For years, the e-commerce giant could shield its vast archipelago of warehouses against disruptions from workers. Then it got even bigger.
The vans are just the most visible piece of the company’s vast delivery network. When you place an order for cat toys or razor blades or vacuum bags, Amazon employees typically pluck them off a shelf in a warehouse, then ship them to a succession of buildings, known as sort centers and delivery stations, where they are grouped by destination and loaded onto vans.
The system, which also includes planes and air hubs, has enabled ever-faster delivery, according to data from NIQ (NielsenIQ). It has also made Amazon susceptible to a potent form of labor organizing — choke point organizing — in which workers threaten to hobble a company’s operations by shutting down key sites, known as choke points.
Source:
Scheiber, N. (2023, May 19). Amazon is everywhere. that’s what makes it so vulnerable. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/19/business/amazon-union-choke-points.html
