Amazon Workers in Germany Strike During Black Friday for Union Recognition

In November 2014, Amazon workers in Germany organized by the Ver.di union launched strikes during Black Friday, one of Amazon’s most profitable shopping periods, as part of an escalating labor dispute that had begun in 2013. The strikes represented a direct challenge to Amazon’s anti-union stance and highlighted stark differences in labor conditions between Amazon’s U.S. operations and its European facilities, where workers fought for sectoral wage agreements and union recognition.

Background: First Strikes in Amazon’s History

The conflict between Amazon and Ver.di began in early 2013, when hundreds of German warehouse workers launched what became the first strike at Amazon anywhere in the world—the company had not faced a single work stoppage in its entire history before the German labor actions. Ver.di, Germany’s service workers union, organized workers across multiple Amazon distribution centers to demand that the company recognize regional collective agreements applicable to retail and mail order companies.

By 2014, strike days had risen to twenty-six, reflecting an intensifying dispute over fundamental questions of worker dignity, fair compensation, and union representation. The Black Friday 2014 strikes targeted Amazon’s most vulnerable moment—the peak shopping season when any disruption could cost millions in lost sales and damage the company’s reputation for rapid delivery.

Worker Demands and Conditions

Ver.di’s central demand was that Amazon recognize it as a mail order company under German labor law and implement sectoral collective bargaining agreements. These agreements would require Amazon to provide:

• Wages in line with sectoral agreements for retail and mail order workers
• Holiday bonuses guaranteed under collective agreements
• Christmas bonuses standard in the industry
• Improved working conditions and respectful treatment

Workers complained of physically exhausting conditions including:

• Walking distances of 15-20 kilometers (9-12 miles) per shift
• Very short rest periods inadequate for physical recovery
• Electronic monitoring and control of worker speed and performance through handheld scanners
• Lack of respectful behavior by managerial staff
• Intense performance pressure creating a hostile work environment

Ver.di argued that Amazon enjoyed an unfair competitive advantage by refusing to pay agreed sectoral wages or provide standard benefits, effectively undercutting legitimate mail order companies that complied with German labor standards.

Amazon’s Anti-Union Response

Amazon Germany maintained a hardline anti-union position that mirrored its U.S. parent company’s approach. Amazon’s leadership argued that trade unions would impact the company’s “innovation potential and dynamics.” Amazon Germany’s CEO claimed that unions were unnecessary because “Amazon is a responsible employer”—a position workers actively striking against poor conditions clearly rejected.

The company refused to negotiate with Ver.di or recognize the union as a legitimate bargaining partner. This refusal persisted despite the fact that German labor law provides stronger worker protections than U.S. law, and despite growing public support for the striking workers. Amazon classified itself as a logistics company rather than a mail order company, claiming this exempted it from retail sector collective bargaining agreements—a legal position Ver.di and labor advocates disputed.

Significance: International Labor Pattern

The 2014 Black Friday strikes demonstrated that Amazon’s worker exploitation model was not limited to the United States but represented a global corporate strategy. Even in Germany, with its stronger labor protections and union culture, Amazon sought to impose the same high-pressure, low-wage, anti-union model it used in American warehouses.

The strikes also revealed Amazon’s willingness to accept ongoing labor disputes and public criticism rather than compromise on wages or union recognition. The company calculated that absorbing strike costs and reputational damage was preferable to establishing precedents of union recognition that could spread to other facilities.

The German labor actions established a pattern of international worker resistance to Amazon that would continue for years. Workers in Spain, France, Poland, and other European countries would subsequently organize strikes, often coordinated around high-volume shopping periods like Black Friday and Prime Day. These international labor actions demonstrated that Amazon’s expansion created similar exploitative conditions worldwide, but also that workers across borders could coordinate resistance.

The Ver.di campaign also highlighted how Amazon’s business model depended on suppressing labor costs below industry standards. The company’s refusal to pay sectoral wages in Germany paralleled its resistance to $15 minimum wage demands in the United States and its opposition to union organizing globally. The 2014 strikes were part of a decade-long struggle that would eventually contribute to successful union organizing efforts, including the historic Amazon Labor Union victory at Staten Island in 2022.

For labor advocates, the German strikes provided evidence that even in countries with stronger worker protections, Amazon’s aggressive anti-union tactics and exploitation model could take root without sustained worker organizing and public pressure. The strikes became a rallying point for international labor solidarity and a warning about the corrosive effects of Amazon’s business practices on labor standards worldwide.