I Was Illegally Fired by Amazon for Speaking Out About a Coworker’s Death
When Amazon worker Magda Malinowska spoke out about a coworker’s death at a warehouse in Poland, Amazon fired her. Now a court has ruled that Amazon committed illegal union busting. Malinowska tells Jacobin why Amazon is so afraid of its workers organizing.
An employee arranges goods for shipping orders at the Amazon fulfillment center in Poznan, Poland, on June 12, 2014. (Bartek Sadowski / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Two years ago, union organizer Magda Malinowska was fired from her job at an Amazon warehouse near Poznań, in western Poland. Her sacking came as retaliation for her efforts to speak out against poor working conditions — a conflict catalyzed by the September 2021 death of forty-nine-year-old Dariusz Dziamski, a colleague of hers who died on the shop floor. Fast forward to October 2023, and a Polish court has ruled that Amazon fired Malinowska illegally.
The ruling provides a small step toward justice for Malinowska, albeit only after a two-year delay, and a period in which many aspects of Amazon workers’ rights have worsened. In an interview, Malinowska spoke to Jacobin’s Caspar Shaller about Amazon’s inhumane treatment of staff, its violation of basic union rights, and workers’ efforts to stand up against corporate tyranny.
