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Amazon Workers in 15 Countries Hold Black Friday Protests

The online shopping giant had its best year ever. Workers say they’re not feeling the love.

Amazon workers in 15 countries are staging coordinated Black Friday protests, in a blow to Jeff Bezos’ online shopping behemoth. The protests include strikes and demonstrations in Brazil, Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Australia, Vice reported. The workers, who are organizing around the hashtag #MakeAmazonPay, have set forward a series of demands including increased pay, improved COVID-19 protections, new access to union organizers, reduced carbon emissions, and the end of Amazon-branded surveillance technology like Ring doorbells. Although Amazon workers, most of them outside the U.S., have held Black Friday protests in the past, this demonstration comes as Amazon’s profits soar amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The strikes also come as Amazon workers in Alabama petition to form a union—a rare move for U.S. Amazon employees.