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(Re)shaping Amazon labour struggles on both sides of the Atlantic: the power dynamics in Germany and the US amidst the pandemic

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  • Sarrah Kassem

Abstract

With the initial context of COVID-19 fuelling Amazon’s exponential growth, this article investigates how the pandemic (re)defined labour struggles, i.e., cultivating labour’s structural, associational and institutional powers in two case study countries, Germany and the US. By analysing these power resources in its two largest markets, I argue that Amazon’s structural conditions by which it organises its warehouse labour, which predate the pandemic, have continued to act as obstacles to collective labour action. While in Germany, ver.di continues to mobilise its workplace power but has been unable to get Amazon to sign a collective agreement, the pandemic triggered unprecedented workplace mobilisations and the pursuit of associational power in the US, albeit with varying outcomes. Despite their different industrial relations systems and labour struggles, these two cases highlight the key role of shop-floor organising to put pressure on Amazon, while Amazon’s continued rejection of unions as negotiating partners further underlines the importance of regulating Amazon’s union-busting tactics.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarrah Kassem, 2022. "(Re)shaping Amazon labour struggles on both sides of the Atlantic: the power dynamics in Germany and the US amidst the pandemic," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 28(4), pages 441-456, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:28:y:2022:i:4:p:441-456
    DOI: 10.1177/10242589221149496
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Bispinck, Reinhard & Schulten, Thorsten, 2011. "Trade union responses to precarious employment in Germany," WSI Working Papers 178, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.
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    Keywords

    Amazon; COVID-19; agency; strikes; unions;
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