Thread by @CharmaineSChua

These photos of a new Amazon warehouse in Tijuana, Mexico have been going viral as the "This is capitalism" picture of the year. But there's a lot more going on here than the picture can tell you. Let's trace the Amazon supply chain! A thread:👇 1/

To understand how Amazon functions, we have to place this Tijuana distribution center (DC) in relation to the larger delivery network: here, @GoodJobsFirst helps us map the massive footprint of Amazon DCs in the US (pic 1) and, in the Inland Empire (pic 2) 2/

Till now, the Inland Empire has been the most crucial site for Amazon's delivery network. Close to the ports of LA and LB -- which handle 40% of all container imports into the US -- the IE is a source of cheap land and cheap labor (see @JuanD's Inland Shift for more) 3/

But the Amazon networks' epicenter is starting to shift. Since Trump's trade war, there has been a total increase of about $200 billion in tariffs from China. For e-commerce companies, this means direct China-US trade has become too expensive. The solution? Mexico. 4/

The new Tijuana DC is not there to serve the local market. It will employ superexploited Mexican labor to dissemble goods for import across the border. It's 24 minutes away from Amazon's new Otay Mesa FC in San Diego county - the largest warehouse in the US at 3.3 mill sq ft. 5/

In his brilliant dissertation research, Spencer Potiker (UCI Global Studies) is examining this US-Mexico logistics seam. Potiker notes that at the end of Obama's term in 2016, NAFTA Section 321 was extended to allow the duty-free import of goods up to $800. 6/

For Amazon, this duty-free clause, set against the increase in China-US tariffs, provides a loophole. They will ship Chinese goods into Mexico, bring them to the Tijuana facility to process and break apart, then truck them in tote-bag sized, sub-$800 bundles to Otay Mesa FC 7/

At Otay Mesa FC, workers (paid at minimum wage) will manage inventory for these tote bag-sized piece goods and prep them for further distribution inland. Trump's USMCA trade deal inked 2019 hastens this by lifting inspection requirements by the EPA and CPSC. 8/

p.s. the minimum wage in Mexico is $9USD per day.

So, yeah: the most valuable company on the planet, whose owner went to space for kicks, developing a facility on top of a slum in TJ, making use of superexploited labor & a USMCA clause to import goods tax & inspection free.. 9/

..in order to expand its retail monopoly, while workers work 60 hour work weeks, on mandatory overtime, on punishing megacycle shifts? This Amazon boosters laud for creating jobs, but that will destroy more stable jobs than it could ever create? This is capitalism, alright. 10/10

You can follow Spencer Potiker's incredible research here: scholar.google.com/citations?user…

Read more about Amazon's workforce in Mexico here: longreads.trust.org/item/Inside-Am…

and explore Good Jobs First's map of Amazon here: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/adc5ff…

Oh, and it bears mentioning that not unrelated, Otay Mesa is also the site of the Otay Mesa Detention Center, run by private prison company CoreCivic, under lawsuit in 2017 for detainee forced labor:
detentionresistance.org

aclusandiego.org/en/publication…

This thread is making the rounds so while I have you: if you’re a journalist or you research Amazon and want to write about this: Please do not steal from people’s hard won research! Support grad students, get in touch with, interview, and credit Spencer Potiker for his work.

And also support and follow @amazoniansunite @AUchicagoland @NYCAmazonians @wwunite @AmazonWorkersIn and all the Amazon workers fighting for themselves.

Wow, this really blew up.😯Hate Amazon? Here are some ways you can take action:
1) If this moved you to unsubscribe from your prime membership, send your monthly or yearly prime membership fee to support Amazon worker organizing:
chuffed.org/project/stop-m…

chuffed.org/project/help-a…

2) Have you thought about working at Amazon yourself? You can join workers fighting for better protections and rights on the inside of the monster. Get involved with Amazonians United: amazoniansunited.org/get-involved
And here's an article that says more: jacobinmag.com/2020/04/amazon…

3) Want to help in other ways? We on the solidarity committee support workers in a variety of ways and need lots of help. If you have organizing experience, or want to learn, or are just good at whipping things into shape, volunteer here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

4) Here is a second fundraiser for workers - the first was for AU in NYC, this is for Chicago. chuffed.org/project/stop-m…