Page 4 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2021 Council backs resolution asking Amazon to provide prevailing wages By Adam Swift C ity leaders skate a thin line when Amazon brings new facilities and jobs to a community. In Revere, Amazon is bringing a second distribution facility to the former Showcase Cinema site, but City Councillors want to make sure Amazon isn’t taking advantage of its employees and the community. Tuesday night, the council backed a resolution presented by councillors Jessica Ann Giannino and Richard Serino urging fair and full employment opportunities at Amazon. “Amazon is one of the wealthWith unity, we can achieve anything. HAPPY PRESIDENTS DAY. WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THE LONG WEEKEND. PLEASE REMEMBER WE’RE CLOSED ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15TH IN OBSERVANCE OF THE HOLIDAY. AS ALWAYS, YOU CAN ACCESS OUR ATMS AND ONLINE BANKING ANYTIME. WWW.EVERETTBANK .COM Right by you. Member FDIC Member DIF iest companies in the world, worth over $1.7 trillion, that’s trillion with a T, dollars, and they are working right now to build their own distribution network to increase profi t, but it’s at the expense of their workers,” said Giannino. “My concern right now … is that we want to make sure they are meeting the obligations of the city of Revere and our neighbors and that they are held to a high standard of safety.” The resolution, similar to one that has passed in neighboring cities, urges Amazon to meet and confer with the Revere community, included, but not limited to, representatives of labor unions including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 25, locally impacted neighborhood groups, local residents, and other interested parties to discuss how Amazon can expand delivery operations, warehouses, and fulfillment centers in a way that is benefi - cial to Revere and its residents while guaranteeing sustainable growth for the city and helping to ensure that fair and equitable employment standards are maintained for all ecommerce delivery network. The resolution also calls for Amazon operations to meet or exceed current community standards established by existing e-commerce delivery networks. This commitment would include that all delivery drivers be direct employees of Amazon and not independent contractors. “Revere is a working class city with strong ethics and work values, and a lot of small businesses have suff ered because of COVID-19,” said Giannino. “We want to make sure that we are not taking away from small businesses by allowing Amazon to get away with a little more than they should be.” Giannino said she wants to see Amazon providing its employees with wages and benefi ts on par with UPS and Federal Express. Serino said that when word came down that Amazon was coming to the former cinema site in his ward, Ward 6, the biggest issue he heard from his constituents was about what kind of jobs Amazon was bringing to the neighborhood. “Amazon has kind of a track record of not being fair employers,” said Serino. “In fact, last week, they were just fi ned $61.7 million for withholding tips from delivery drivers.” Serino said the goal of the resolution is to encourage Amazon to be a fair employer. “Obviously, we can’t mandate things, but we can certainly request them and show solidarity for Amazon employees,” said Serino, adding the employees should have the right to unionize and receive fair wages and good benefi ts. Anthony Caggiano, a Northeastern Metropolitan School Committee member as well as a member of Teamster Local 25 who worked for DHL said the delivery industry is very demanding, but that the tradeoff was always that employees would be compensated fairly and get a good benefi ts package. “I’m asking the city council to pass this resolution and send a message to Amazon that if they do business in this city, you will pay the prevailing wage and benefi t package and there will be a right to collective bargaining,” said Caggiano. Ward 2 Councillor Arthur Guinasso said the council is asking Amazon to be a good neighbor and to be good to their employees. “I think this is a very reasonable request for fair wages for the work being done,” said Guinasso. For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 781-286-8500 or Info@advocatenews.net
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