Workers at the Amazon Delivery Center near Washington filed a petition Wednesday morning asking their management to raise $ 3 per hour. When their request was not immediately granted, they stopped their jobs for lunch break – just before morning – and were told they would not be back today.

Kurt Fuchs was one of approximately 30 workers who attended the demonstration, based on the number of Amazon vests built at the Upper Marlborough, Maryland facility known as DMD9. Dozens of community supporters came out to cheer them on, wearing microphones and speakers where Fuchs and others could explain their grievances to the world’s largest online retailer.

“We were overworked and underpaid,” the 31-year-old Fuchs told HuffPost. “I don’t feel like we’re asking that much.”

As for his decision to step down in protest, “this is the first time I have done this,” he said.

The speech was led by a loose group known as Amazonians United, looking to organize various Amazon outlets across the country.

Unlike the traditional Union campaign, The Amazons are united It does not collect union cards in hopes of holding elections and ensuring collective bargaining. Their goal is to take labor actions like Upper Marlborough to force Amazon to deal with workers ’problems. The group coordinated a similar protest at two Amazon stores in New York on Wednesday.

Walking in Upper Marlboro has shown the promise of such tactics in a small facility. The procurement center is smaller than the retailer’s mass execution center, and DMD9 workers said most of them chose to join the conversation on this particular shift. This left facility managers and supervisors with low-level job vacancies, which almost certainly caused logistics headaches throughout the day.

Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said in a statement that the company respects the right of workers to leave. “Such protests are protected by national labor law, which allows workers to participate.” Agreed activity “To help each other at work.

“We are proud to offer industry-leading revenue, competitive advantage and the opportunity for everyone to thrive in the company,” Nantel said. “While there are many established ways to ensure that the views of our employees are heard within our business, we also respect the right of some to hear their views from the outside.”

Sidney Cole, who has worked at the facility since October, said he hopes the release will give the company how important low -level workers are to the operation. He suspects site managers are trying to figure out how to cover half the shift.

“We ask them to increase their salaries for a certain period of time,” Cole said. “Too much work for too much salary.”

Workers said the facility’s starting wage is slightly less than $ 16 per hour, equivalent to an annual wage of $ 33,000. There are minimum wages for large employers in Maryland $ 12.50 per hourBut Washington, DC is one of the most expensive metropolises in the country. MIT’s subsistence minimum calculator estimates that only one adult will need it About $ 20 per hour To escape to Prince George County, where the Upper Marlboro facility is located.

Kim Weer arrived at the delivery center on her day off to support the staff who attended the speech. He called it a “big step” and said workers deserved higher wages for work “too hard on the body”. He stressed that the cost of almost everything is rising due to inflation, making it difficult for workers to finance rent and basic expenses.

“After working at Amazon, I understood the need for unity, the need for isolation,” said Wer, 57.

“The work we do is physical and mental,” said Bidiana Jones, 39, who has since worked at the facility. Opened in 2020. “We have to pay the price for our work”.

Jones said he and others signed a petition for a salary increase in December, but has yet to hear from his presentation that prompted him to support retirement.

Amazon now employs approximately 1 million workers in the United States, with large logistics operations left to unions. Union activists discussed how to organize an important and influential company during a time when union membership was in the private sector. Only 6.1%.

The union of retailers, wholesalers and department stores amassed enough union credentials to conduct an election at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama last year, but ultimately lost by a large margin after an intense campaign against the company’s union. . . Labor officials determined that Amazon had violated the law and issued an election order that is currently pending.

Some are wondering if it is possible to win the election in a warehouse with 6,000 seats, given the employer’s preferences in the union campaign. Right now, Amazonians United appears to have an easier -to -manage goal: create critical mass in facilities where possible, and then mobilize workers to meet their demands. Extensive activists have no officials or organizations, although experienced labor organizers volunteer their time.

Information about the planned walk in Upper Marlboro was released Wednesday on progressive networks in Maryland. Supporters agreed to meet at a nearby Wawa store at 6am, where they posted signs and waited for words from Amazon employees. There seems to be a lot of talk about the emergence of American Democratic Socialists in local chapters.

Someone requested that no one wear the union insignia because their goal was to support the workers and not promote any group.

They exited the trailer parking lot, stopped at the delivery center and headed to the Amazon parking lot carrying music and food to greet everyone who came out. They shouted “We will not accept” and “fight for power” and set the table to distribute handmade food bags.

Davis, an employee who pleaded and asked not to use his full name, said he was saddened to see how many supporters gathered outside to encourage them.

“Some of the people who came out were a little scared,” Davis said. “But when they saw all the people here, they rejoiced.”