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Amazon workers in Germany plan two-day strike over COVID-19 infections
Amazon warehouse workers in Germany will strike for two days over a claimed lack of transparency about COVID-19 infections.
Instacart workers go on strike after rejecting mild concessions
Instacart hasn't had success trying to avert a strike over a lack of COVID-19 protections. The Gig Workers Collective has declared that a shopper strike is "still on" after asserting that Instacart's concessions were inadequate. A change that sets the tip default to a customer's previous amount will likely offer "no meaningful benefit," the shoppers said, as that previous amount will frequently come from the pre-outbreak era. There's still no sick pay for workers who have to stay home due to health conditions that put them at high risk. The company also left hazard pay "completely unaddressed," according to the objectors -- an average pay per order of less than $10 still leaves shoppers "risking their lives for pocket change."
Instacart workers will strike over lack of COVID-19 protections
Fed up with the company's response to the coronavirus, Instacart workers announced today that they'll go on strike beginning Monday. They will not return to work until their demands are met, Instacart Shoppers and the Gig Workers Collective wrote in a blog post. Their dissent is not uncommon. It's reflective of growing dissatisfaction among employees, especially gig workers, who must continue working in public settings while corporate employees work from the safety of their homes.
Instacart cuts quality bonuses for couriers
Instacart is still embroiled in pay disputes despite past dramas. Motherboard has learned that Instacart is scrapping a $3 quality bonus it provides to shoppers who receive five-star ratings. The incentive "did not meaningfully improve quality," according to email sent to workers, and will disappear on November 11th. There's no mention of a replacement. The timing is definitely raising concerns among workers, however.
The Amazon Prime Day strike could be a turning point for workers' rights
Today, Amazon will start its fifth annual Prime Day, which has been expanded to 48 hours this year. Designed to enlist (and keep) Prime members, it is the company's biggest shopping event of the year -- on the same level as Black Friday -- with extensive discounts and deals across the entire site. At a time when Amazon would likely prefer that all its employees hunker down to meet increased demand, a group of warehouse workers in Shakopee, Minnesota are going on strike. It isn't the first time the workers in Shakopee have raised their concerns. But it will be the first major work stoppage event for Amazon in the US and could be a harbinger of things to come.
Amazon staff will strike during Prime Day over working conditions
While Amazon is busy hyping up this year's Prime Day extravaganza, its workers will be drawing attention to more serious issues than price cuts. Staff at a warehouse in Shakopee, Minnesota will hold six hours of strikes on July 15th (the start of Prime Day) to demand less stringent quotas and the conversion of more temporary workers into permanent employees. The quotas make the work dangerous and unreliable, according to the workers, and permanent work will help create a "livable future." Workers in the US have protested before (including a December protest in Minnesota over support for East African workers), but not during crucial sales days -- you've only really seen that practice in Europe until now.
Uber and Lyft drivers are striking over pay and job security
Ridesharing drivers for have acted on promises to go on strike over labor conditions. Workers for Uber, Lyft and other companies in 10 cities (including Chicago, New York City and LA) are staging actions to demand better pay and job security. The exact conditions vary from city to city, but there are common demands for minimum guaranteed pay, caps on the companies' fare portions and an end to sudden, opaque deactivations that leave drivers with few options to get their access back.
Amazon workers held strikes across Europe on Black Friday
Amazon workers across Europe took part in walkouts on Black Friday to protest what they say are unfair work conditions. Following similar demonstrations on Prime Day in July, employees in Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK went on strike over pay and safety. However, Amazon told the Guardian that the walkouts didn't hamper its delivery efforts across the continent.
YouTube removes multiple Alex Jones videos for hate speech
YouTube has taken down four videos from Alex Jones' channel, The Verge reports, and has issued the channel a strike. When a channel is found to be in violation of YouTube's community guidelines, the violating content is removed and the channel is given a strike. If a channel gets three strikes within three months, it's terminated by YouTube. The Verge's sources say that of the four videos removed by YouTube, two featured hate speech against Muslims, one included hate speech against transgender people and another titled "How to prevent liberalism" featured Jones mocking a child who had been pushed down by an adult man.
Amazon warehouse workers in Europe stage protest on Prime Day
Amazon warehouse workers in Germany, Spain and Poland are hoping to call the e-commerce giant's attention to their plea for better working conditions by going on strike on Prime Day. The workers for the company's fulfillment centers are protesting the increase in working hours even though they don't receive bonuses, as well as the lack of protection against illnesses. Stefanie Nutzenberger from German labor union Verdi, which called for the strike, said "The message is clear -- while the online giant gets rich, it is saving money on the health of its workers."
Amazon's warehouse workers strike in Germany and Italy
As exciting as it may be go on an online shopping spree for Black Friday, there is a human price to be paid: thousands of warehouse workers often have to commit many exhausting hours to making sure your orders arrive on time. And some Amazon warehouse workers have had enough. Staffers at Amazon distribution centers across Germany and Italy have gone on strike over pay issues and conditions they believe "endanger the health" of employees. Complaints about a lack of bonus pay are central to the walkout, but there are also extensive concerns about what Amazon expects from its floor staff.
Video game voice actors gain bonus payments with new contract
Members of SAG-AFTRA have voted overwhelmingly to approve a new video game contact that grants performers bonus payments. The deal comes just over a month after the gaming industry's voice talent agreed to suspend one of the longest strikes in US history. Launched against 11 major game publishers (including EA and WB Games) on October 21st 2016, the strike lasted 340 days in total. Now that the trade union's board has given the proposal the thumbs up, the strike is officially over.
Video game voice actors reach deal to end almost year-long strike
SAG-AFTRA has reached a "tentative agreement" with leading video games publishers to end its strike. After months of debate, and rejected deals, voice artists began striking on October 21st. Along the way, they also carried out picketing campaigns against Electronic Arts, WB Games, and other firms. Now, 340 days down the line, the strike could finally be coming to a halt. The new agreement (which still needs to be approved by the labor union's board of directors) includes bonus pay relating to the amount of sessions a performer works on a game. The payments start at $75 for the first session and max out at $2,100 for ten sessions.
Voice actors will picket WB Games on November 3rd
Striking video game voice actors are determined to keep up the pressure on developers. In the wake of a picketing campaign against Electronic Arts last week, the SAG-AFTRA union is calling on actors and supporters to picket WB Games on November 3rd. This action by itself probably won't get WB and other targeted studios to change their ways, but it stresses that actors aren't backing down on calls for better pay, particularly for strenuous voice recordings or popular titles.
Video game voice actors will strike after rejecting pay raise
The video game industry has made an offer to the SAG-AFTRA-represented video game voice actors, but the union won't put it to a vote in front of its members. Interactive Video Game Companies (VGC; the group representing the game industry) offered a nine percent raise that "accelerates the 3 percent annual increase sought by SAG-AFTRA negotiators over a three-year period" according to a statement. The publishers also have offered up to $950 more per game depending on how many voice sessions an actor does. The VGC's offer would raise day-rate for a four hour recording or on-camera session to $900.
UberEats drivers are revolting in London
Established food delivery service Deliveroo and recently launched UberEats might be competitors in the UK, but their drivers have found a common enemy in the businesses they work for. UberEats couriers have planned a protest outside Uber's London HQ today, over changes to their pay structure they say could lead to them earning less than the minimum wage, The Guardian reports.
Uber shuts down its app in Paris to support driver protest
Uber will suspend its service in Paris today between 11 AM and 3 PM in support of a driver protest against proposed legislation from the French government. So far, the company has distanced itself from the conflict, but said it will shut down its app in support of its Paris drivers, the first time it has ever done so. The issue, of course, is about private chauffeur services and apps like Uber versus traditional taxis. The government banned the UberPop service last year, so there are no longer concerns over non-professional drivers. However, it now wants to stop a group of minicab chauffeurs from using Uber and other apps.
Video game voice actors vote a resounding 'yes' to strike
Last month the Screen Actor's Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists started the process to strike in an effort to be better compensated. Now, the union members have voted and over 96 percent feel that a strike is in order to protect themselves. As a refresher, the organized voice actors are asking for royalties on games they performed in that sell over two million copies, stunt pay for particularly stressful roles (those sustained screams and yells can do damage) and stunt coordinators for certain situations, among other things. Where do the actors like the cast of The Last of Us up above go from here? Back to the collective bargaining table. This vote doesn't mean that the union will strike, but it gives them the option to do so if negotiations fall apart. [Image credit: Imeh Akpanudosen via Getty Images]
Video game voice actors may go on strike
Voice acting in video games is serious and often thankless work. You have to recite hours of dialog that doesn't always get heard, and only a handful of actors (like Nolan North, John DiMaggio and Troy Baker) have high-profile careers. However, they're now fighting to get a bigger piece of the pie. The actor union SAG-AFTRA is considering voting for a strike that would push for more payments and greater rights for game voice actors. It's proposing that these performers should get bonuses every time a game sells 2 million copies, and stunt pay when they have to strain their voices -- think about every game where your character screamed from taking damage. The guild also wants stunt coordinators for motion capture work, and it hopes to prevent companies from both hiring their own unionless staff as well as instituting fines over relatively arbitrary faults, such as failing to audition for small roles.
Uber defiant in the face of French ridesharing crackdown
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve today launched a legal action to permanently shut down UberPOP, Uber's non-professional ride service, according to Reuters. The move follows a protest against UberPOP by as many as 3,000 taxi drivers that crippled large sections of the city and both airports. Seven police officers were injured, 70 vehicles damaged and 10 people arrested during the rally. Yesterday, French authorities ordered police to ban UberPOP and seize driver's cars if necessary. However, Uber's general manager in France replied that the measures "changed nothing," and that UberPOP would continue to operate.
