Amazon is facing another nationwide boycott of its stores and services from July 1, held by The People’s Union USA, announced during the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez.
Newsweek has contacted Amazon and the founder of The People’s Union USA via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Consumer-led boycotts against well-known and prolific American corporations have been sweeping the country since late February, in what organizers have framed as an attempt to regain control from corporations.
While short-term financial effects may be limited, such movements seek to encourage broader discussions on economic fairness and corporate accountability.
What To Know
The boycott against Amazon is being organized by The People’s Union USA, which was founded by John Schwarz. The group, which describes itself as “a movement that organizes economic resistance actions against political corruption,” previously led a boycott against the company in March.
Speaking in a video shared to Instagram and TikTok, Schwarz said “This July, we are boycotting Amazon, Starbucks and Home Depot for the entire month of July. And we’re not just doing this because of their political view, we are doing it for the people.”
“I wanna start with Amazon first because they’ve got their big Prime Day sales coming up,” Schwarz said. The company’s Prime Day sale runs from July 8 to July 11 this year.
“Behind those illusionary deals, there are workers who are suffering. They are working in extreme heat, on their feet, with no time to breathe, they’re pushing their bodies to the limit so Jeff Bezos can throw a multimillion dollar wedding in Venice,” Schwarz said.
Amazon has faced criticism for its treatment of workers on multiple occasions. In December 2024, a U.S. Senate Committee report initiated by Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, said that at least two Amazon studies found a link between the speed at which the online retailer’s warehouse workers are performing tasks and workplace injuries. The report said that the company rejected safety recommendations out of a concern that this might reduce productivity.
Amazon pushed back against the findings at the time and said that Sanders “continues to mislead the American public” about their safety practices, and said the report was “wrong on the facts.”
The Bezos wedding in Venice sparked protests in the city, with locals forming a “No Space for Bezos” movement. Activists argued that the wedding plans amounted to the commercialization and privatization of Venice, exacerbating concerns over long-standing issues with overtourism in the city. This was denied by the couple’s wedding planners and the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro.
What People Are Saying
John Schwarz, speaking in a TikTok video about the boycott: “We the people have had and seen enough. So this July, we make a different kind of noise. We stop shopping with them, we stop funding the systems that don’t serve us. And we shift our energy to small businesses, to local shops, to the people who actually care. Because we are the economy.”
What Happens Next
The group is continuing to spearhead boycotts of major American companies. The boycotts against Starbucks and Home Depot will also last for the month of July.
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