Amazon is not known for its fair labor practices. This Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Amazon workers across 20 countries went on strike due to low wages, poor working conditions, and the right to unionize. It’s far from the first strike Amazon has seen, and it appears that it won’t be the last, especially since employee concerns seem to fall on deaf ears.
Such was the case for a group of Amazon warehouse workers who were exploited by the company in early November.
The Amazon workers walked out early after reportedly being expected to work an extra hour unpaid due to daylight savings.
On November 3, we turned our clocks back to usher in daylight savings time. While it’s an annual occurrence, Amazon nightshift workers were still impacted unfairly.
A Tampa-based content creator and Amazon employee, @ki2xs._ on TikTok, shared in a video that she, along with a majority of her co-workers, left an hour early after learning that they wouldn’t be compensated for the extra hour they were required to work due to the time change.
In a post that attracted heaps of attention, with many criticizing Amazon’s unfair policy, the 28-year-old brought attention to the issue, writing, “POV: you work early [at] Amazon during the time change [and] they won’t pay us an extra [hour], so we all left an [hour] early.”
Despite getting paid hourly, the Amazon warehouse employees were told that their 11-hour shift would be treated like a 10-hour one.
In a follow-up video, @ki2xs._ filmed herself the day after daylight savings asking her manager if those who worked 11 hours the day prior would get paid for the entire shift.
“Ten hours,” her manager responded.
Many online were outraged on behalf of the workers who had their pay unjustly docked. It should go without saying, but just because the number on the clock changed, doesn’t mean that the workers shouldn’t be paid for their full time.
In fact, as many commenters pointed out, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act, what the company did was illegal and considered wage theft.
Still, this issue isn’t anything new for Amazon. In a 2020 Reddit forum, Amazon workers discussed the ongoing issue and how the company handles the fall and spring time changes.
In some locations, workers admitted that they were expected to clock out as if they’d worked their normal hours despite the time change. Other workers claimed they were compensated for the extra hour.
Amazon has a history of low pay and exploitation.
In a May 2024 nationwide study — the largest report of Amazon employees to date — warehouse workers were asked about their economic well-being, including whether they’d skipped meals, went hungry, or were worried about being able to make rent or mortgage payments.
Fifty-three percent of respondents reported that they’d experienced one or more forms of food insecurity in the prior three months, and 48% experienced one or more forms of housing insecurity. Over half, 56%, struggled to pay their bills.
Another report from April 2024 found that 56 percent of Amazon workers felt anxious or depressed at least several days over the previous two weeks due to poor and unsafe working conditions. Many reported feeling burnt out, exhausted, and in physical pain.
“The conditions there are absolutely horrific,” one Alabama-based Amazon warehouse worker said in a Rutgers report. “I likened it to slavery because they care more about quotas and meeting production rates than actually caring about us as human beings inside there. I feel more like a number.”
If Amazon requires their employees to work through a time change, then they must pay for all time worked — that’s not an opinion, that’s the law. Workers have a right to demand that the $2.24-trillion company fairly compensate them for their labor and demand better conditions.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
