September 2022 | Volume 14, Issue 2

Watch the full video on CNN

Discussion Questions

1. As revealed in the video, according to Chris Smalls, president of the Amazon Labor Union, the top demand of Amazon workers is job security. Are you surprised that is a priority issue for the Amazon Labor Union and workers? Explain your response.

When one thinks of typical union demands, pay and other financial demands often come to the forefront. However, job security has become another common collective bargaining demand. Your author is not surprised that according to Mrs. Smalls, job security is the “number one” issue for the Amazon Labor Union and Amazon workers, particularly since the turnover rate at Amazon is so high. The high turnover rate is apparently due in large part to Amazon’s willingness to fire workers “at will.”

2. In the video, Mr. Smalls indicates that another priority for the Amazon Labor Unions and workers is better working conditions. Are you surprised that this is a priority issue? Why or why not? Among other demands, Mr. Small has called upon Amazon to makes its employees shareholders again. He is also requesting a pension for Amazon workers. In your opinion, are these reasonable labor demands? Explain your response.

Again, even though pay has been a top-priority collective bargaining demand, working conditions are an increasingly significant labor issue. In your author’s opinion, the reason the demand for better working conditions has made a resurgence is because in the last 40 years, unions have experienced a significant decline in popularity (as reflected by the decline in union membership) in the United States. Historically, unions fought for better employee working conditions.

3. In your reasoned opinion, based upon current discord between Amazon labor and the company’s ownership/management, should customers feel “guilty” about buying from Amazon? Why or why not?

This is an opinion question, so student responses may vary. In your author’s opinion, just like Amazon customers largely disregard the impact that a massive mail-order system has on the environment, issues like Amazon employee pay, job security, and work conditions are “out of sight, out of mind.”