Has American-Style Management Angered Amazon’s German Workers?

“Make Tarif Vertrag” proclaimed one of the many signs held aloft at a Thursday protest of Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) labor practices in Germany, covered by The New York Times. Roughly translated, the curious combination of English and German demanded that the company make a collective bargain with workers, referring to the Internet retailer’s refusal to negotiate labor terms with one of Germany’s largest unions, ver.di, an abbreviation of Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, or United Service Industries Union.

Since a grim portrait of life at Amazon’s packing and distribution centers in that country was revealed in a documentary aired on February 12 by the German television channel ARD, the company has been fighting an intense public relations battle.

In a series of interviews, temporary workers hired through agencies on Amazon’s behalf spoke of long hours, short breaks, and pay lower than promised, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. Many of these workers were bused in from countries like Spain or Romania, where work is difficult to find, in order to help with the company’s increased holiday package flow.

Not only were working conditions allegedly below German work standards at Amazon’s logistic centers, but the company’s temporary staff were “subjected to a climate of intimidation,” according to The Associated Press. They faced constant searches and harassment from security guards that wore black uniforms linked to Germany’s neo-Nazi culture and sported military haircuts. Even the name of security firm used by Amazon — HESS Security — is reminiscent of Nazi Germany; Rudolf Hess was one of Adolf Hitler’s deputies…