Workers at an Amazon warehouse in suburban Minneapolis said Monday they’ll hit the online retail and entertainment giant with a brief strike next Monday – its heavily touted “Prime Day” – in a continuing push to improve pay and working conditions for the facility’s heavily East African workforce.
The strike and rally in Shakopee are being organized by the Awood Center, a group that advocates for Somali and other East African workers. Awood, which means “power” in Somali, was formed as a partnership between the Minnesota chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations and Service Employees International Union Local 26. The Prime Day action won’t be the first time the Minnesota workers have banded together to press Amazon for change.
Workers at Amazon’s nonunion facilities in Minnesota began publicly complaining last year about harsh working conditions, increasing workloads, safety and limited advancement opportunities. Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali American from Minneapolis, joined them for a rally in December. But they say management has failed to address their concerns. So they’ve called for a six-hour stoppage that will overlap the morning and evening shifts on Prime Day.
Organizer Guled Mohamad, who said he has worked there for one year and eight months, said wages are still too low and the pressure on workers to produce is still too high. He said they’ve complained about the pace before, but human resources tells them to talk to their managers, who tell them to talk to HR instead.
“We need change … We need something,” Mohamad said.