Amazon.com, Inc. is one of the largest businesses in the world, created by billionaire Jeff Bezos. The company is known for its innovative approach to retail stores, which gave it an outstanding competitive advantage. However, internal issues may eventually prevent the firm from growing if left unattended. Amazon workers have been trying to unionize for a long time with no success. The company does everything in its power to prevent its employees from achieving this goal, which puts it into a state of crisis. This paper will analyze the ongoing struggles of Amazon workers in their pursuit of union rights.
Currently, Amazon is experiencing a period of internal division, which calls for the assessment of factors that fuel this crisis. While the company may be against workers’ unions, other stakeholders are involved in this situation. According to internal polls, forty percent of Amazon employees are willing to join an alliance that would protect their rights (Shalvey, 2021, para. 15). Without fulfilling their wishes; the situation can be deemed as a breach of workers’ rights.
The company must solve a dilemma: continue to lose its reputation or allow people to demand better job conditions. The voices of its workers are lost in a slew of indirect threats toward union organizers and participants (Matsakis, 2022, para. 13). Managerial practices appear to be misaligned, as the required level of communication is not present. The push towards recognizing the worker’s rights must be supported to succeed. Arguably, this crisis stems from inefficient governmental policies that allow Amazon to spend millions of dollars in efforts to thwart unionizing efforts (Matsakis, 2022, para. 5). While President Biden does support this campaign, he took a careful approach to comment on the situation (Williams, 2021, para. 13). External factors are not the only meaningful force that must assist with the formation of unions. This support is also lacking from Amazon itself, as union elections are being sabotaged, and employees see anti-union propaganda at work (Matsakis, 2022, para. 6). As of now, constant delays in voting processes and legal objections cause workers to lose hope in achieving the intended goal.
The resolution of this issue is apparent: the company must support its workers’ union to its best ability. Instead of the current stream of sabotages, the company must respect its employees’ opinions and wishes. Their demands are clear: humane working conditions, job security, paid sick leaves, and similar necessities (Williams, 2021, para. 8). By listening to the newly formed union, Amazon can significantly improve its diversity and inclusion by adhering to practices that are promoted by its workers. Only through mutual understanding will it be possible for Amazon to exit the current crisis as painlessly as possible. In order to resolve this crisis, past and current Amazon employees have created the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), which is rapidly gaining momentum within the organization (Palmer, 2022, para. 4). The firm must show its support to prevent further deterioration of its organizational culture.
In conclusion, if Amazon.com, Inc. continues to struggle against any external influence on its practices, its reputation and social standing may be severely harmed. Its current direction is harmful to workers’ interests and increases inequality in society as a whole due to the company’s sheer size. Despite the active attempts to thwart unionization efforts, Amazon’s workers can achieve their intended goal. In that case, the company will finally be forced to adhere to its employees’ concerns over issues with the work environment and their treatment.
References
Matsakis, L. (2022). Can Amazon stop a union?. Web.
Palmer, A. (2022). Amazon labor battle continues as union vote kicks off at second Staten Island warehouse.
Shalvey, K. (2021). Amazon reportedly posted anti-union messages in bathroom stalls in the run-up to Alabama’s unionization vote. Web.
Williams, A. (2021). Bernie Sanders rips into Jeff Bezos: ‘You are worth $182 billion… why are you doing everything in your power to stop your workers’ from unionizing?.