On the Clock is Motherboard's reporting on the organized labor movement, gig work, automation, and the future of work.
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ALU organizers told Motherboard that the union has been receiving daily messages from Amazon workers on social media asking for help, in some cases these workers who’ve formed groups using the name “Amazon Labor Union,” although they have not formally affiliated with ALU, according to ALU organizers. Such ALU groups have formed on social media, claiming to represent Amazon workers in Ohio and New Mexico. “Essentially every day since we won, we’ve received email and direct messages on every social media platform from workers who say ‘hey, I want to organize my building,” said Connor Spence, the director of organizing at ALU in Staten Island. “We’re compiling a spreadsheet of all these workers. At certain warehouses multiple workers contact us and they don’t know each other.”Do you have a tip to share with us about Amazon? Please get in touch with Lauren Gurley, the reporter, via email lauren.gurley@vice.com or securely, on Signal 201-897-2109.
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“What would really fix a lot of the problems at Amazon is having an official worker-led governing body that is looking out for workers and their well-being. It has to be employee-led,” said Platt, the organizer at CAUSE. “It can’t be something Amazon does to try to be ‘the best employer on earth.’ They want to keep us happy with the little we have compared to what we deserve. We want to build our own table and Amazon can come to us.”