Workers at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse went on strike on Black Friday.
Jacob King/PA/Getty Images
An Amazon warehouse said its employees could write a letter to Peccy this holiday season, according to The Guardian.Select employees will then be chosen to have “some” of their wishes fulfilled. The initiative was criticized as tone-deaf by at least one employee who cited the need for higher wages.
An Amazon warehouse told workers they could write to the company’s orange blob of a mascot if they’re facing financial hardship around the holidays, according to a new report, and at least one employee at the warehouse is criticizing the initiative as tone deaf.
The company posted a notice in at least one warehouse, SWF1 in Rock Tavern, New York, that publicized the suggestion, The Guardian reported Monday. According to Amazon, the initiative was specific to the site and not network-wide.
“Are you or someone you know facing financial hardship this holiday season?” the flyer read, according to The Guardian. “Peccy wants to help! Write a letter to Peccy. If the Peccy team selects you, some of your holiday wishes could come true!”
Keith Williams, a worker at the Amazon SWF1 warehouse who spoke to The Guardian, criticized the initiative. To him, Amazon could be spending more money on “giving us the safety and security of a living wage” and less on company initiatives like Peccy.
“We want wages. Not trinkets,” Williams told The Guardian.
Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos — who currently serves as executive chairman — one of the richest people in the world with a net worth of over $172 billion, per Bloomberg. The company also boasted strong earnings in 2023.
While Amazon makes significant profits, warehouse employees have long complained about the wages they receive while working arduous, prolonged shifts. Warehouse employees earn between $17 and $28 per hour depending on position and location in the US, and have previously been required to work overtime hours, especially around the holidays.
Along with the pay and hours, an April study from Strategic Organizing Center found that in 2022 the rate of worker injuries at Amazon was 70% higher than those at similar warehouses, and the rate of serious injuries was double that of other warehouses.
The e-commerce company announced in September that it would invest $1.3 billion toward pay increases at its warehouses, and also introduced a $10 per hour extra pay incentive during the holidays this year for workers who want to work extra time.
Williams is still dismayed.
“It’s like, how much can you show what you’ve done for Amazon? Write a letter to us and we’ll help you out, and only offer extra pay for maybe two or four hours if you come in on your sixth or seventh straight day of work and we’ll give you an extra $10. They’re fully capable of doing it when it benefits them,” Williams told The Guardian.
However, Amazon is sticking behind the warehouse’s “well-intentioned holiday giving initiative” — although, it’s saying sorry to anyone who didn’t find the initiative as endearing as some employees did.
“This was a well-intentioned holiday-giving initiative that received a lot of positive feedback from employees, however, our team is aware of the potential negative perception it created and apologize to anyone who may have been offended,” Sam Stephenson, an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider by email.