Amazon Makes Prime Day Profits off Backs of Muslim Workers who Lack Time to Pray

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Muslim Advocates launched a campaign to urge Americans to support efforts to stop religious discrimination against Amazon’s Muslim and East African workers.

The civil rights group is asking consumers, through a social media and email campaign, to donate the cost of a Prime membership, $13 per month, to support the legal work being done on behalf of Muslim workers in Amazon’s Shakopee, Minnesota warehouse. In May, Muslim advocates filed charges Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of three Somali women who have worked at the warehouse. 

The charges outlined in the letter to the EEOC include Amazon workers:

• Being denied enough time to pray;
• Getting assigned less favorable work, being passed over for promotions and having their complaints repeatedly ignored by management because of the workers’ nationality; and
• Experiencing a pattern of retaliation from management after speaking out about discriminatory working conditions.

“The truth about Prime Day is that this ‘parade of epic deals’ couldn’t happen without the labor of warehouse workers like our clients who are forced to choose between praying or a bathroom break,” said Muslim Advocates Staff Attorney Nimra Azmi. “This Prime Day, instead of spending $13 per month on a Prime membership, consumers should consider donating to ensure Amazon’s workers can continue to fight religious discrimination.”

In a separate action, the Awood Center, a local worker advocacy group in Minnesota, is working with the East African employees at Amazon’s Shakopee warehouse to stage a strike on the first day of Prime Day. Nimra Azmi and Muslim Advocates Racial Justice Fellow Nabihah Maqbool will be at Shakopee on July 15 to stand with the striking workers and offer their support.

Background Information:

• The New York Times – 3 Muslim Workers at Amazon File Federal Discrimination Complaint
• Muslim Advocates press release on the filing of EEOC charges
• Muslim Advocates Prime Day campaign website

Muslim Advocates is a national civil rights organization working in the courts, in the halls of power and in communities to halt bigotry in its tracks. We ensure that American Muslims have a seat at the table with expert representation so that all Americans may live free from hate and discrimination. 

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