Abstract

Furthering our calls for incorporating critical race and intersectional theory in understanding worker organizing, we focus on the working experiences of African-American Amazon warehouse workers in the US South. Based on qualitative research and in-depth interviews, we highlight their working experiences and acts of resistance. We give particular emphasis to what workers want in the face of «plantation-style management» employed in what are essentially modern company towns in the «Black Belt» of the United States. At the same time, we also explore the tensions as workers from different racial groups face fragmentation due to the unique ways they are impacted by employer practices. Throughout the paper we show that a deeper understanding of contemporary workplace phenomena emerges when we recognize and account for how identity-based systems of subordination, in this case racism, have been embedded in capital accumulation and employment relationships. Based on our findings, we highlight a critical need for workers to take an intersectional approach to organizing that can better counter identity-based conflict. Finally, more broadly, we show the implications beyond a US or Amazon-centric context