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We will distribute leaflets and say
something about Amazon:

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the rates are rising,
the wages are low.

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Thousands of temp workers
have no stable employment,

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but can be sacked
from one week to the next... 

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Amazon Workers Meeting
Poznan, September 2015

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We are here to represent the
striking and organized

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colleagues from Amazon
Germany here in Poland

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and to join the struggles
of the Polish colleagues

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and struggles of the 
German colleagues at Amazon.

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Amazon is an international
corporation

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which - in those countries
were it has sites [warehouses] -

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pays hardly any taxes,
exploits the infrastructure,

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does allow its workers hardly 
any participation [in decision making] -

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and it is necessary to
put an end to that.

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- Why do you wear a mask?

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Because I still have
a green badge

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(i.e. I am working for Amazon
through a temp agency).

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I cannot show
my face,

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because I have not openly
revealed my union membership.

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- Both of you came here for the
meeting. What are your expectations?

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We expect,
that we do something,

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that we can tell the others
what is happening in warehouse POZ 1,

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so that Berlin knows,
what is going on here.

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That means, an exchange of information
between the warehouses,

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between our FCs [Fulfillment
Center] and the German FC. 

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During such a meeting with
the colleagues from Germany

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- and also French were
supposed to come -

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you learn more about
what is going on in other Amazon FCs,

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in other countries,
how they act there,

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what they do,
what they organize.

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So you always learn
something there.

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My name is 
Christian Krähling.

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I have worked at Amazon
in Bad Hersfeld since 2009.

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I started there as a temp
worker for the Christmas period.

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Amazon opened in 
Bad Hersfeld in 1999.

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Until 2005/06 no bigger
problems occurred. 

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The company has been growing, it was 
established on the European level.

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It expanded 
further in Europe.

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Since 2005/06, in our warehouse
the wages haven't been raised anymore.

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Many people were hired, 
just with fixed-term contracts

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and with precarious 
conditions.

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A further big problem was
the pressure to perform.

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Basically, Amazon demanded
piece work with norms.

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The norms were 
continuously raised,

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but the wage was not raised
accordingly, of course.

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Still, Amazon demanded
ever increasing performances.

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The colleagues were put under
psychological pressure.

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Since they only had
fixed-term contracts,

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they could be told,
if you don't reach the norms

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your contract might
not get extended.

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We had many
other problems

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it was very hot 
in the warehouse,

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people collapsed, the supervisors
showed no respect for colleagues,

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we had 
long commutes,

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you had long waiting
periods at the parking lot,

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and many more problems
I cannot all mention here.

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About 2011, we started 
to organize.

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The union Verdi had a
so-called "organizing"-project.

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That was an unusual approach
in Germany,

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i.e. people were organized
on the grassroots level

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and the workers on the
grassroots level

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basically decided what the
problems were

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and how they
should be solved.

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We were asked to find
that out by ourselves.

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Basically, we were  just given
some time and a room

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so we could meet, and then
we identified our problems

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and tried to
find solutions.

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That way we started to
organize on the grassroots level.

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Obviously, we have asked
the management

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to negotiate all the 
conditions with us.

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In Germany, this is usually solved
through collective agreements.

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So we asked the management to regulate 
all this through a collective agreement.

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The management 
refused.

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We drew the conclusion and
started a labor dispute, i.e. a strike.

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Since we started going on strike,
wage increases were rediscovered,

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we have almost no fixed-term
contracts anymore,

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we have almost 100 percent
permanent contracts,

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suddenly they are very
nice to the people,

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the people dare to contact
the works council

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and hand in
complaints, etc.

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We got coffee for free,
air-conditioning was installed,

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hundreds of improvements
were introduced...

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Still, we have not reached
our goal, yet.

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We want to be the dominant
factor in the company,

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we are the ones who perform, we
produce the success

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that's why we want to be
the dominant factor,

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we want to determine our 
working conditions ourselves.

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We have not reached
that goal, yet.

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This is because we 
have to deal with the fact

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that too many people are still
afraid to lose their job,

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that Amazon is too strong
economically, as yet,

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and we cannot hit Amazon
with our strikes that much,

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because Amazon can 
shift orders


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from warehouse
to warehouse.

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That is one of the reasons
why we are here today,

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because we have realized
at an early stage

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that we have to 
link up with each other.

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That started between the 
different warehouses in Germany,

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and we quickly realized that
we need to do this internationally, too.

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Just one example: When the first
warehouse was opened here in Poland,

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the media in Germany reported:
"Amazon leaves Germany,

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and services the German market
from Poland."

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The day that was reported, 
I was at work,

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and when I finished work, 
colleagues started their shift

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and had heard this on the radio,
and they came to work crying

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because they 
were afraid.

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- The colleague Christian from
Germany said today,

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that you can reach
a lot through strikes,

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and that you can win better
working conditions in a struggle.

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Do you also 
think so?

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Yes, we also 
think so.

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For example, this month we got a
wage increase by 1 Zloty [per hour].

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We won that 
in a struggle.

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- 1 Zloty is 
not much.

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Yes, that is not much. But fact is,
we have won something in a struggle.

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So things are moving forward.
We are not standing still.

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When the action was going on here,
during our strike,

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we reacted 
with enthusiasm.

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This gives many people 
among us hope.

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That's why we
are here.

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We want to push for
better networking,

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because we have realized
that gives us a lot of strength.

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We have been in a labor
dispute for more than 2 years now,

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and that is a long time, and
you have to keep this up.

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And we could not keep it up without
new people joining again and again.

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And if, for instance, the colleagues
in Poland, who have the same problems,

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would not realize that we can 
win the fight only together.

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That's why we are here, we
want to organize

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and network 
in such a way

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that we win this fight
together.

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Several attempts to organize this
through union leaderships

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- between Poland, 
France, [Germany] ... -

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unfortunately, have so far 
not worked out as they should.

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We have learned that, if this
links up colleagues with colleagues,

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it is much faster, much better,
and much more effective,

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and that's why
we are here.