Strike planned at Amazon, grocery delivery companies

Workers at several major companies say they will walk off the job Friday in protest of their employers’ failures to protect them during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a flyer shared on social media, organizers of the “May Day General Strike” call on customers to boycott Whole Foods, Amazon, Instacart and Target, which owns the delivery service Shipt.

Friday’s strike comes amid rising activism from workers at the companies, many of whom have been exposed to and even died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

“Because of the failings of our employers, many of our fellow employees have contracted this deadly virus and some have died,” the strike’s organizers wrote in a press release Wednesday. “Although there have been some changes in company policies, they are not enough to adequately protect us.”

Workers at the companies have been protesting and striking in recent weeks, calling for a series of worker protections including hazard pay, accessible sick leave and protective equipment.

Friday will be the first time they coordinate that activism.

“We are only essential as our health and for that reason we have decided to demonstrate our civil rights on May Day, International Workers Day,” the organizers wrote.