Economist Yanis Varoufakis called for a one-day boycott of Amazon.
INTERNATIONAL— Greek-Australian economist Yanis Varoufakis called for a one-day boycott of Amazon on this past Black Friday, Nov. 27, in an online video where he asked viewers to not even visit the site on its busiest day of the year.
Groups of trade unionists, environmental activists, privacy campaigners and tax justice advocates also planned coordinated actions against the company’s sites and supply chain. #MakeAmazonPay actions took place across 15 countries, the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines, Germany and Poland.
Amazon’s success during the COVID-19 pandemic has inflated its share price and increased the wealth of its chief executive Jeff Bezos, by $70 billion.
“By boycotting Amazon you will be adding your strength to an international coalition of workers and activists,” Varoufakis said. “Amazon is not a mere company. It is not merely a monopolistic mega-firm. It is far more, and far worse than that. It is the pillar of a new techno-feudalism.”
Black Fridays actions were planned to initiate a campaign against Amazon’s record on workers’ rights, environmental impact, work with police and immigration authorities, tax avoidance, and privacy invasions of privacy through its growing range of internet-connected devices.
The campaign is assembled by Progressive International, a global initiative of progressive groups, politicians and intellectuals, including Varoufakis, Noam Chomsky and Bernie Sanders, and UNI Global, a trade union federation representing 20 million workers.
Further, thousands of Amazon workers and social and climate justice groups participated in a global action on Black Friday, demanding fairer wages, hazard pay during the pandemic, and for Amazon to start paying taxes. Protesters are also demanding that the company commit to better environmental practices and to allow workers to unionize.
No Rent Hikes At Port of L.As Warehouse No. 10
SAN PEDRO — The director of media relations at the Port of Los Angeles, Philip Sanfield Dec. 4, reported that the port is in discussions with Crafted, the permanent indoor weekend market located at warehouse No. 10, about its lease. Rumors have circulated that the port was seeking to raise rents both there and at Brouwerij West which sits across from Crafted. However, Sanfield said the port is not seeking to raise the rent the permanent market is currently paying or to change the terms of the lease that was agreed upon in 2015.
The Harbor Commission has recently received letters submitted from Crafted vendors, concerned citizens, artists, neighborhood council members and business owners to dissuade the port from potentially raising rents which were said to be triple the current rates. RLN contacted the operators of Crafted but did not hear back from them by the time of publishing.
Belmont Shore Protests Restaurant Closures
LONG BEACH— More than 200 protesters marched, Dec. 2, in Long Beach in protest of outdoor dining closures enacted by new COVID-19 restrictions. The march, starting at 2nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway, then went through Naples to the Belmont Shore area at Nieto Ave., where it concluded in front of a Chase Bank.
Long Beach has its own health department and has typically aligned its orders similar to those of Los Angeles County, which has sparked local business owners to assert that the city should act independent of the county. Meanwhile, Long Beach again fell in line with the county Dec. 1, announcing a ban on all gatherings except for protests and religious services. The updated health order went into effect Dec. 2.
Health officials from both Los Angeles city and county have said in-person dining has been restricted because it is considered one of the riskiest activities. The decision came in response to the increasing daily average of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.
However, financial relief may be on the way in Long Beach. On Nov. 30, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia announced a proposal for a $5 million resiliency fund for restaurants, breweries and bars in Long Beach that have been forced to close in-person dining because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Long Beach City Council will consider the resiliency fund at its Dec. 8 meeting. The fund, If approved, would start with $5 million and may be increased depending on need and available federal stimulus money.