Amazon workers in over 25 cities and 14 countries walked out their workplaces in solidarity with the global climate strike on September 20. More than 1,800 workers participated in the walkout, protesting the company’s contracts with fossil fuel companies, their shareholders’ funding of climate denying lobbyists and politicians, and the continued contracts with ICE and other agencies responsible for the oppression of refugees.
The group that organized the walk out, the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, recognized the leadership shown by tech workers at Google who last year successfully organized to demand the termination of a company contract with the Pentagon. They also emphasized the global reach of Amazon as well as its multinational workforce of 600,000. They pointed to the enormous potential and responsibility of these workers to become leaders in the movement to fight climate change.