Amazon workers at SBD hub protest working conditions

Amazon warehouse workers at San Bernardino Airport (SBD) walked off the job Monday in protest of unsafe working conditions and in demand for higher pay, the latest in a string of strikes and labor retention challenges plaguing the industry. The Inland Empire Amazon Workers United — a collective supported by the Warehouse Worker Resource Center (WWRC) and other nearby community-based organizations — have demanded better conditions, with 900 of the workers signing a petition for a base pay increase to $22 per hour from $17 per hour, according to an Aug. 15 release. The WWRC is an organization focused on improving the working conditions of warehouse industry workers in Southern California. The petition was submitted to facility management during Prime Week in July, the WWRC reported, where Prime members purchased roughly 300 million items between July 12-13, according to an Amazon release. [caption id="attachment_91768" align="alignright" width="524"] An Amazon 737 freighter. Photo/Amazon[/caption] The petition states “We as Amazon Associates work hard to ensure that the building hits the numbers it strives for and work together in order to provide satisfaction to all of our customers. The average rent in California is $1,700 and the average rent in San Bernardino is $1,650. With our current starting pay of $17/hour in a 40-hour work week, we make approximately $2,200 take home pay – meaning that over 75% of our income is going into rent alone … We can barely afford to live in today’s economy.” Out of 200,000 warehouse employees in the Inland Empire Metro area , at least 40,000 are employed by Amazon, according to a document provided to Air Cargo World by WWRC. There are currently more than 200 Amazon distribution centers in California, the first of which was in San Bernardino, the WWRC reported. Amazon currently operates around 36 facilities in San Bernardino and Riverside countries, and recently announced plans to build a 4 million-square-foot distribution center in Ontario, Calif. The Amazon Air Freight Fulfillment Center at SBD opened in early 2021 — despite community concern regarding job quality and pollution — and is one of the e-giant's three national air hubs as well as Amazon’s largest air facility on the West Coast . Currently the company operates 14 flights to and from SBD with the intention of eventually running 26 flights daily. Labor retention at Amazon’s SBD warehouse has been a locus of contention as Amazon workers sustained nearly 40,000 injuries in 2021, the WWRC reported. The number of workers at the SBD Amazon air hub fluctuates and is currently recorded at roughly 1,300 workers but has more than 1,800 employees during peak season. The supply chain industry on strike Strike actions across the industry have been spreading like wildfire as already strained operations across the supply chain have been exasperated by high passenger volumes, among other challenges. Scandinavia-based carrier SAS’ July traffic figures, for instance, were severely impacted by a 15-day pilot strike which led to roughly 3,700 cancelled flights, according to an Aug. 5 report. Last month the United Services Union (ver.di) and Lufthansa settled on an agreement on behalf of 20,000 ground workers following a one-day labor strike in late July at Munich Airport (MUC) and Frankfurt Airport (FRA). The strike resulted in more than 1,000 Lufthansa flight cancellations at MUC and FRA. “With this bargaining agreement Lufthansa tries to return to be a more attractive employer,” Ute Fritzel, ver.di spokeswoman for the state district, told Air Cargo World . “If the employees wouldn’t have striked, Lufthansa would not have been accommodating … The strikes and the support of the society paid off, and they changed their mind.” Airport workers in Paris (CDG) also staged a one-day strike this year , resulting in roughly 100 cancelled flights, while Swissport Canada fuelers in Vancouver (YVR) prepared to strike following contract negotiations. Widening labor pains The airfreight community isn’t the only industry experiencing labor pains, especially as port and rail workers seek wage concessions and improved working conditions. For instance, port workers are planning an eight-day port strike at UK container port Felixstowe, starting Sunday, while workers at Liverpool’s port are also organizing a strike, although no date has been set. These strikes would “likely worsen congestion and delays for U.K. logistics, and put additional pressure on alternative European ports,” Freightos Head of Research Judah Levine said in Wednesday’s market update. Indeed, port strikes may not only impact alternative ports, but put pressure on airfreight as well, said Cathy Roberson, president of Logistics Trends & Insights and an Air Cargo World columnist. “I expect there will be some shifts to airfreight until the Felixstowe and Liverpool port issues are resolved,” Roberson said. “There likely will be some congestion at both ports which will result in delivery delays throughout the U.K. However, much like U.S. consumers, U.K. consumers are facing high inflation so their willingness to spend on goods will need to be considered as well.” Although the airfreight industry has been facing a labor crisis for quite some time, the issue has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as many labor contract negotiations were put on hold, according to Roberson. While retaining labor in the industry continues to be challenging, investments in technology, automation and infrastructure have helped ease some of the labor strain . “Long-term challenges to the industry are going to be attracting and retaining workers,” Roberson said. “Investments in automation and technology in sorting facilities, distribution centers, ports and air cargo facilities will help lessen the need for workers for some task requirements, but it will not solve everything. Workers and their employers are going to work together to come up with solutions that are beneficial to both.” Join Air Cargo World for our next webinar, “Forward Thinking: Best practices for freight forwarder success,” on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 11 a.m. ET. Click here for more information and to register.

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