German union launches new strike at Amazon warehouse

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Reuters

Workers at a German warehouse of Amazon.com (AMZN.O) went on strike on Monday as labor union Verdi sought to squeeze the online retailer in the busy pre-Christmas period in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.

Verdi said in a statement it had called out workers to strike at a distribution center in Bad Hersfeld, saying Amazon was increasing order volume and pressure on workers with special offers ahead of Christmas.

Verdi expects up to 450 workers to join the strike on Monday, a spokeswoman said. The union said it would keep up the pressure as long as Amazon did not meet its demands.

Amazon said the vast majority of workers had not walked off the job and were working hard to meet customer expectations. It said its deliveries should not be disrupted as it can draw on a European network of 28 warehouses in seven countries.

FULL story at link.

(Reporting by Emma Thomasson, editing by Louise Heavens)




Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/08/us-amazon-com-germany-idUSKBN0JM13320141208

[mrmpa]

1. Why of why.........

can't this happen here in the USA? Amazon does not even employ those at the warehouse, it's contracted out (that's what I understand). The treatment of these workers is horrendous. Two summers ago during a heat wave, instead of air conditioning being at good levels, ambulances were posted at the entrances to aid employees with heat stroke. Not to mention they make employees stand in line for up to half an hour without pay, to be checked that they haven't stolen anything.

When are we going to wake up?