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black friday
Black Friday Actions in 30+ Countries Aim to 'Make Amazon Pay'
"When we announced our intention to protest today, our management attempted to stop us in multiple ways. We want to say to Amazon—you could not stop us today, you cannot stop us in the future," said one union leader.
Nov 29, 2024
Amazon workers and their allies are participating in a series of global actions aimed at holding the online retailer "accountable for labor abuses, environmental degradation, and threats to democracy," according to the labor group UNI Global Union.
Dubbed "Make Amazon Pay," the campaign is set to last from November 29 to December 2 and will include strikes and protests across six continents, according to the group—and is timed to disrupt Black Friday (or "Make Amazon Pay Day") and Cyber Monday, two of the busiest online shopping days of the year.
"When we announced our intention to protest today, our management attempted to stop us in multiple ways. We want to say to Amazon—you could not stop us today, you cannot stop us in the future," said the general secretary of the Amazon India Workers Union during a demonstration held in India on Friday.
Make Amazon Pay Day was launched in 2020 by UNI Global Union and the left-leaning movement group Progressive International. It has expanded each subsequent year, say organizers, and today the coalition behind Make Amazon Pay Day brings together a wide range of groups, including climate, racial, and economic justice organizations.
According to Progressive International, actions taking place as part of the campaign include but are not limited to: strikes at multiple warehouses in Germany; direct actions in French towns and cities led by the justice group Attac; a rally in India by Amazon workers over unsafe working conditions; and a protest by trade unionists at an Amazon call center. All told, actions are supposed to take place in over 30 countries.
"This fight is global. Every picket, every strike, every action of solidarity matters. Another world is possible, and we are building that world one strike, one conversation at a time. Together, we are unstoppable," said Christy Hoffman, UNI Global Union's general secretary, on Friday while speaking to striking workers in Germany.
The campaign alleges that Amazon "squeezes" workers, communities, and the planet. For example, "while tripling profits in early 2024, Amazon surveils and pressures drivers and warehouse workers at the risk of severe physical and mental harm," according to campaign materials.
Responding to the campaign, an Amazon U.S. spokesperson told Newsweek: "The fact is at Amazon we provide great pay, great benefits, and great opportunities—all from day one. We've created more than 1.5 million jobs around the world, and counting, and we provide a modern, safe, and engaging workplace whether you work in an office or at one of our operations buildings."
Online, progressive political figures lent their support to the effort.
"Today, I stand with Amazon workers in over 30 countries around the world striking and protesting to #MakeAmazonPay," wrote Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the British Labour Party.
"While billionaire Bezos tours the world on his $500m yacht, Amazon workers in 20+ countries are rising up this Black Friday to demand fair wages, union rights, and climate action. Amazon must pay its fair share and respect workers. I stand with #MakeAmazonPay," chimed in U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on X.
Following the inaugural Make Amazon Pay campaign in 2020, hundreds of lawmakers from dozens of countries endorsed the effort with an open letter to Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.
"The world knows that Amazon can afford to pay its workers, its environmental cost, and its taxes. And yet—time and again—you have dodged and dismissed your debts to workers, societies, and the planet," the letter alleged. U.S. signatories included Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
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Beware Black Friday: Consumerism, Worker Exploitation, and Environmental Harm
From start to stop, the shopping stampede known as Black Friday exposes the deep failures of our economic system.
Nov 28, 2024
Black Friday, once just a day to kick off holiday shopping, has evolved into a global phenomenon of massive sales, frenzied spending, and record-breaking profits for corporations. But beneath the allure of door-buster deals lies a complex web of wealth inequality, labor exploitation, and environmental damage. This annual shopping spree is more than a rush for discounts—it reflects systemic issues in our economy and society.
The Pressure to Buy More
Retailers carefully orchestrate Black Friday sales to create a sense of urgency. Promotions like “limited-time offers” or “flash sales” are designed to trigger FOMO (fear of missing out), leading consumers to purchase items they often don’t need. According to a 2022 survey by the National Retail Federation, Americans spent over $9.12 billion online on Black Friday, a 2.3% increase from the previous year. Despite rising living costs, this cycle of compulsive consumption continues, fueled by psychological manipulation and relentless marketing.
This system benefits large corporations disproportionately. For instance, Amazon’s Black Friday sales accounted for 17% of total U.S. online shopping in 2022, reinforcing its dominance in retail. However, while corporations and shareholders celebrate record profits, consumers often feel trapped in debt. Total U.S. consumer credit card debt exceeded $1 trillion in 2023, a stark reminder of the financial strain induced by events like Black Friday.
The Hidden Cost of Low-Wage Workers
The people enabling these shopping extravaganzas—warehouse employees, retail workers, and delivery drivers—often face the most significant exploitation. Many of these jobs are low-wage, part-time, and seasonal, offering little stability.
• In Amazon warehouses, workers are pushed to their limits, with fulfillment centers reporting injury rates nearly twice the industry average.
On Black Friday, the situation worsens. Retail employees are forced to work long hours, often on Thanksgiving, sacrificing time with family. Meanwhile, the CEOs of major retailers see their earnings skyrocket.
For example, in 2022, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon earned $25.7 million, while the company’s median worker pay was just $27,136—a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 933:1.
This stark disparity highlights a broader trend: while worker productivity has increased by 61.8% since 1979, wages have grown by only 17.5%, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Black Friday encapsulates this imbalance, as the wealthiest continue profiting from the labor and spending of those struggling to make ends meet.
The Big Winners: Corporations and Shareholders
Major corporations like Walmart, Amazon, and Target dominate Black Friday, consolidating their power over the retail market. In 2023 alone, Amazon’s global Black Friday sales surpassed $10 billion, bolstering the wealth of its largest shareholders, including founder Jeff Bezos.
• Bezos’s net worth grew by $14 billion during the 2023 holiday season, underscoring the widening wealth gap.
• Meanwhile, the bottom 50% of U.S. households control just 1% of the nation’s wealth, according to the Federal Reserve’s 2023 data.
Black Friday serves as a microcosm of this inequality. Consumers spend billions to fuel corporate profits, while low-wage workers and underpaid suppliers see little to no benefit.
Environmental Impact: The Cost of Overproduction
Black Friday’s environmental consequences are staggering. The demand for fast, cheap goods drives overproduction, resulting in waste, pollution, and resource depletion. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, over 12 million tons of furniture and clothing are discarded annually in the U.S., much purchased during sales events like Black Friday.
The transportation of goods contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. For instance, in 2022, global shipping for Black Friday orders generated an estimated 6 million tons of CO₂, equivalent to the annual emissions of 1.2 million cars.
The problem is compounded by the “planned obsolescence” of many products, particularly electronics. Items like smartphones and TVs are replaced frequently due to new models and sales, leading to an e-waste crisis. The Global E-Waste Monitor reported that 57.4 million metric tons of electronic waste were discarded worldwide in 2021, with less than 20% adequately recycled.
Rethinking Black Friday
Black Friday exposes the cracks in our economic system: unchecked consumerism, wealth concentration, labor exploitation, and environmental degradation. Addressing these issues requires systemic change and individual action.
1. Buy Less, Buy Better: Support local businesses, invest in quality over quantity, and resist the pressure to buy unnecessary items. Adopting sustainable shopping habits can reduce waste and promote ethical consumption.
2. Advocate for Workers: Push for higher wages and better working conditions. Organizations like the Fight for $15 campaign continue to call for a living wage for retail and service workers.
3. Support Environmental Initiatives: Consider the environmental impact of your purchases. Look for brands prioritizing sustainable materials and ethical labor practices.
Black Friday should no longer be a day of exploitation and excess. Instead, let’s reimagine it as an opportunity to reflect on our values and work toward a fairer, more sustainable future where people and the planet take precedence over profits.
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#BlackOutBlackFriday Protests Connect Ferguson with Consumer Boycott
'We demand an immediate end to the brutal treatment and inhumane killings of our loved ones; the lives of our friends, our parents and our children have value and should be treated with respect.'
Nov 28, 2014
Marking a convergence of public anger and dissent on the annual shopping bonanza of "Black Friday," people drawing the connection between American consumer culture, economic disparity, and racial injustice are targeting retail stores and malls Friday to voice ongoing critiques of the events and underlying issues in Ferguson, Missouri now galvanizing outrage across the country.
Organized by Blackout for Human Rights-- "a network of concerned artists, activists, and citizens" co-founded by Ryan Coogler, award-winning director of the film Fruitvale Station, which explores the 2008 police killing of Oscar Grant in Oakland-- the campaign called for a nationwide shopping boycott on the day after Thanksgiving to oppose the "staggering level of human rights violations against fellow Americans" by law enforcement officers too rarely held accountable. In a statement on the need for Friday's protests, the group explained:
We have witnessed enough. An affront to any citizen's human rights threatens the liberty of all. So, we participate in one of the most time honored American traditions: dissent. We demand an immediate end to the brutal treatment and inhumane killings of our loved ones; the lives of our friends, our parents and our children have value and should be treated with respect. Our right to life is secured not only by our humanity, but is protected by law both federally and internationally by the Constitution of the United States of America and the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Under the hashtag #BlackOutBlackFriday, organizers and participants in the St. Louis area and nationwide expressed the need to connect the dots between consumerism, institutionalized racism, and inequality:
And The Guardianreports:
Beginning on Thanksgiving night, dozens of activists turned up at major retailers around the St Louis area with protest signs. They chanted "Hands up, don't shoot!" as shoppers whizzed past in search of heavily-discounted TVs and vacuums.
The demonstrations, staged at an area Target and multiple Walmart stores, were brief and peaceful. As of mid-morning, there had been no reports of arrests related to the protests. In at least one instance, protesters were ordered by police to leave, and they did so peacefully, Reuters reported. More protests were expected throughout the day on Friday.
Th boycott was an extension of the Black Lives Matter campaign, meant to empower black voices by demonstrating their purchasing power.
As part of the campaign, organizers released several videos. The first, titled 'The Time Has Come,' was used to promote Friday's boycott and articulates the need for a serious engagement with the issue of police brutality and race:
#BlackoutBlackFriday: The Time Has Come'#BlackoutBlackFriday: The Time Has Come' is our latest video that we've produced to raise awareness about Blackout Black ...
And another, titled 'Most Wonderful Time of the Year,' depicts graphic video footage of police violence in recent years which has helped expose the trend of violence that has too frequently, thoughout U.S. history, gone undocumented :
#BlackoutBlackFriday: The Most Wonderful Time of The Year'Most Wonderful Time of the Year' is directed by Shaka King and edited by Kristan Sprague. Blackout for Human Rights (Blackout) ...
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