News: UN Special Rapporteur Calls Out U.S. and Three Major Corporations, for “Trapping Workers in Poverty”

Three of the largest corporations in the world - Amazon, DoorDash, and Walmart - received letters from the UN Special Rapporteur for extreme poverty and human rights on August 31, 2023, in which he called them out for their treatment of workers. The Special Rapporteur specifically referenced Amazon and Walmart’s union-busting activities, which has hampered the ability of workers to utilize their right to collective bargaining and better their conditions, pay, and benefits, and DoorDash’s insistence that their delivery drivers are independent contractors rather than employees, which denies them traditional employment benefits such as minimum wage guarantees. He also referenced a U.S. government report which stated that employees from these companies are among the highest recipients of government medical and food assistance, arguing that employers have a responsibility to give their employees a path out of poverty, instead of relying on government assistance to justify paying their workers the lowest wages possible. 

The Special Rapporteur also wrote to the United States government on August 31, 2023, going through all of the allegations against all of these companies and requesting information on its plans to address the widespread in-work poverty in the country. “The allegations against Amazon, DoorDash and Walmart would constitute flagrant violations of these rights and it is time for these corporations, and the U.S. Government, to be held accountable,” he said.

Read more about this topic here. Find the original letters from the Special Rapporteur and the responses from Amazon and Walmart here.