“I felt powerful in that moment, surrounded by a coalition of multiracial, multi-gendered, multigenerational people who believed our individual victories were directly linked to our collective success and struggle against Amazon”

-Josh Crowell, KCVG

A large portion of our coworkers at Amazon’s KCVG air cargo hub were immigrants, many who spoke English as a second language. Yet Amazon refused to provide proper translation services. Without proper training and information for all workers, our workplace becomes more dangerous for everyone. 

In 2023, we drafted a petition demanding guaranteed translation for all work-related communication, paid professional translators and union representation for all HR and disciplinary meetings, and free on site English language class, offered during working hours. 

We used the petition to build our union with both immigrant and native-born coworkers, under the slogan “Language shouldn’t be a safety hazard.” And, after a few months of organizing,  we collected over 1,000 petition signatures. 

As our cause was gaining traction, Amazon, afraid of our budding collective, retaliated by refusing to hire local immigrant workers. In response, we staged our first march on the boss. About 50 of us went as a group to HR, demanding that they stop banning immigrants from the hiring process. We chanted in English, Spanish, and French. When HR refused to respond,  we occupied the entrance to the ramp building and held the line in powerful, multi-lingual solidarity rally.

Soon after our demonstration, Amazon conceded to several of our demands. They began hiring immigrant workers again, and they gave everyone - not just at KCVG, but nationally - access to translation software. They also began translating written, on-site communication into Spanish and French. This was a victory for all workers!

Learn more about the actions in our TikToks, one short video and one long.

Want more information about workers organized and fought back? Click here and let us know who you are - someone will get back to you ASAP. 

Photo credit: Calvin Priest