Sellers face difficulties in shipping, and Amazon warehouse workers go on strike again

Overseas, Amazon warehouse workers in the United States went on strike. Domestically, Amazon issued delay reminders to self-delivery sellers due to the epidemic, and UPS suspended its business in Shenzhen and Dongguan...

Amazon warehouse workers strike in US

According to foreign media reports, on March 16, workers at three Amazon warehouses in New York City and Washington, D.C. went on strike, demanding that Amazon increase wages and restore the original rest time.

It is understood that the strike was organized by workers working the night shift at three delivery stations in Queens, New York and Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Dave Jamieson, a labor reporter for the Huffington Post, said that since most of the workers working the night shift participated in the action, the strike was enough to cause problems at the DMD9 warehouse in Maryland .

At the ZYO1 warehouse in Long Island City , Queens, five night shift workers walked out of the warehouse at 4:30 a.m. after shutting down the conveyor belt , the report said . Outside the warehouse, striking Amazon warehouse workers joined 26 workers from the neighboring warehouse DBK1 in Woodside, Queens .

Thirty workers at an Amazon warehouse called DMD9 in Upper Marlboro, Maryland , which serves the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore metropolitan areas, also joined the strike Wednesday morning .

Workers participating in the strike said their current wages are about $15.75 to $17.25 per hour , but due to the impact of rising housing, food and gas costs in the market this year , these wages are not enough to cover their corresponding expenses.

In addition to wages, the reduction of rest time is also an important reason for the workers' strike . In 2021, Amazon announced that it would shorten the workers' rest time from the original 20 minutes to the current 15 minutes . They believe that their rest time is not guaranteed.

It is worth noting that this strike coincides with a surge in organizing at Amazon warehouses across the United States . Currently in Bessemer, Alabama, Amazon warehouse workers at BHM1 are currently voting by mail on whether to join a union. In Staten Island, Amazon warehouse workers at the city's JFK8 will also vote in person later this month on whether to join a union.

This is not the first time that Amazon workers have gone on strike. Similar incidents occurred at multiple Amazon sites on Black Friday last year and in early March this year . Although this strike took place at Amazon's smallest warehouse, the recent strikes have still affected the warehousing and the entire circulation process of goods involved in the warehouse to a certain extent.

Domestically, affected by the epidemic, Amazon sellers are also facing some problems with delivery.

Amazon's self-delivery sellers' delivery time is automatically extended

In addition to the demands of Amazon workers in the United States for a pay raise and the restoration of a 20-minute break, the recent outbreaks in many parts of China have also caused headaches for some Amazon sellers. Due to the explosive growth of the epidemic in many parts of China recently, especially in the coastal cities of South China including Guangdong and Shenzhen , and some southeastern coastal cities such as Hangzhou and Ningbo , new cases have appeared for several consecutive days.

This situation also has a certain impact on Amazon's logistics and delivery . Recently, Amazon has also noticed this problem. It is understood that the platform has automatically updated and extended the estimated delivery time of some sellers' self-delivered (MFN) products , and sellers are required to pay attention to the delivery time content of the order through the order page .

Sellers can check the delivery time displayed on the listing through [Seller Platform] - [Settings] - [Delivery Settings] page or [ASIN Page].

Of course, in addition to the extension of the seller's own delivery time, there is also the impact of logistics and transportation. Due to the severe epidemic situation, some logistics carriers will suspend the collection and delivery of goods in some cities and regions . Therefore, sellers need to contact relevant logistics carriers and warehouses in a timely manner to understand the logistics distribution situation and ask whether they can collect and ship goods normally.

If normal pickup and delivery are not possible , the relevant Amazon sellers can consider using other logistics carriers and warehouses ; if the seller's self-fulfillment (MFN) ASIN can be sold normally, but the processing time and logistics transportation time will be extended, Amazon recommends that sellers adjust the stocking/handling time (Handling Time) and logistics transportation time (Transit Time) in a timely manner according to actual conditions .

If the sellers’ self-fulfillment (MFN) ASINs can be shipped normally, Amazon recommends that sellers temporarily suspend sales of the sellers’ self-fulfillment (MFN) ASINs that cannot be shipped normally .

If none of the issues can be resolved, Amazon also recommends that sellers turn on “holiday mode”, and turning on “holiday mode” will not affect products delivered using Amazon Logistics (FBA) .

Under the current circumstances, in response to situations where delivery is unable to take place due to policies and traffic control , sellers are advised to communicate with customers promptly and patiently , negotiate to cancel orders, and remove related products from the shelves as appropriate .

If the buyer cancels the order, Amazon said it will not affect the seller's store cancellation rate. If the buyer does not agree to cancel the order, the seller needs to consider whether to cancel the order and after-sales service based on the actual situation.

In addition, sellers using Amazon's "Buy Shipping" service can continue to enjoy the benefits of the negative buyer feedback policy.

The editor would also like to remind relevant sellers that as long as the goods are shipped on time, delayed delivery caused by logistics companies will not affect the seller’s performance indicators.

In addition to Amazon's policy adjustments for self-delivery, UPS also recently issued a notice that transportation in many locations is facing delays.

UPS suspends shipping services in Shenzhen and Dongguan

Due to the epidemic, Shenzhen and Dongguan are currently under closed management, with residential areas blocked and many workers starting to work from home. As important production sites, many express deliveries have to go through these two places, so products for consumers in other parts of the country cannot be delivered.

This situation is even more troublesome for cross-border sellers. Factories have stopped production, freight forwarders have suspended receiving and shipping, and many shipping companies have adjusted their domestic related businesses, making it difficult for sellers to source goods.

In response to this situation, UPS announced on March 16 that it would suspend its transportation business in Shenzhen and Dongguan. All pickup, delivery and self-service pickup services in the two places were suspended until further notice. Some areas in Huizhou Daya Bay were also suspended. In other places such as Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Fujian and Jiangsu , the goods needed to be disinfected and faced a few days of service delays.

UPS also issued a warning that the shipping time of goods will be extended and packages may face delays, and sellers should be prepared. In addition to UPS, FedEx has also decided to adjust its delivery network, but has not yet made a clear announcement.

In this regard, many sellers have also said, "If the lockdown is not lifted soon, FBA inventory will soon be overwhelmed, especially for sellers whose suppliers are in Shenzhen and Dongguan, delayed delivery is inevitable..."

Some sellers also said that the factory only had production capacity in March, and they had been waiting for this batch of goods since they started working in February. Now the goods are finally ready, but now they can't be shipped. "Nowadays, those who have goods are the bosses. If there are a few more waves of epidemics, small sellers really can't bear it." All these things have expressed the bitter tears of many cross-border sellers.

However, some sellers remain optimistic. "Although delivery is affected in the short term, under the strict control of the government, I believe that work will soon return to normal. At present, we are still cooperating with nucleic acid testing and obeying all arrangements to defeat this epidemic."

Last year's account suspension and continuous increase in freight rates are still fresh in our memory. As a result, since the beginning of this year, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the current epidemic have caused one wave after another in the cross-border circle. However, these negative impacts are always temporary, and sellers should still maintain an optimistic attitude and look forward.

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