Greene County Democrat

Tag: Amazon

  • Newswire : A Black Friday of resistance as Americans push back

    Young Black women shopping in mall

    By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

    Black Friday arrives this year in a country wrestling with the weight of policies that have stripped stability from millions of Americans and placed Black communities at the edge of economic ruin.
    Storefront lights shine as if the nation were whole, yet in living rooms across the country, families count the losses of a political agenda that has torn apart the federal workforce and shattered the financial security of those who once depended on it. Hundreds of thousands of Black federal workers have been removed from their positions since Trump returned to office, and the effect on neighborhoods, schools, and generational wealth has been immediate.
    The crisis facing Black women is even deeper. The National Partnership for Women and Families reports that 265,000 Black women have been pushed out of the labor market since January, and the unemployment rate for Black women has climbed to 7.5 percent, which is the highest in years.  “These numbers are damning and confirm what we’ve long known to be true,” said Democratic Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.  “Under Donald J. Trump, Black women continue to face a crisis of disproportionately high unemployment. Their systematic pushout not only has dangerous consequences for Black women, Black families, and Black futures. It is also a glaring red flag for the entire U.S. economy.”

    This is the country entering Black Friday. It is why the Mass Blackout movement and the We Ain’t Buying It coalition have stepped forward to reclaim the weekend that once symbolized celebration. Their message calls for shoppers to keep their money, their labor, and their attention away from the companies they believe profit from silence while Black households are battered by economic loss. “No spending. No work. No surrender,” the Mass Blackout coalition announced in its call to action, which accuses the nation’s corporate power structure of thriving while ordinary people struggle to survive.

    The second coalition focuses its attention on retailers like Amazon, Target and Home Depot. Activists accuse these companies of cooperating with or benefiting from Trump’s political agenda. LaTosha Brown, cofounder of Black Voters Matter and a member of the We Ain’t Buying It coalition, delivered her remarks in the coalition’s public statement. “We ain’t buying this foolishness. We’re not buying this racism. We’re not buying the abandonment of DEI. We’re not buying that the wealthiest country in the world cannot take care of its own citizens,” she stated. “If they want to call it Black Friday, let’s show them what a Black Friday really looks like.”

    Home Depot issued its response after activists accused the retailer of working with immigration authorities during enforcement actions. The company stated that it is not notified before such actions occur and that it is not involved in them. Organizers remain unconvinced and continue to include the retailer in holiday boycott plans.
    Amazon has faced scrutiny for working conditions and for the $1 million it contributed to Trump’s inauguration, which boycott leaders cite as evidence of political alignment. The coalition argues that Amazon has benefited from federal policy while workers across the country face tightening hours and declining wages, and its owner, Jeff Bezos, has fully capitulated to Trump.
    Behind all these confrontations sits a larger truth. Black Americans are living through an economic emergency that has been shaped by federal policy decisions targeting the jobs, protections, and historical pathways that built the Black middle class. Analysts at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report that Trump’s agenda has attacked food assistance, health care, and family income supports at the very moment when unemployment among Black women is rising, and Black communities are losing stable federal careers that once offered a route out of poverty.

    Organizers say this Black Friday is not about discounts. It is a line drawn by people who are tired of being told to spend in a country that is stripping away their ability to live. It is a refusal to pretend that holiday lights can hide the harm done to families who have been pushed to the margins of the economy.
    The final word from organizers cut through the noise of the season. “We’re not buying from companies that won’t stand with us,” LaTosha Brown stated. “Our dollars will go elsewhere.”

  • Newswire: Vice President Harris announces commitments exceeding $900 million for the Women in the Sustainable Economy Initiative

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire

    Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday announced the Women in the Sustainable Economy (WISE) Initiative, which the White House says supports the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) theme of “Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All.” Its goal is to strengthen women’s economic empowerment globally.
    
The initiative contains over $900 million in commitments from governments, private sector companies, foundations, and civil society. The funds will bolster women’s economic participation in key sectors such as clean energy, fisheries, recycling, forest management, and environmental conservation.
    
The WISE Initiative is a core element of the broader Biden-Harris Administration’s dedication to advancing women’s economic empowerment globally. The commitment aligns with the U.S. National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality and the U.S. Strategy on Global Women’s Economic Security. Notably, it builds on the administration’s previous announcement in Ghana, where $1 billion was pledged to empower women globally and bridge the digital gender divide.
    
According to a White House Fact Sheet, the initiative operates on three foundational pillars:
    
1. Promoting Well-Paying Jobs: Ensuring women have the necessary skills, training, and access to decent jobs in energy, land, and water use and management.


    2. Supporting Women-Owned Businesses: Facilitating increased access to banking, financial services, networks, markets, and technical assistance for women in critical sectors

    
3. Eliminating Barriers: Advancing STEM education for girls and addressing obstacles to women’s economic participation in energy, land, and water use and management.
    
Under the WISE umbrella, flagship initiatives include the Engendering Industries program, focusing on creating economic opportunities for women in sectors like water, agriculture, energy, and information technology.
    
The Climate Gender Equity Fund (CGEF), a public-private partnership under the direction of USAID, promotes financial inclusion for women-led organizations in climate finance for long-term economic growth.
    
Global commitments from governments include Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, and Norway, each contributing significant funds to support women’s economic participation and empowerment.
    
Administration officials confirmed that the private sector, philanthropic organizations, and civil society are active participants. Major players such as Amazon, CARE, Citi, LinkedIn, Mastercard Impact Fund, PepsiCo, Reckitt, Unilever, and the Visa Foundation commit substantial financial resources to promoting women’s economic empowerment.
    
In reinforcing the U.S. commitment, Harris announced a contribution of $163 million to advance women’s economic security domestically and globally. Collectively, partners are pledging over $900 million, marking a historic step towards fostering women’s participation in the sustainable economy. “This initiative not only aligns with the APEC theme but also represents a bold stride in the global pursuit of gender equality, economic empowerment, and sustainable development,” administration officials said in a release.

  • Newswire: Biden supports right of Amazon workers to organize union

    President Joe Biden

    By Brian Freeman    

    President Joe Biden on Sunday expressed his backing for union efforts by Amazon workers in Alabama.
    “Workers in Alabama – and all across America — are voting on whether to organize a union in their workplace. It’s a vitally important choice — one that should be made without intimidation or threats by employers,” Biden wrote on Twitter. “Every worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union.”
    His tweet included a video in which he addressed the workers involved, emphasizing that the choice whether or not to organize was theirs and that there should be “no coercion” by the company.
    “I have long said America wasn’t built by Wall Street,” Biden said. “It was built by the middle class, and unions built the middle class. Throughout his political career, Biden has sought to project an image as a friend of organized labor, according to Politico.
    However, he has largely not been involved in attempts to organize Amazon’s employees at a location in Bessemer, Alabama, where some 6,000 workers work. Ballots were sent out to workers at the plant on February 8. Responses must be received by March 29th by the National Labor Relations Board, with counting starting the next day, NBC News reported.
    Vice reported that Amazon has taken steps to convince workers to reject the union, including sending out pamphlets encouraging them to vote against organizing. Other attempts by Amazon to convince workers not to unionize has been holding mandatory meetings and establishing a website encouraging employees to “do it without dues.”
    Amazon has also placed anti-union posters and messages in restrooms used by the workers.
    Workers report inhumane working conditions in the sprawling Bessemer warehouse, where their every movement is monitored by the same computers that direct them to pick up products to fill orders. The workers say that the company discourages restroom breaks and send them complaint notices if they take too long to do their jobs.
    If the Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union (RWDSU) is successful in winning this election, it will be the first Amazon facility to unionize in the United States. There are 6,000 workers at the Bessemer plant who are eligible to vote.
    Biden’s statement is an important indication of his support for unions and willingness to publically address this sensitive issue

  • Newswire : NASCAR joins growing list of those taking stand against racial injustice

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent

    NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace stands on pit row at Martinsville (Photo: nascar.com)


    Since protestors and demonstrators have taken to the streets around the globe in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, many businesses and organizations have issued statements and taken measures to communicate their stand against racial injustice.
    On Wednesday, June 10, NASCAR joined that ever-growing list with the announcement that it’s removing the Confederate flag from all of its events.
    “The presence of the Confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry,” NASCAR officials wrote in a statement.
    “Bringing people together around a love for racing and the community that it creates is what makes our fans and sport special. The display of the Confederate flag will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties.”
    Companies and organizations like the National Basketball Association, Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Ben & Jerry’s, and Nike have also issued statements condemning racial injustice.
    However, skeptics say it remains too early to tell if the growing list of businesses will support African American-owned businesses and the continued cry for racial equality.
    “NASCAR isn’t a museum. It’s a sport. And on race day, it’s a sport that invests more time and pageantry honoring America than anyone,” writer Dan Wolken wrote in an Op-Ed for USA Today. “The people who insist the Confederate flag is an important part of that pageantry are not amplifying the values inherent to American sports. They’re mocking the long road to progress that has once again arrived at a defining, historic moment,”
    While many took to social media to voice their surprise about NASCAR’s decision, one of the sport’s premier drivers and NASCAR’s lone Black competitor joined in to applaud the move.
    “I’m just really proud of the efforts of NASCAR for stepping up and wanting to be a part of the change,” Bubba Wallace, who’s No. 43 Chevrolet car has the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag painted over the vehicle, told Good Morning America.
    “I know it’s tough, they’re in a tough situation,” Wallace stated. “They’ve been in a tough situation for a long time now, but I think this is the most crucial time and time is of the essence right now in the world that we’re in and the nation that we’re in to create change and create unity and come together and really try to be more inclusive.”