We ’ve already seen lines snakingas far as the eye can seeand up to11 hour waitsfor former voting , and , since the U.S. has n’t made election day on a weekend or a home holidaylike much of the restof the civilized creation , we ’re left to the mercy of our bosses . So Amazon tech workersare petitioningthe ship’s company for a paid day ( or shift ) off , any metre between now and November 3rd for vote .
The petition , posted on Amazon ’s internal ticketing system , was authored by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice ( AECJ ) and hadreportedly amassedover 3,000 signature by noon yesterday . “ How can we have a salubrious democracy when our country ’s second - largest company wo n’t prioritise elector involvement ? ” an Amazon senior product manager is quoted in theorganizers ’ blog post .
Between Amazon and Whole Foods , the company employsat least 1,372,000 masses in the U.S. , making it the second - largest employer behind Walmart . Earlier this twelvemonth , Amazonfired twoAECJ member who criticized the company for failing to foreclose the20,000estimated covid-19 exposure in its warehouses .
Image: Johannes Eisele (Getty Images)
late voter surveys suggest that meter off could importantly increase railroad siding . A diminished survey by thePew Research Centerof individuals who did n’t vote in the 2014 midterm exam election found that 67 % of answerer said they did n’t have time—35 % of which specifically name school or work conflicts as the primary reason they did n’t mould a voting . The number are n’t quite as drastic in presidential elections , but in 2016 , 14%still saidthey were too busy or had docket conflicts . AnotherPew studyfrom August shows that apathy — often the biggest deterrent — is ( to no surprise ) bear to be far less of a problem than usual this year , with 83 % of voters said it “ really matter ” who becomes President of the United States , versus 74 % in the former election .
Amazon suppose that it does grant employee time off to vote but does n’t offer pay .
“ We have provide all of our employees with information on how to cross-file to vote , details of their local polling locations and how to request fourth dimension off to vote , ” an Amazon spokesperson told Gizmodo via email . “ In all 47 states with in person voting , employee that miss adequate clip before or after their schedule workday to vote , can request and be provided excuse time off . The number of hr and pay provided to employees variegate by state in ancestry with local laws . ”
A period of time of “ hours ” would make sense in a commonwealth where everybody has immediate and easygoing access to polling places . unluckily , that ’s not the one we live in .
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