No, they are not. Maybe it is true for a select group of people (computer programmers, some lawyers, some medical professionals), but the vast majority of people are not "free to work" and choose any company that matches "their values". Which makes protests like this one even more important and noteworthy, as those people protesting are risking a lot more compared to the "privileged" professions I mentioned above.
The profession doesn't matter at all, because anyone can go to the streets and protest to defend public interests. But attacking your own employer is not a solution. Why not to look for a job at NGO, or get involved in a non-profit startup instead? Oh, it doesn't pay well enough? Then you have to come into an agreement with yourself.
You're seriously asking why a lowly-paid Amazon employee doesn't look for a NGO or a non-profit startup job instead? No offence, but is this satire? It seems like a Silicon Valley episode to me.
As an EU citizen from a country with an average personal income of less than 1000€ / month, I don't see any problem with not working for a company that stands against what I firmly believe in. It doesn't necessarily have to be an NGO or a non-profit. If you care about climate change more than about anything else, get a job at TSLA.
This does confer some benefits with respect to safety net, etc. Working for an NGO might mean your kid not getting adequate health care.
Also, I don't believe TSLA is in a position to hire everyone who might like to work there (and they're not perfect themselves considering Elon's opposition to public transport that actually works, like buses)
Sure, it does, but we are talking here about highly paid Amazon's tech employees, not about lowly paid warehouse workers:
> More than 340 tech workers at Amazon used the hashtag #AMZNSpeakOut in public statements that condemn the company for not taking sufficient action on the climate crisis.
Does your country provide healthcare and/or housing while you are unemployed and looking for non-profit work based on your values? Or does you country also have 500,000 homeless and 44 million without health insurance?
In the EU, it's very hard to lose the job. It's even harder to lose healthcare benefits. Therefore, people have much less pressure and even somebody working at the Booking.com call center in Berlin can take half a year off to decide what he wants to do next.
However, "hundreds of workers" who "defy Amazon rules" to "protest company's climate failures" are not lowly paid warehouse employees. They are tech workers, who probably make 200-500k / year, and have plenty of options in their lives.
These protesters are far from becoming homeless overnight.
> More than 340 tech workers at Amazon used the hashtag #AMZNSpeakOut in public statements that condemn the company for not taking sufficient action on the climate crisis.
I'm sure that tech workers at Amazon are compensated quite handsomely. And even if those protesters were low paid warehouse staff (unlikely, protesting climate change is something that only those very well off can afford) do you assume that NGO would pay even less?
Yeah I do actually, often people pay NGOs to be able to work under an NGO.
Took me a tour in the military to change my overall chances in life.
And there aren't enough NGOs and startups to absorb thousands of Amazon workers anyway... hence having to get the warehouse jobs in the first place.
If employees aren't allowed to lobby / strike / speak out for better behavior of their own employer, no one else is going to have better leverage to encourage change either.
These climate protesters are not warehouse workers – they are Amazon's tech employees, making hundreds of thousands per year.
People working for a minimum wage are far too busy fighting for their own survival. In fact, many blue collar workers in the US are concerned that any new environmental policies might reduce their jobs and income.
It's the highly-educated white collar workers, who are protesting against climate change. And they have more than enough options in choosing whom to work for.