Amazon workers on strike

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http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Workers-rally-against-Amazon-in-Seattle-Germany-236091271.html

On the same day more than 1,000 workers at Amazon.com in Germany walked off the job in a labor dispute, a few dozen people rallied in solidarity Monday outside the online retailer's Seattle headquarters.

The one-day strike comes during the busy Christmas season for the online retailer. The German union Ver.di said Monday that workers were staging one-day warning strikes at Amazon logistics centers in Leipzig, Bad Hersfeld and Graben.

The union says Amazon workers receive lower wages than others in retail and mail-order jobs. They also say other retailers pay overtime, but Amazon does not. The union says that by classifying its centers as "logistics" centers, Amazon can pay lower wages.

Amazon.com Inc. has about 9,000 fulltime employees in Germany and hires about 14,000 seasonal workers, the company said.

Amazon spokeswoman Mary Osako said the majority of the workers did not strike.

For its part, Amazon said its distribution warehouses in Germany are logistics centers and employees are already paid on the upper end of what workers in that industry earn. Their wage packages also include stock grants and bonuses.