As the pandemic swept through the nation and left millions of Americans dealing with its financial repercussions, the richest 1% were not a part of those left suffering. The founder of Amazon, who reached a personal net worth of over 200 billion dollars during quarantine, was among them. Jeff Bezos oversaw his company reach a worth of 1 trillion dollars, sharply contrasting the fates of those at the opposite end of the labor hierarchy. Amazon’s workers protested this injustice by launching their international campaign “Make Amazon Pay”.
The campaign details the exploitation endured by Amazon’s employees both in America and internationally, especially in the wake of Covid-19. Even with almost twenty thousand confirmed cases among Amazon workers, the corporation has yet to provide them with the financial support and the freedom to put their lives first. In addition to the health hazard, “Make Amazon Pay” focuses on Amazon’s wage crisis and how laborers do not receive fair wages. Workers overseas, like those in Bangladesh for example, haven’t even received their paychecks for the work they completed over quarantine. #MakeAmazonPay continues to shed light on the corrupt structure of the conglomeration, and hopefully marks the beginning of its journey to righting its wrongs.
Sources:
Written by: Sara Yi