A new report on working conditions at Amazon reveals there have been COVID-19 cases at more than half of the company’s warehouses in the US and predicts the disease will spread exponentially among workers in the coming weeks.
The report was prepared by the workers rights groups Athena Coalition and Hedge Clippers, using data from government health agencies and a range of local and national news sources.
As of April 14th, the report claims, ‘nearly 75’ of Amazon’s 110 US warehouse facilities have had at least one worker test positive for COVID-19, and without intervention the groups predict case numbers among Amazon workers will ‘exponentially increase.
A new report from workers rights groups warn that COVID-19 infections could grow exponentially in Amazon’s US warehouses without urgent intervention
‘Amazon is responsible for not becoming a vector for the coronavirus,’ the report says.
‘The company must protect the health and safety of more than 250,000 people across 110 US warehouses, sub–contracted delivery service partners, and 75,000 Flex drivers, for the sake of workers, their loved ones, and Amazon customers.’
The groups argue that Amazon’s inadequate safety policies has placed a disproportionate burden on people of color, who make up 58 percent of the company’s warehouse workers.
A major breakout at Amazon warehouse facilities could have a devastating impact not just on the company’s employees and contractors, but all of Amazon’s customer base which includes more than 112 million Amazon Prime subscribers in the US.
Amazon has disputed the report’s findings, describing Athena Coalition and Hedge Clippers as ‘self-interested critics’ who are funded by unions and Amazon’s competitors.
The report recommends all Amazon warehouses be closed for two weeks for deep cleaning, and that the company suspend its rigorous productivity quotas to give workers more time to wash their hands and disinfect shared tools or work stations
‘Nothing is more important than the safety of our teams,’ Amazon spokesperson Kristen Kish told Vice.
‘Since the early days of this situation, we have worked closely with health authorities to proactively respond, ensuring we continue to serve communities while taking care of our associates and teams.’
‘And, we have implemented more than 150 significant process changes to support our teams including increasing rates of pay, adjusting time off and providing temperature checks, masks, gloves and other safety measures at our sites.’
The Athena Coalition is a new collaborative project between more than 30 workers right groups that is partially backed by $15million in seed funding from George Soros’s Open Society Foundations.
Hedge Clippers is an open structure advocacy group dedicated to raising awareness on the exploitive effects of hedge funds on education, healthcare, and workers rights.
Amazon recently posted a blog highlighting a number of changes it’s made at its warehouses, including daily temperature checks and regular face mask distribution for warehouse workers.
Amazon disputes many of the claims in the report, saying it was funded by ‘self-interested’ pro-union groups, and points to the fact that it has raised wages $2 an hour for warehouse workers as well offered face masks and daily temperature checks as evidence its supporting workers
The company has also increased pay rate for US employees by $2 an hour, doubled overtime pay, and established a $25 million relief fund for partners like contract delivery drivers.
Amazon is also working to develop its own inhouse testing facilities to help identify and isolate infected workers.
According to the Athena and Hedge Clippers report, these are piecemeal measures that don’t adequately address the concerns of many of the company’s workers.
The groups call for Amazon to pay for COVID-19 testing and treatment, both for full-time employees and contractors, and offer full pay for all workers who self-quarantine for pre-existing health conditions or suspect a family member or housemate may be sick.
They also say the company should give workers hazard pay equal to time and a half the hourly wage, not just a $2 an hour increase, and also suspend its productivity quotas for employees, which leave no time for proper protective sanitation.
The group says Amazon should close all its warehouses for two weeks and perform a comprehensive disinfecting deep clean.
A group of current and former workers have called for a ‘virtual walkout’ to protest the company’s COVID-19 policies on April 24
The report arrives as another group of Amazon workers have announced plans to organize a one-day ‘virtual workout’ to protest the company’s COVID-19 worker safety policies.
‘We’re asking tech workers to virtually walk out on Friday (April 24),’ organizer Maren Costa said.
A former Amazon employee, Costa was fired along with Emily Cunningham after criticizing the company’s policies.
‘We want to tell Amazon that we are sick of all this – sick of the firings, sick of the silencing, sick of pollution, sick of racism, and sick of the climate crisis.’
AMAZON MANAGER, 35, BECOMES COMPANY’S FIRST EMPLOYEE TO DIE FROM CORONAVIRUS
Gerard Tuzara was formerly an officer in the US Air Force before he began working at Amazon
Gerard Tuzara is the first known employee from Amazon to die from the disease.
Air Force veteran, Tuzara, worked as an operations manager at Amazon’s Hawthorne facility near LAX airport.
The 35-year-old is believed to have passed away on March 31.
A week later a vacation in Mexico he began experiencing flu-like symptoms and was admitted to hospital, Amazon confirmed to DailyMail.com on Tuesday.
It’s not known exactly where Tuzara first contracted the disease.
His death was announced as an increasing number of claims have been leveled at the company over the level to which the company is providing safety protections for the workers in its warehouses and delivery workers.
It was revealed on Tuesday that Amazon has fired three more employees who spoke out over the company’s pandemic working conditions.
One of Tuzara’s friends wrote a tribute which has been posted in the warehouse where he worked.
‘Gerry was an Air Force officer, a loving husband, son and uncle,’ the letter read. ‘He will be greatly missed.’