Amazon Workers: Learn from NBA Players and Unionize
I know it’s hard to imagine, but there was a time when professional basketball players weren’t making millions of dollars. Rather, they were making even less money than Amazon warehouse employees today, with an average player salary of a lowly $8,000.
In addition, they had no pension plan, no per diem, no minimum wage and no health benefits.
It was not until 1964, when the NBA All-Star team threatened not to play in the first televised All-Star Game, that this began to change.
Enough was enough
After demanding a pension plan, a $1 per diem increase and the recognition of their union, the negotiations were agreed upon and a long-term future of collective bargaining and cooperation was established with the owners.
Today, half a century later, the NBPA is the highest salaried group of unionized employees in the world.
It’s a remarkable story, one that both encapsulates how dependent private ownership is on its workforce, and how inevitably effective collective bargaining can be because of this.
Which is why, a month after Amazon posted both record sales and profit and Jeff Bezos saw his net worth jump $13 billion in one day, there is no better time for Amazon workers to come together and unionize, too.
By doing so, not only could they see a sizable increase in their average $15 an hour wage, but they could also make history, as well.
Were Amazon employees to say enough is enough and seek unionization, it would almost inevitably launch a global conversation. Ideally, paving the way for employees at other major companies to do the same, setting in motion a worker-led call to action that demands recognition from our world’s most powerful corporations.
Domino effect
It could serve as a wake-up call, an opportunity for the working class in society to finally realize their true economic value. In the United States, only 10.3% of workers belong to a union, which is probably why wages have remained stagnant in the country for nearly 40 years. Amazon workers, by seeking unionization, have a real shot at highlighting this reality, while improving their working conditions, in the process.
But it won’t be easy. This is because Amazon is aware of all of this, which is why they have worked diligently to crush every attempt at unionization by their own employees time and time again, as seen here, here and here.
But what we saw this last week in the NBA, where the players refused to show up to work resulting in a complete stoppage of the season, should only help to encourage Amazon workers.
In the end of the day, Amazon employees are the backbone of one of the richest and most valuable companies in the world. There is no better time for them to unionize, as the NBPA once did, and finally demand their fair share.
As Michael Jordan once said, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”
With both, like Michael, brave Amazon workers have an opportunity to build their own legacy, too.
You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.