(Dis)organizing labor: a comparative historical overview of Amazon's anti-union strategies in Western Europe

Francesco S. Massimo

Chapter 2 in Unpacking Global Amazon, 2026, pp 42-66 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Faced with specific constraints, this study of employment relations and firm strategy at Amazon in its warehouses in Italy and France argues first, that local management in multinational corporations can play an active role in shaping the headquarters’ guidelines. Second, institutions can simultaneously constrain and facilitate management's and workers’ collective action, depending on actor's strategies, namely, how they choose to exploit the opportunities available to them. Amazon workers in France and Italy can rely on relatively protected union presence and collective bargaining. However, a careful analysis of the labor politics in these two countries shows the limits of the institutionalization of industrial relations, especially when these institutions are weakened by a process of systemic neoliberalization and challenged by the anti-union tactics of a company like Amazon.

Keywords: Anti-unionism; Business Strategy; Union Strategy; Amazon; Corporation; Multinational Corporations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035380442
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