Alabama Amazon warehouse workers fight for union

Vol. 84/No. 50 - December 21, 2020

BESSEMER, Ala. — “The managers talk to you like you’re a child,” Ray, a 31-year-old Amazon worker, told us when we met going door to door here Dec. 5. A former Walmart worker, he started working at the new Amazon…


Walmart turns loose its robot delivery cars

Vol. 84/No. 8 - March 2, 2020

While Amazon is gearing up to begin drone deliveries directly to customers’ doorsteps, Walmart has partnered with robotics company Nuro and is building self-driving vehicles to deliver groceries. They plan to run these vehicles in Houston early this year. These…


Amazon, Walmart robots speed up work, increase injuries

Vol. 84/No. 6 - February 17, 2020

In their dog-eat-dog competitive war against each other, Amazon and its chief retail rival Walmart are stepping up the use of robots to speed up and intensify the exploitation of their workers. This stiffening competition has thrown other major retail…



As competition heats up, retail bosses tell workers, ‘Speed up’

Vol. 83/No. 42 - November 18, 2019
Worker at Amazon Fulfillment Center in Staten Island, New York, hits button to indicate order robotically transported to her workstation is done. Bosses’ speedup has led to increase in on-the-job injuries. Inset, company tests drone making deliveries.

Amazon, like its giant retail competitor Walmart, seeks to maximize its profits off workers’ backs. Both companies are stepping up use of robots to press their relentless speedup and intensify the exploitation of workers.  A study by the New York…