What’s Next for Amazon Workers? w/ Kim Kelly

Paris Marx is joined by Kim Kelly to discuss what it was like on the ground in Bessemer as workers tried to form a union at Amazon, the mood after the results came in, and where the organizing effort against Amazon goes from here.

Kim Kelly is a freelance labor reporter who has written for Teen Vogue, The Baffler, Vox, and many others. She is also writing a book for One Signal Publishers called “Fight Like Hell” that will come out in 2022. Follow Kim on Twitter as @GrimKim.

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Also mentioned in this episode:

• Kim wrote about the workers and organizers behind the Bessemer campaign • , and how faith was an important motivating factor. She also reported on it for More Perfect Union • . • Alex Press outlined the history of civil rights unionism • in the US South. • Caroline O’Donovan explained how Amazon workers are organizing beyond Bessemer, and why some don’t plan to seek NLRB recognition • . • Luis Feliz Leon wrote about the growing international movement • to challenge Amazon. • The Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union challenged the result of the Bessemer union vote • over Amazon’s union busting tactics. • The New York Times spoke to some workers who voted “no” for the union • . • Amazon promotes its $15 minimum wage, but it actually pushes down wages in the warehousing sector • . • The PRO Act is a major change to US labor legislation • that would make it easier to unionize.

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