From sweatshop warehouses to South Lake Union: Amazon workers speak out.

Amazon’s shiny new campus in South Lake Union shows off the success of the multi-billion dollar corporation. But what happens when customers click through the Amazon website and order something? That’s when thousands of warehouse workers get to work moving products — in conditions a lot less glitzy than you see in South Lake Union. On Thursday, May 10, starting at 12 noon sharp at 410 Terry Ave N, come join us to hear from workers who flew out to Seattle to bring their stories straight to the company’s South Lake Union headquarters.

These workers have stories to tell. Their warehouse is the one that was exposed by investigative journalists for brutal working conditions — including temperatures that soared past 100 degrees in the summer, turning the warehouse into a literal sweatshop. Amazon’s initial response to the problem was to station paramedics outside the warehouse to handle cases of heat stroke.

It wasn’t until the story got out and public pressure mounted that the company put in air conditioning. That’s why we need you to show up. Public pressure on Amazon works and we need to keep it up.

Join us Thursday, May 10 right on the Amazon campus as we hear from the Pennsylvania workers who get the products moving from the computer screen to our front door. Let’s stand with the warehouse workers and tell Amazon to treat all its employees with respect, dignity and decency.

Warehouse workers from Allentown to rally for good jobs at Amazon's corporate headquarters in Seattle

Send-off party for Allentown workers headed to Seattle to bring call for good jobs straight to Amazon executives  THIS TUESDAY, workers from Amazon's notorious Allentown warehouse are flying to Seattle to lead a rally at the company's glitzy new headquarters. In Seattle they will bring their message from Amazon's sweatshop warehouses to the company's air-conditioned executive suites: it's time for the giant retailer to deliver good jobs to the 99%.

Community supporters in Pennsylvania are hosting a send-off party to show support for one of these workers to wish her well as she gets ready to take her good jobs message to Amazon's corporate headquarters in Seattle.

When: Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 1:00 pm

Where: Lehigh Valley International Airport, 3311 Airport Road, Allentown

What/Visuals: Send-off party for Karen Salasky, a worker from Amazon's notorious Allentown warehouse. Karen is flying out to Seattle to help lead a rally at the company's corporate headquarters in Seattle, where she will speak out about working conditions at the Allentown warehouse and present a giant copy of a "Warehouse Workers Bill of Rights".

Amazon's Allentown warehouse became notorious last year for brutal working conditions after a landmark article in the Morning Call. When workers collapsed from exhaustion as indoor temperatures rose above 100 degrees and the warehouse became a literal sweatshop, the company's initial response was not to increase ventilation or install air conditioning, but simply to station paramedics outside.

Karen Salasky of Allentown was at the warehouse and saw these conditions — and that's why she's headed to Seattle.

“I’m going to Amazon’s Seattle headquarters," Karen explained, "to tell Amazon the way they treat their warehouse employees isn’t right.”

In Seattle, Karen will take her call for good jobs directly to Amazon's executives, employees, and hometown community. Along with a second former warehouse worker from Allentown, she'll join more than a hundred community supporters in Seattle at Amazon's corporate headquarters. Together, they'll call on the giant retailer to share its success with the workers who get the goods moving from customers' virtual shopping carts to their real-world doorsteps.

If Amazon can generate enough wealth to make CEO Jeff Bezos one of the 30 richest people in the world, they can afford to create good jobs in Allentown, not abandon workers to sweatshop conditions.

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Contact: Sage Wilson, 206-227-6014, sage@workingwa.org

Hundreds unite for good jobs at our airport.

by Nate Jackson Hundreds of airport workers, their families and community members came out on a sunny Saturday to say one simple thing: let's make every airport job a good job.

We gathered at the flag pavilion where we set up a stage flanked by large standing flags of over twenty nations representing the diverse cultural backgrounds of the airport workers.

One worker, a yellow cab taxi driver named Gurminder Kahlon, took to the stage and greeted the large cheering crowd with a traditional Indian greeting "Namaskar," which roughly translates to "not just me."

"I'm from India," he said. "But this isn't about what country we’re from. It's about how we are all in this together."

Kahlon is a taxi driver whose route includes the airport. A large contingent of taxi drivers gave a loud shout as he continued.

"We taxi drivers see it everyday," he said. "We see the injustice of the airport towards the workers and we stand with you!"

The crowd was a rainbow of nationalities, ethnicities, cultures and ages. The crowd was young and old, black and white all standing together for one solid idea—justice. It was beautiful.

Rahwa Habte from One America surrounded by youth volunteers took the stage and started her speech with loud tongue flickering whoops.

"This is how we celebrate from Eritrea where I'm from," she said. "I want to hear your cultural shouts too on the count of three let your voices be heard!"

At the count of three, cries, shouts, clapping and hollers rang out from every person in the crowd. it was a cheerful cacophony, but nothing was louder than the feeling of jubilation and unity.

That was the feeling that permeated the entire event. Everyone felt together and joined in solidarity with the airport workers who were fighting to make every airport job a good job.

There were staff and members from SeaTac city council, Seattle city council, the Seattle mayor's office and both senator's offices as well. Congressman Adam Smith spoke to the crowd from the stage about his own familial roots with labor. His father was a ramp worker who was able to support his family.

"We need middle class jobs," he said. "And middle class jobs come with strong unions, fired up workers and a strong community."

We couldn't agree more. We came to the grassy area south of the flag pavillon to stand with workers and show solidarity; but it wasn't just to pat each other on the back. We wanted to take the message to the street--so we did.

The taxi drivers lead the procession in their taxi cabs like a people's version of a presidential motorcade. We spilled out onto International Boulevard and started down the street waving flags, chanting and dancing to the various drums scattered throughout the crowd.

We made our way down International Boulevard brandishing our international flags towards Angle Lake Park.

When we arrived there were homemade samosas made by the taxi drivers, soda, chips and other various food as we ended our march and started the after party. Music blared, dancing sprung up and groups of workers and their families spread out to enjoy the park while workers and community members mingled around the refreshments.

News media was in attendance and started interviewing workers while the rest of us kept up our celebration.

It was empowering and the workers felt the community support. They now know that the community will stand with them as they continue their struggle for fair treatment at our airport.

It is our airport and every job should be a good job.

What about Amazon's ALEC risk? The question not asked on today's quarterly earnings call.

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** CONTACT: Sage Wilson, sage@workingwa.org

What about Amazon's ALEC risk? The question not asked on today's quarterly earnings call.

Swirling controversy around Amazon's involvement with ALEC threatens retailers' reputation

As Amazon announced better-than-expected quarterly earnings, one key question about Amazon's future outlook went un-asked on their quarterly earnings call:

What about the reputational risk presented by the swirling controversy around Amazon's involvement with ALEC?

Amazon has been the subject of increasing controversy over its ties to ALEC, the shadowy & extreme right-wing policy organization. ALEC itself has come under increased public scrutiny in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting, due to ALEC's role in spreading Stand Your Ground legislation, along with other policies that would reduce worker protections, expand tax loopholes, gut environmental protections, and make it harder for young people & people of color to vote.

Amazon is known to have been a "Director Level" supporter of ALEC's 2011 Annual Meeting. Under intense public pressure, growing numbers of big companies — from Kraft to McDonald's to Coca-Cola — have announced they are severing ties to ALEC. However, despite thousands and thousands of petition signatures and growing pressure being mounted at the local and national level by groups ranging from Color of Change to Working Washington, Amazon has so far failed to renounce its ties to ALEC.

It is clear that Amazon's continued relationship with ALEC presents considerable risks to Amazon's public reputation and could threaten to impact future sales — and the public controversy and demands for accountability are only growing in volume and intensity.

More information:

* Details of Amazon & ALEC's relationship: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Amazon

* "Amazon end your support of ALEC" petition: http://action.workingwa.org/page/signup/amazonoutofalec

Working Washington is bringing people together to fight for a fair economy — and that means holding corporations like Amazon accountable to pay their fair share and make sure all the jobs they create are good jobs. It's time to stop the cuts to education, health care, and other services so we can build an economy that works for everyone, not just the top 1%. For more information, visit WorkingWa.org

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Stand up for good jobs at our airport!

The word is getting out. TV news stories, petitions, billboards and more are all spreading the word about the poverty wage jobs at our airport. Now it’s time for the next step, a major rally where airport workers and community members will come together to stand up for good jobs at our airport. Be a part of it this Saturday, April 28^th starting at NOON 12 pm. Meet at the Flag Pavillon at the Sea-Tac Airport across from the Radisson Hotel.

Thousands of people get paid only poverty wages for work they do at our airport. These are the workers who move the bags, help passengers with disabilities get to their destinations, clean the cabins between flights, and fuel the planes. These are people who help make our airport work.

Lots of the folks who work at our airport are immigrants and refugees. They came to Seattle from all over the world for a better life for their families. They deserve our support as they fight for basic rights, decent pay and workplace respect.

The good news is that together we can help support their efforts to change their situation for the better.

On Saturday, April 28^th NOON, join airport workers, their families and community groups for a rally, march and celebration at the flag pavilion, right across from the Radisson Hotel, in SeaTac.

Let’s make all airport jobs good jobs.

Corporate tax dodgers put on notice by the 99%

by Nate Jackson On Tax Day the 99% took to the streets to show big corporate tax dodgers extraordinaires like Amazon and Wells Fargo that they were on notice.  Thousands of people across the country participated as workers, concerned citizens and community groups came together to address some of the fundamental problems facing all of us, big corporations not paying their fair share.

There were protests in Spokane and Yakima who went after some of our representatives who have seemed to forget that the representatives work for us, not corporations.

Here in Seattle we had some pie.

Hundreds marched from Westlake Park first to Wells Fargo, the foreclosure specialists, to tell the big bank that it needs to pay their fair share.  The 99% erected huge foreclosure tape banners around the Wells Fargo building and held a live auction of some of the big banks assets.

The auction took facts from the giant bank and put them up for sale, facts like the ridiculously high compensation of Wells Fargo CEO Stumpf.

“Can I get $5 Million, 5, 5, 6 come on whose got 7?” A fast talking Angela O’Brien barked into the microphone auctioneer style.

Folks held up their hands yelling out amounts that kept creeping up and up: $5 million, $7 Million, $12 Million.

“Sold! For $19.8 Million!” She said pointing out to the surprised crowd.

The CEO of Wells “Foreclosing” Fargo made $19.8 Million in total compensation in 2011.

Another speaker took the microphone. Maribel Peralez, speaking in front of the “Seattle Tulip” sculpture outside of the Wells Fargo building, addressed the crowd.

“So these big banks get away with dodging taxes,” she said. “How do they get away with it? One word: lobbyists.”

Wells Fargo paid more money into the hands of corporate lobbyists than they did in Federal taxes in 2010.

“Shame on you Wells Fargo,” Peralez said. “We need that money to fund essential services like health care and education.”

If big corporations and the 1% would pay their fair share we wouldn’t be in the situation we are right now with billions in budget cuts, slashing of social services and layoffs of public employees who teach our children and watch over our homes while we sleep.

It’s a shame that our big corporations would rather invest in lobbyist and take advantage of loopholes than pay their fair share and give back to our communities.

Wells Fargo wasn’t the only corporation that we wanted to bring our message to. We also had our eyes set on a home grown big corporation, Amazon.

We headed over to Denny Park where we set up a pie eating contest to show Amazon, another tax deadbeat, what a fair share actually looks like.

The players were Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Amazon, Wells Fargo CEO Stumpf and Mr. 1% himself Mitt Romney. It was a close battle as the 1% tried to hog all the pie for themselves, but in the end Bezos took the crown by a mouthful.

We marched over to the Amazon campus along Westlake Avenue as evening commuters looked on. Amazon in 2010 paid an effective federal tax rate of only 5.5% using the most asinine of loopholes that rewarded them for giving stock bonuses to millionaire executives. Seriously.

When we reached the Amazon campus we gathered between two large Amazon towers in a “privately owned public space.” There Pastor Gurming Elca of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America took the microphone and pointed up at the glittering buildings.

He called out for the giant online retailer to pay their fair share and treat all their workers with respect. He told the retailer that it needs to do better by the community that made it so successful in the first place.

The big corporations and the 1% are on notice. We will no longer tolerate them not paying their fair share or treating the 99%, the folks who actually created all the wealth, so poorly anymore. We are waking up. We are rested and we’re ready to go.

Amazon corporate campus to be "occu-pied" by more than a hundred protestors — in chef hats.

***MEDIA ADVISORY*** FOR APRIL 17, 2012 CONTACT: Sage Wilson, sage@workingwa.org

Tax day protesters demand: "Fair's fair. Pay your share."

On Tax Day, more than a hundred workers, students, people of faith, and community leaders will converge in South Lake Union to "occu-pie" Amazon and call on the company to pay their fair share of taxes. With a pie-eating contest and then a march to the company's headquarters campus, we are going to show the giant retailer what a fair share looks like. (Hint: it's more than the 5.5% effective Federal income tax rate they paid.)

A delegation of faith & community leaders will also attempt to deliver a letter to Amazon executives calling on the company to provide a fair deal to communities and workers.

When: Tax Day — Tuesday, April 17th — at 5 pm. March to "occu-pie" Amazon begins at 5:30.

Where: Rally and pie-eating contest in southwest corner of Denny Park (100 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109). Fair share march will head to Amazon office building at 410 Terry Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109 (between Harrison & Republican)

What: March to "occu-pie" Amazon's corporate campus by more than a hundred protesters wearing chef hats and carrying pie. This will follow a pie-eating contest to show Amazon what a fair share looks like.

Amazon will be "occu-pied" on Tax Day because the giant online retailer is a major corporate tax-dodger. They pay an effective Federal income tax rate of only 5.5% — far less than the 35% corporate tax rate set in law. This is on top of their well-known aggressive efforts to avoid paying sales taxes in jurisdictions across the country.

The people's action to "occu-pie" Amazon is part of a series of Fair Share Tax Day events across the country where people are rallying at corporate headquarters, banks, and post offices across the country to demand that big corporations and the rich stop gaming the system and start paying what they owe — just like the rest of us do. If companies like Amazon — and CEOs like Amazon's Jeff Bezos — would pay their fair share, we'd have the resources we need to stop cutting public services and start creating jobs by investing in the future of our communities.

More Information

* Corporate tax dodgers report from Citizens for Tax Justice:

http://ctj.org/ctjreports/2011/11/corporate_taxpayers_corporate_tax_dodgers_2008-2010.php

Working Washington is bringing people together to fight for a fair economy — and that means holding corporations like Amazon.com accountable to pay their fair share and make sure all the jobs they create are good jobs. We're taking creative, direct action to call on elected officials, big corporations, and the top 1% to do what it takes to stop the cuts to education, health care, and other services. It's time to build an economy that works for everyone, not just the top 1%. For more information, visit WorkingWa.org

One loophole down, many more to go.

by Nathan Jackson After years of public pressure state lawmakers finally closed one of the most egregious loopholes in our state budget: a lucrative giveaway for out of state big banks worth tens of millions a year. It is a good start and it would not have happened without public pressure, but we still have a fight on our hands to make our tax system fair and ensure we have adequate resources to fund the public services we need.

Thanks to a major public outcry over years of budget cuts, the last-minute budget agreement turned out far better than what many expected to come out of Olympia this year. It protects education funding at current levels and maintains critical programs like State Food Assistance and Disability Lifeline that support the most vulnerable people in our communities.

The budget also includes a jobs package that will fund some major public works projects and build thousands of new units of affordable housing. These are major successes, and have no doubt: they would not have come without persistent public pressure. But like the closing of the big bank tax loophole, it’s not enough.

The state budget that just passed does not reverse the billions of cuts to housing, healthcare, and education that have been made over the past few years. And it doesn’t restore funding to other programs that are essential tools to fix our economy. The key reason is the lack of adequate revenue — and the main culprits are big corporations who spend millions on lobbying and creative accounting to avoid paying their fair share.

The issues are much the same at the Federal level. That’s why on Tax Day this year — April 17th — we are taking on Wells Fargo and Amazon for their tax dodging. Neither of these big, profitable, mega corporations is paying their fair share, and people continue to struggle while they rake in profit.

It’s going to be fun. First, the 99% will be taking a page out of the big bank’s playbook and foreclosing on Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo avoided over $20 billion dollars in taxes while still handing out bonuses to executives and foreclosing on homeowners. It’s time they tasted some of their own medicine.

Speaking of taste, we’ll also be having a pie eating contest at Amazon. We’re going to show them what a fair share actually looks like. Apparently no one taught them, since they only paid a 5.5% federal income tax rate in 2010. You probably paid more than that.

Join us on April 17th to call on big corporations and the top 1% to pay their fair share. If there’s one thing we can learn from closing the big bank tax loophole at last, it’s that we have been shown once again that collective, public pressure can get results. In fact, it is the only thing that does.

Workers lift their voices against poverty wage jobs at our airport.

by Nate Jackson Underneath the mid-morning sun dozens of community members and gathered press listened as airport workers held a press conference about Sound Transit’s decision to block factual ads about poverty wage jobs at our airport.

Hosea Wilcox, a Sea-Tac Airport skycap, was one of the workers who spoke to the press outside of Sound Transit HQ near the International District Link Light Rail station.

"I've been working at this airport for 31 years," Wilcox said. "I’m ashamed that the public servants who run Sound Transit are trying to stop train riders from learning about our story. What are they afraid of?”

It’s not just Hosea. Thousands of workers at our airport face poverty wages and bad work conditions. Many of them are barely making it even while they work hard to take care of the traveling public. They work hard every day and all they want is a chance for the public to know their stories.

One community member moved by their plight has started a change.org petition that hundreds have already signed.

Show your support for airport workers and sign this petition and tell Sound Transit that the public has the right to know about poverty wage jobs at our airport.

Also at the press conference were community organizations like Puget Sound Sage and One America also gave statements affirming their support of the workers. Maha Jahshan, an organizer from One America made a statement.

“One America is proud to stand in solidarity with airport workers,” she said. “Many of these workers are immigrants and refugees. They work hard to keep our airport running. They make our airport clean, efficient, comfortable and safe. They are simply trying to tell their stories to the public and we call on Sound Transit to reconsider their decision.”

The ads were rejected and deemed “unacceptable.” What’s really unacceptable is the fact that there are thousands of poverty wage jobs at our airport.

Join hundreds of others and sign the petition. The public has the right to know about poverty wage jobs at our airport.

We want every job at our airport to be a good job where people can afford to take care of their families as they take care of the hundreds of thousands of passengers and tourists who rely on their professionalism and expertise.

SeaTac Airport Workers Announce Federal Lawsuit Against Sound Transit

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Contact: Thea Levkovitz,  Thea@workingwa.org

TODAY:   SeaTac Airport Workers Announce Federal Lawsuit Against Sound Transit

Today Sea-Tac Airport workers announce a Federal lawsuit filed against Sound Transit. The agency has unfairly rejected a factual ad about thousands of poverty wage jobs at our airport.

When: Today, April 5, 2012, 11:30 AM

Where: Pier 66, Bell Harbor, 2711 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98121

What: Airport workers will announce Federal lawsuit outside Sound Transit Board Retreat at Port of Seattle.  Airport worker, Hosea Wilcox, featured in an ad rejected by Sound Transit will speak about poverty wage jobs at our airport

Visuals: Workers will reveal a 3’ x 7’ banner version of the “objectionable”  ad.

An ad rejected by Sound Transit has the simple tag line, “Let’s make all airport jobs good jobs.”   This is virtually the same message Sound Transit ran as recently as November, 2011 “Stand up for Good Jobs.”  In response to this decision, Working Washington has filed a Federal lawsuit over what appears to be a decision to single out this particular content by Sound Transit.

The 4,000 poverty- wage workers at SeaTac think you should know about working conditions at our airport.

Workers like Hosea Wilcox, who is featured the ad has worked at SeaTac as a Sky cap and still makes only minimum wage. “After 31 years working at SeaTac, I was reduced to using food stamps. I just couldn’t get steady full-time hours; often it was just 12 or 15 hours per week. This doesn’t seem right, to reward your loyal workers this way.”

And Hosea Wilcox is s only one of thousands of passenger service workers at our Airport making less than the federal poverty level. They are the taxi cab workers, ramp workers, cabin cleaners, fuelers, cargo workers, ground transportation workers, shuttle drivers, parking lot workers all critical jobs to keep Sea-Tac Airport running.

There is no problem with the ad, the problem is poverty wages at our Airport.  Let’s make all jobs at the Airport good Jobs.

The Working Washington ad adheres to the Sound Transit advertising guidelines.  We think that Sound Transit should do the same and run our ads.   The public has the right to know who keeps our airports running. Workers will not be silenced.

Speakers:

Jonathan Rosenblum, Working Washington

Skycap, Hosea Wilcox, worker featured in the ad

Rahwa Habte, OneAmerica

David West, Executive Director, Puget Sound Sage

Sergio Salinas, President, SEIU Local 6

Other Airport Workers

For additional information:   www.itsOURairport.org

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