Dave Griffiths, Coventry Socialist Party
6.30am on a trading estate on the western edge of Coventry and Bob Marley tunes drift through the air. Already hundreds of Amazon workers have gathered for one of three days of strike action seeking union recognition and a £15-an-hour wage.
Workers were ‘stamped in’ – like at a nightclub door – and ‘stamped out’ to register their attendance for strike pay. By 7am Ian, one of many GMB organisers on site says: “I’m running out of ink!” as the protest and picket line grew to over 400 strong.
As pickets spoke to drivers about joining the union, creating huge queues in the process, the music moved on to their own version of 2 Unlimited’s ‘No Limit’: “No no, no no no no, no we’re not working” and to Sister Sledge’s ‘The Greatest Dancer: “Jeff Bezos, he’s the great exploiter.” There was also plenty of advice to the Amazon boss as to what he could do with his massive rocket.
As the picket went on, even more workers joined the union, taking membership well above 900 at BHX4. One worker who had stopped and decided to join the strike found that a police officer was about to book him for parking, but his car was quickly surrounded by over 20 protective pickets and the officer had to be rescued by a union official.
Confidence is growing among the workers who, while aware that they face a determined anti-union employer, are sick and tired of the way they are treated. Their confidence will have been further boosted by news the day after their strikes that worker colleagues at Amazon’s Rugeley site, in Staffordshire, have become the second site to successfully ballot for strike action. The struggle grows.
