{"id":2874,"date":"2021-03-19T11:30:35","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T15:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tempestmag.org\/v01_2020\/staging\/?p=2874"},"modified":"2021-03-24T20:25:23","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T00:25:23","slug":"national-amazon-solidarity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/2021\/03\/national-amazon-solidarity\/","title":{"rendered":"National Amazon Solidarity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640px\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OU0N3DIBFvQ\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr class=\"half\">\n<p>Excerpted Solidarity Statement from:<\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/cunyadjunctproject.org\/\">CUNY Adjunct Project<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>Every worker deserves a union!<\/p>\n<p>Workers of the world must unite to support this struggle of the Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama. This is a historic moment! The predominantly Black worker- led BAmazon Union Drive is fighting for a union against one of the largest transnational corporations in the world! The #BAmazon workers are changing the labor movement. Every worker deserves a union. The Adjunct Project stands in solidarity with the #BAmazon workers and their struggle for a union, and their fight against union- busting Amazon, Jeff Bezos, and Morgan &#038; Lewis Law Firm.<\/p>\n<p>Solidarity Forever!<\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/dsasantacruz.org\/\">DSA Santa Cruz<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>DSA Santa Cruz stands in enthusiastic solidarity with the workers at Amazon who are voting to form a Union! We believe that the road to a more equitable and just society can only come through the greater self-organization of the working class and we see the organization of Amazon\u2019s Bessemer facility as an important step in this process. In the interconnected world of contemporary capitalism, the logistics sector&#8211;warehouses, shipping etc&#8211;takes on a key strategic importance and we see the organization of workers in this part of our economy as crucial to building up the power of the working class as a whole. We hope that the efforts of our comrades in Bessemer will be a bellwether for future organizing drives at other Amazon facilities and across the sector more broadly.<\/p>\n<p>Solidarity to the Amazon workers! Your fight is our fight!<\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationaleducatorsunited.org\/\">National Educators United<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>As educators in a female dominated profession, we are inspired by this predominantly Black woman-led union drive. While the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/regions\/southeast\/news-release\/unionmembers_alabama.htm\">unionization rate in Alabama of 8%<\/a> is below the national rate of 10.8%, we know there is a <a href=\"https:\/\/jacobinmag.com\/2021\/03\/amazon-bessemer-mine-mill-union\">rich, but not well known, history of union organizing in Alabama in the coal and iron ore industries<\/a>. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teenvogue.com\/story\/black-activists-shaped-the-labor-movement\">role of Black labor leaders in the civil rights movement in the 50\u2019s and 60\u2019s<\/a> add to the importance of why standing in solidarity with these workers is essential at this time.<\/p>\n<p>Just like there was a connection between labor organizing and the civil rights movement back then, today we see the obvious parallel with the reemergence of the Black Lives Matter movement in the streets after the police murder of George Floyd last year with the fact these Alabama Amazon workers and their <a href=\"https:\/\/bamazonunion.org\">BAmazon Workers Union<\/a> drive are leading arguably the most important union organizing drive in the country right now.<\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/newpol.org\/\">New Politics<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>New Politics stands in solidarity with the Amazon workers trying to unionize in Alabama. In our long history as an independent political magazine we have seen that democracy and social progress have only been achieved when workers organize. This fight is our fight.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rafa-uc.com\/platform\/\">The Rank and File Action caucus of the UC Student-Workers Union (UAW-2865) at the University of California<\/a><br \/>\nWe also recognize the urgent benefits that unionization will have for women workers and workers of color. Amazon reaps enormous profits by exploiting workers, hitting the most disadvantaged workers the hardest. An estimated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2021\/feb\/23\/amazon-bessemer-alabama-union\">85% of the workers at the Bessemer Amazon facility are Black<\/a>, and many Black women workers have lead unionization efforts so far because they feel the effects of workplace exploitation most acutely. Unionizing would give workers higher wages, better protections against COVID-19 and other workplace health and safety issues, more job security, and adequate benefits\u2014a crucial win for all workers, especially those most marginalized.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Poem by <strong>Bruce Jackson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Is it time yet?<br \/>\nWe\u2019ve been apart for so long, I don\u2019t remember what \u201cwe\u201d looks like.<br \/>\nWeren\u2019t we the ones who created a forty hour work week.<br \/>\nDidn\u2019t we create the weekend.<br \/>\nDidn\u2019t we create time off.<br \/>\nIsn\u2019t that our time?<br \/>\nWeren\u2019t we the ones who decided children should be in school.<br \/>\nNot bleeding under a fresh coat of soot drilled loose from a black hole deep in a  coal mine.<br \/>\nNot using their tiny fingers to place that dingus<br \/>\ninto that thingamajig<br \/>\nto make that whatchmacallit<br \/>\nlook more expensive on that thing we don\u2019t need.<br \/>\nDidn\u2019t we re-invent childhood.<br \/>\nThat time for play.<br \/>\nDidn\u2019t we create that time.<br \/>\nDuring that last time we were together.<br \/>\nIsn\u2019t it time we created.<br \/>\nIs it time yet?<br \/>\nIsn\u2019t that what we\u2019re asking for now.<br \/>\nAs Amazon takes and takes leaving our bodies and our dignity broken by waste and greed.<br \/>\nIsn\u2019t it time we\u2019re asking for.<br \/>\nTime to breathe.<br \/>\nTime to rest.<br \/>\nTime to take a moment to make a moment.<br \/>\nTime to see ourselves breathing.<br \/>\nTo see ourselves living,<br \/>\nto see ourselves growing.<br \/>\nLook at us.<br \/>\nDon\u2019t we look beautiful together.<br \/>\nTaking control of our time.<br \/>\nMaking time pass as we\u2019ve shaped it.<br \/>\nShaping our future together.<br \/>\nCreating a new \u201cwe.\u201d and its time.<br \/>\nThis is union.<br \/>\nWe are stronger together.<br \/>\nWe create more beautifully together.<br \/>\nThis is our time.<br \/>\nWe will create together.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watch the <strong>Tempest Collective<\/strong> forum \u201cNational Amazon Solidarity\u201d to build support both for the RWDSU organizing campaign in Bessemer, Alabama.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2889,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[72,162,52,51,53,66],"class_list":["post-2874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-event","tag-labor-movement","tag-solidarity","tag-union-organizing","tag-unions","tag-workers-rights","tag-workplace-organizing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/amazon-solidarity.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}