Our Perspective
Amazon Workers
Demand
Historic Change
By Stuart Appelbaum, President
Retail, Wholesale and Department
Store Union, UFCW
Twitter: @sappelbaum
BRONX TIMES R 30 EPORTER, MARCH 5-11, 2021 BTR
Amos, a beloved pelican shot
in both wings fi nds forever
home at the Bronx Zoo
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Ready to cry going into the weekend?
The Bronx Zoo recently welcomed
a new friend into its spacious home off
Southern Boulevard, this one a rescued
American white pelican who was shot
in both of his wings some years ago.
This brave avian’s name is Amos
and he fi rst was found fl ightless and
wounded with his wings drooping in
the port of Corpus Christi, Texas back
in 2016 where his road to rehabilitation
began.
Amos was fi rst brought to the Texas
State Aquarium’s Wildlife Rescue Center
where a team of veterinarians determined
he was shot twice, likely while
fl ying after analyzing Amos’ broken
wings.
He underwent surgery and recuperated
in the lone star state to a much
healthier condition – though Amos is
still unable to fully extend his right
wing and cannot fl y, thus making a release
back into the wild unsafe.
After bunking at the Texas State
Aquarium for a year, also earning the
status of an “instant favorite” among
keepers and visitors, arrangements
were made to give Amos a forever home
in the Bronx.
Given what experts described as
Amos’ bold personality and friendly
behavior, he’s managed to fi t right into
New York City as a new member of the
zoo’s animal ambassador program, joining
the likes of nearly 200 peers.
It’s in that program where Amos will
privately meet students, campers, and
families both in person and virtually to
raise awareness of his tragedy and how
teams of dedicated professionals facilitated
his cross-continental rescue.
“Amos was in bad shape, but thanks
to excellent work of the animal care staff
at the Texas State Aquarium and Bronx
Zoo, this charismatic bird is thriving
and will help us further our mission
through his story,” said WCS EVP and
Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny.
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Amos’ species, the American white
pelicans are classifi ed to be of least concern
for endangerment but remain protected
under the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act of 1918.
Their habitual range spans from interior
North America where they migrate
inland to breed out to both the Pacifi
c and Gulf Coast regions of the U.S.
and Mexico.
Pelicans like Amos can grow to
about four feet tall and have a wingspan
of nearly nine feet.
Both males and females grow a temporary
protuberance on the upper mandible
of their beaks during breeding
season.
American white pelicans are almost
entirely white with the exception of
black-tipped wings that are only visible
while in fl ight.
In Bessemer, Alabama, a historic, worker-driven
grassroots union organizing campaign is underway at
the Amazon warehouse there. The votes are being cast
and will be counted, and the campaign could drastically
change the lives of over 5,800 workers at the facility, who are demanding better
treatment and a voice on the job.
The Amazon campaign is so important because it represents the story of
working men and women in the pandemic era. Americans depend now more than
ever on working people: workers at supermarkets, pharmacies, food processing
and health care facilities – many of them RWDSU members – and of course, at
Amazon. From daily necessities to luxury items, Americans depend every day on
the work done by these Amazon employees.
This sprawling facility opened in March of last year, just as the world was
coming to grips with COVID-19. And workers there had the same health and safety
concerns of all frontline workers, which were exacerbated by Amazon’s workplace
conditions and grueling productivity quotas. Workers perform their jobs close
together, and short and infrequent breaks often don’t allow for adequate
handwashing and sanitizing. Workers say Amazon monitors their productivity so
closely that they are afraid to take bathroom breaks.
The concerns of workers in Bessemer reflect those of Amazon workers across
the world. Thousands of Amazon workers have signed a petition calling for better
health and safety policies. Amazon workers at facilities in Germany, Spain, Italy,
Poland, and the United Kingdom have held strikes or other worker actions to
demand safer workplaces. Here in New York, the Attorney General’s office has filed
a lawsuit against Amazon for failing to provide adequate health and safety
measures and for firing and disciplining employees that objected to Amazon’s
unsafe work conditions. Even amidst the Alabama workers’ organizing drive,
Amazon continues to disregard safety, having insisted upon an in-person union
election despite the COVID-19 pandemic. That move was shot down by the NLRB,
which instead called for a mail-in vote. With at least 13 deaths at Amazon facilities
– even before the pandemic – Amazon made the National Council for Occupational
Safety and Health’s “Dirty Dozen” list of dangerous employers two years running.
The Alabama Amazon workers approached the RWDSU because they saw the
difference the union was making in Alabama. The RWDSU was at the forefront
fighting for frontline workers in the early days of the pandemic, bringing swift
attention to the unsafe working conditions at poultry plants. In the wake of the
RWDSU’s efforts, poultry plants improved their social distancing policies, erected
barriers between workers, provided PPE and sanitizer for workers, implemented
COVID testing, and increased pay for workers who were risking their lives to feed
America while also providing pay for workers who were under quarantine.
Bessemer Amazon workers took notice, and by December of last year, thousands
of them had signed union cards.
The Amazon organizing drive is more than just about one campaign; it’s a
moment working people are seizing to demand change, and to be treated as
human beings. Regardless of the outcome of their campaign, the Amazon workers
in Bessemer, Alabama, have already made history. They’ve brought renewed
attention to the labor practices of the world’s largest retailer, and
shown that when workers stand together, they can stand up
against any employer in the world. Their inspiring
campaign has already changed the landscape, and is
resonating with working people everywhere who now
know they can demand safer workplaces and the
dignity and respect of union membership.
www.rwdsu.org
Amos, a rescued Pelican now living in the Bronx Zoo
Photos courtesy of Julie Larsen Maher/Bronx Zoo
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