Amazon Workers Walk Off Job At Massive Inland Empire Air Hub

INLAND EMPIRE, CA — Summer heat and low wages prompted dozens of independently organized Amazon employees to walk off the job Monday at the company’s regional air hub at San Bernardino International Airport.

The Southern California walkout involving more than 150 employees was the first coordinated labor action in Amazon’s airfreight division, according to a report from The Washington Post.

"While a small fraction of the 1,500 employees who work at the hub in various shifts walked out, such a work stoppage can create logistical headaches and disruptions," the Post reported. "Amazon depends heavily on a few air hubs to keep millions of packages moving every day, which means the effect of a strike or work stoppage at any of those facilities would have a greater impact than a similar action at a regional warehouse."

The massive Amazon sorting facility in San Bernardino serves as the Southern California headquarters for the e-commerce giant’s expansive air freight network, which uses Prime-branded planes to fly packages and goods around the country.

Workers who walked off the job asked for increased pay and better heat safety measures amid summer temperatures. San Bernardino was under a National Weather Service heat advisory on Monday, with the daytime high temperature exceeding triple digits. The National Weather Service warned this week that heat-related illnesses are possible across the Inland Empire. San Bernardino Amazon employees include those who work outdoors loading and unloading planes.

As for wages, full-time employees at the San Bernardino hub and throughout the region have a minimum wage floor of $17 an hour and can earn up to $19.25 and receive health care, retirement benefits and up to 20 weeks of parental leave, according to Amazon spokesperson Paul Flaningan, who was quoted in the Post story.

The independently organized group of workers who walked off calls itself Inland Empire Amazon Workers United, according to the Post.

The group delivered a petition to warehouse management in July with more than 800 signatures from workers at the facility. In addition to better on-the-job protection against rising outdoor temperatures, they demanded $5-an-hour pay increases and a series of smaller raises for workers with specific job titles and night shifts, according to the Post.

“We as Amazon Associates work hard to ensure that the building hits the numbers it strives for and work together in order to provide satisfaction to all of our customers,” the petition said. “[But] we can barely afford to live in today’s economy.”

San Bernardino and Riverside counties are home to dozens of Amazon facilities. The company is the region’s largest private employer.

Read the full report from The Washington Post.