Friday, November 26th, 2021
Protest against “Black Friday”
Activists block Amazon shipping centers
Activists around the world are using the bargain day “Black Friday” as an opportunity to draw attention to “wasteful consumption”: In doing so, they are blocking several shipping centers of the mega-corporation Amazon. In Germany, too, activists take to the streets to set an example.
In protest against the US online retailer Amazon, activists called for demonstrations around the world on Black Friday. In Germany, too, several locations of the US group were targeted by the demonstrators. At Amazon in Bad Hersfeld, for example, several environmental activists blocked the access road to the Amazon logistics center from the early hours of the morning. According to the organization, two Extinction Rebellion activists were hanging themselves in bamboo scaffolding. The police and fire brigade tried to evacuate them. Protests also broke out in the shipping centers in Rheinberg and Koblenz, according to the Verdi union.
In addition, several Amazon employees went to work. More than 400 employees have been on strike at the Leipzig site since midnight. As Verdi announced, the work freeze should last up to and including Saturday evening. The central goal is the recognition of the collective agreements of the retail and mail order business by Amazon as well as the conclusion of a collective agreement for good and healthy work. Extinction Rebellion activists are said to be among the protesters.
Worldwide protests
In the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, France, India and Bangladesh, according to the Verdi union, several workers also took part in the protest against the online retailer under the motto “Make Amazon Pay”.
Extinction Rebellion activists also blocked a number of the company’s shipping centers in the UK. Several dozen members of the environmental protection organization protested in front of the largest warehouse in the country in Dunfermline, Scotland, and several other buildings in England. Together, according to Extinction Rebellion, the centers are responsible for around half of deliveries in the UK. According to the group, it was a coordinated global protest against the bargain day “Black Friday”, when Amazon and other retailers invite to a discount battle.
The protest served to denounce the “exploitative and environmentally harmful business practices of one of the world’s largest corporations,” declared the Extinction Rebellion group. The activists came together to raise awareness of the “wasteful consumption” caused by “Black Friday”. They tried to prevent delivery vehicles from driving away and held banners and signs in their hands accusing Amazon of profiting from the corona pandemic and evading taxes.
When asked, Amazon itself stated that the company was taking its responsibility “very seriously”, including the obligation to be CO2-neutral by 2040. In addition, Amazon offers “excellent wages and benefits in a safe and modern work environment”. The company does not expect the campaigns to have any impact on customers.