Protesters Rally In front of Jeff Bezos' Beverly Hills Mansion; Want Amazon to Raise Salary to $30 Per Hour, Among Others

Labor and environmental protesters gather at Will Rogers Memorial Park on Sunset Boulevard on Sunday, October 4, before they marched towards the mansion of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

Dubbed "The Wrong Amazon is Burning," protesters who went to the rally address labor issues-related to Amazon's COVID-19 response and climate issues. The event was led by a group of current and former Amazon warehouse employees, called The Congress and Essential Workers (TCOEW).

It was spearheaded by Chris Smalls, a former Amazon warehouse staffer who was fired in March after he protested over the company's handling of the pandemic, its lack of PPE, and hazard pay for employees.

According to a statement, TCOEW are demanding Bezos "and the rest of the billionaire class" to lend their share in addressing the climate crisis. TCOEW calls that all Amazon employees to get $30/hour minimum, which they believe is a decent living wage. They also seek for Medicare and childcare as well as the right to form a union without worrying about retaliation.

The protest came after Amazon published a blog post, which revealed that almost 20,000 of its workers in the U.S. have tested positive for coronavirus. The rally also occurred before the annual Prime Day in which various products are offered at lowered prices and discounts.

It is also the company's peak season when warehouse employees have complained with overwhelming workload. "Employees are not going to be treated fairly and going to have mandatory overtime and have no breaks for the next two months into December," an Amazon warehouse worker Jordan Flowers said.

Prime Day protests were also held previously as employees allegedly working between 50 to 60 hours a week with a rest day. This is the reason Flowers urges the public to cancel their Prime memberships or at least to order less on Prime Day week as well as give them time before the hectic peak season.

TCOEW's demands for Amazon

As Bezos makes nearly $4,000 per second and has a net worth of $188 billion dollars, TCOEW released a list of their demands for Amazon, which include the following:

• Raise all employees' salaries to at least $30 per hour, which is a decent living minimum wage. This is almost twice the amount from the current $15.50 minimum wage.
• Provide free healthcare and childcare shouldered by the company
• Give one-hour lunch breaks to full time employees.
• Put Amazon staff who were tested for COVID-19 on paid leave with 100% salary until results are confirmed as well as to return until they test negative.
• Pay employees retroactively for all unpaid time from March until facilities are deemed safe for workers.
• Provide PPE and cleaning supplies at all times.
• Give employees with $2/hour Hazard pay increase or sick time pay amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The company should be honest and transparent about the number of confirmed COVID cases in facilities.
• Reinstate all employees who were terminated for refusing to work or protesting amid the COVID-19 pandemic
• Amazon facilities that have positive cases should be shut down for at least 14 days as well as professionally sanitized while providing 100% percent pay for all affected staff.
• Employees that have lost their lives during the Pandemic Families to receive $200,000 in addition to life insurance policy payments directly from Amazon.
• Give Amazon employees company shares upon employment as well as investments with the company every year
• Remove wage cap and monthly bonuses for productivity or attendance
• Money generated from the Wealth Tax is to be distributed not only to fund Amazon workers but also to help deal with global crises like Climate control, Homelessness, and Pandemics.
• Charge 1-3% Federal Wealth Tax, which will be distributed to fund the urban communities and organizations were employers have invested in.
• Provide employees the right to unionize and sign contracts between the employee and employer that are renewable every year, so demands are can be negotiated and upheld by all parties involved.

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Written by CJ Robles