Amazon warehouse workers strike on Prime Day

Amazon workers at a Minnesota warehouse temporarily went on strike Monday, the first of two Prime Day summer sales, The Daily Beast reported.

Employees at the Shakopee, Minn., Amazon fulfillment center said they would walk out for a six-hour period overlapping with the morning and evening shifts.

{mosads}The workers argue Amazon has failed to meet their demands, including converting more temp positions to Amazon employees and permanently easing productivity quotas that workers say make their jobs unsafe.

Several workers planned to travel  from Seattle to join the protests outside of Minneapolis, according to a statement from Amazon Employees for Climate Justice.

Amazon has disputed the employees’ allegations about working conditions. The online retailer said that on average, 90 percent of associates at the Shakopee fulfillment center are full-time employees and more than 30 have been offered full-time positions recently.

“Roughly 15 associates participated in the event outside of the Shakopee fulfillment center. It was obvious to the 1500-full-time workforce that an outside organization used Prime Day to raise its own visibility, conjured misinformation and a few associate voices to work in their favor, and relied on political rhetoric to fuel media attention,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill.

“The fact is that Amazon provides a safe, quality work environment in which associates are the heart and soul of the customer experience, and today’s event shows that our associates know that to be true,” the spokesperson added. “We encourage anyone to come take a tour anytime.”

Prime Day, a global two-day discount of hundreds of products, is one of Amazon’s busiest promotions.

Unions in Spain and Germany have staged Prime Day strikes in the past, but the walkout in Minnesota represents the first major action of its kind in the U.S. during the sales event.

White House hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) backed the striking workers Monday.

“I fully support Amazon workers’ Prime Day strike,” the Massachusetts senator tweeted. “Their fight for safe and reliable jobs is another reminder that we must come together to hold big corporations accountable.” 

I fully support Amazon workers’ Prime Day strike. Their fight for safe and reliable jobs is another reminder that we must come together to hold big corporations accountable. https://t.co/ZkDDt9zeHv

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) July 15, 2019

–This report was updated on July 16 at 5:31 a.m.