While the class and racial caste system in the United States limits our potential, it does not have to remain that way. The stratification system is something that was created by people, so it can be altered and challenged by people. Let’s return to the two individuals with very different positions in the stratification system at the beginning of the chapter that had one organization tying them together—Amazon.

Given what we have discussed in this chapter, Jeff Bezos is part of the elite. He has a variety of resources that most of us do not. He also is clearly an owner. In contrast, Derrick Palmer is a worker who does not have much control over his work.

Derrick Palmer and his best friend from the warehouse, Christian Smalls, helped organize the first union at an Amazon warehouse (JFK8 in New York). Smalls, an African American like Palmer, was a high performer on Amazon’s performance metrics and hoped to rise in the company.

Their initial small walkout in the early days of the pandemic resulted in the company forming a reaction team. Amazon’s counsel, in an email accidentally sent to over a thousand people, smeared Smalls as “not smart, or articulate.” An anti-union consultant allegedly called Palmer and Smalls “thugs.” Amazon ultimately fired Smalls (Kantor et al. 2021a, 2021b).

Palmer and Smalls continued their unionization efforts despite the heavy resistance from Amazon. Adopting more of a collectivist organizational structure and working independently of established unions, the leaders used social media and in-person events, such as potlucks and bonfires to build support. In April of 2022, the workers at JFK8 voted to unionize. Smalls thanked Jeff Bezos, “because while he was up in space we were signing people up” (Lyons 2022).

In this chapter, we explored different forms of stratification and how those systems tend to cohere. We then turned to how sociologists have sought to explain stratification and social class. We concluded with a tour of the class structure in the United States. In the next chapter, we will explore gender and how it is intertwined with stratification.

Review of Learning Objectives

Licenses and Attributions for Conclusion

Open Content, Original

“Conclusion” by Matthew Gougherty is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

“Social Stratification and Class Question Set” was created by ChatGPT and is not subject to copyright. Edits for relevance, alignment, and meaningful answer feedback by Colleen Sanders are licensed under CC BY 4.0.