Amazon Employees Will Walk Out Over the Company’s Climate Inaction

Over 900 Amazon employees have signed an internal petition pledging to walk out over their employer’s lack of action on climate change.  The demonstration, scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time on September 20, will mark the first time in Amazon’s 25-year history that workers at its Seattle headquarters have walked off the job, though many are taking paid vacation to do so.  Most of the workers who have signed on so far work in Seattle, but employees in other offices, including in Europe, have indicated an interest in the event as well.  The protest is part of a global general strike led by 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg taking place ahead of the United Nations Climate Action Summit on September 23.

WIRED spoke with three Amazon employees who signed the petition and plan to join the walkout.  “It’s incredibly important that we show up and support the youth who are organizing this kind of thing, because I think it’s really important to show them, hey, you have allies in tech,” says Weston Fribley, a software engineer who has worked at Amazon for over four years.

“I have a chance here to influence Amazon to become a climate leader, and I think that’s the biggest impact that I personally can bring to the fight,” says Maren Costa, a principal UX designer who has worked at Amazon for over 15 years.

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