Amazon workers protest outside Jeff Bezos’ home

Activists led protests outside Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos’ home in Beverly Hills, California, demanding an increase in hourly wages for the company’s warehouse workers and higher taxes on wealthy Americans.

The protest over the weekend saw the participation of nearly a hundred activists, according to the organisers of the rally, CBS News reported.

The move comes just about 10 days before the start of Amazon’s annual Prime Day sales event announced for 13-14 October.

Groups including United Teachers Los Angeles, Sunrise LA and Extinction Rebellion joined former and current Amazon workers in the protest.

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, Sunday’s protest was led by a fired Amazon employee named Christian Smalls, who used to work at one of the e-commerce giant’s fulfilment centres in Staten Island, New York.

The demonstrators called for “adequate protective equipment and cleaning supplies, as well as an increase of $2 per hour for hazard pay,” according to the LA Times.

Amazon earlier this month revealed that 19,816 frontline employees in the US have tested positive for COVID-19 or been presumed positive for the disease.

The e-commerce giant said it is investing “hundreds of millions of dollars” in a testing initiative, besides other safety measures for its frontline employees.