Publications
Publications
- February 2023 (Revised October 2023)
- HBS Case Collection
Amazon and the Future of Organized Labor
By: Reshmaan Hussam, Trevor Fetter and Grace Liu
Abstract
From their peak in the 1950s, private-sector labor unions in the United States declined rapidly in membership and influence, decade after decade. But growing inequality—especially visible during the COVID-19 pandemic—sparked new interest in labor and organizing. Pandemic conditions for essential workers, along with a surge in demand for online retail and quick delivery, threw Amazon in particular into the national spotlight. With workers sharing stories of physically and mentally taxing warehouse conditions, organizing efforts spread across Amazon Fulfillment Centers, from a vote on joining an established union in Alabama, to non-union organizing actions in Georgia, to the first successfully unionized FC in New York State under the banner of the new, independent Amazon Labor Union.
Keywords
Citation
Hussam, Reshmaan, Trevor Fetter, and Grace Liu. "Amazon and the Future of Organized Labor." Harvard Business School Case 723-030, February 2023. (Revised October 2023.)