Tag Archives: e-commerce

In the span of a month this summer, four Amazon warehouse workers have died in separate incidents. While the details of each death are still forthcoming, the fatalities shine an even stronger spotlight on a common complaint about Amazon: that it requires a brutal pace of work and puts employees at risk of injury and …

Amazon’s shareholders have rejected a nonbinding proposal that called on the company to abandon warehouse productivity practices blamed for high injury rates, even as the company faces a growing unionization push. Also rejected at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday: another proposal calling for an independent audit of working conditions at the company’s warehouses. Brought by Amazon warehouse worker …

Amazon sued a Hong Kong-based company it accuses of connecting third-party retailers to customers willing to write positive reviews for discounts, the company said Friday, part of its effort to crackdown on fraud that plagues the giant e-tailer. In two separate lawsuits, Amazon asks courts to close the operations of the company, called Extreme Rebate, the company said. It also …

Amazon must reinstate a worker it fired two years ago after a protest against the company’s working conditions at a Staten Island, New York, fulfillment center, a judge ruled Monday. Gerald Bryson, a former warehouse employee, is also owed back pay, Benjamin W. Green, an administrative law judge, determined. The judge agreed with a National Labor Relations Board finding that …

Amazon is hiring a law firm to review how the company’s policies affect racial equity in its hourly workforce, the company said in a statement to shareholders Thursday. The audit will be led by former US Attorney General Loretta Lynch and will become public once it’s completed.  “The focus of the audit will be to evaluate any disparate racial impacts …

In response to rising costs, Amazon will increase a fee charged to third-party merchants who use its Fulfillment By Amazon services by 5% to cover fuel and inflation. The surcharge, a first for the e-commerce giant, will go into effect on April 28. According to a notice to sellers, the increased fee will apply to all product types, including “non-apparel, …

Thousands of Etsy sellers are criticizing the company for increasing fees that they must pay with each sale. The increase from 5% to 6.5% of sales started Monday, which prompted Etsy seller Kristi Cassidy to call for sellers to close their online stores and customers to stop buying on the platform for one week.  More than 15,000 people have signed …

After a major win last week for unionization at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, the Amazon Labor Union received moral support from US President Joe Biden on Wednesday.  Biden spoke at the North America’s Building Trades Unions Legislative Conference and gave a nod to the union victory at Amazon.  “And by the way, by the way, Amazon, here we …

What’s happening Two Amazon union elections defied expectations last week, part of increased labor activity across the US. Why it matters The labor organization comes as companies face a difficult recruiting environment because of the Great Resignation, the wave of workers leaving jobs as a result of the pandemic. What’s next Another election in Staten Island, New York will decide …

In a first for the Amazon’s US facilities, warehouse workers in Staten Island, New York, have voted in favor of joining a union. The union’s win, if certified by the federal labor board, adds momentum to an organizing movement that’s been gaining steam around the country. The tally of 2,654 yes votes to 2,131 no votes came after six days …