Amazon may have issued a ādeclaration of supportā in January for a lawsuit against President Trumpās order to put a temporary halt to immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, but that hasnāt stopped outraged Muslims from planning a May 1 demonstration at the front door of the companyās headquarters in Seattle.
The Service Employees International Union and three Muslim guards who work for Security Industry Specialists, the security contractor Amazon uses to guard its facility, accuse SIS, and by implication Amazon, of refusing to allow the guards space to pray five times daily, even though members of other religions are granted the privilege of using prayer rooms.
Essag Hassan, a former SIS guard at Amazon, said he was let go because of his request to be allowed to pray on his work break.
āI was fired and not given a reason why,ā Hassan said. āIām speaking out for all Muslim security workers and for workers of any religion. When you ask for a space to pray on your work break, that request should be treated with respect.ā
The SEIU told PJM āa strongly worded letterā from the āSeattle faith communityā would be delivered to Amazon during the rally planned outside the companyās headquarters.
āUnlike other companies in locations with large Muslim populations, Amazon has not supported Muslim service workers requesting space to pray during their law-mandated work breaks,ā the SEIU email to PJM said.
āDespite granting the high-earning tech workers conference rooms to pray in, there appears to be a double standard for the contracted security officers who protect the tech giant,ā the SEIU email concluded.
The May 1 rally wonāt be the first time SEIU and former SIS guards who are Muslim have knocked at Amazon CEO Jeff Bezosā front door. PJ NEWS
