes, Amazon has increased wages several times in recent years," Akman said. "Despite this, Amazon still pays its employees less than comparable companies covered by collective agreements."
The walkouts will take place at Amazon sites in Leipzig, Werne, Rheinberg, Koblenz, and Graben, as well as two separate locations in the town of Bad Hersfeld.