Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ilhan Omar Lead Letter Calling on Amazon to Protect Workers

WASHINGTON—Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ilhan Omar today led a bicameral letter to Amazon requesting detailed information into how the company plans to protect their warehouse workers, who remain on the job during this dire public health emergency. This issue has become all the more urgent since workers at 10 Amazon warehouses tested positive for COVID-19 as of this week. Rep. Omar and Sen. Sanders have led similar efforts to hold Amazon accountable for endemic abuses at its warehouses. They were joined Reps. Angie Craig, Jesús G. “Chuy” García , Raúl M. Grijalva, Ann Kirkpatrick, Barbara Lee, Jerrold Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Jan Schakowsky, Mark Takano , Rashida Tlaib, and Nydia M. Velázquez.



“Workers at Amazon warehouses worldwide continue to raise concerns that their employer is not doing enough to protect them from exposure to COVID-19,” the Members wrote. “More than 1,500 of these workers have signed a petition asking Amazon for a more comprehensive response plan, increased protections, hazard pay, and changes to productivity-based performance metrics.”



“Even prior to the dire global health crisis, these facilities have a proven record of high health and safety standard violations, and Amazon has failed to provide any substantive response or solutions to those violations,” they added. “Given that the company has announced plans to hire 100,000 new warehouse workers and institute mandatory overtime, we are growing more concerned that Amazon does not possess an adequate internal pandemic preparedness and response plan. Recent statements made by Amazon do not include sufficient detail, and use vague terms such as ‘often’ and ‘increasing,’ instead of providing specific data.”



You can read the full letter below and here.



Sanders contact: Keane_Bhatt@sanders.senate.gov

Omar contact: Jeremy.Slevin@mail.house.gov



March 27, 2020



Mr. Jeff Bezos

CEO

Amazon.com Inc.

410 Terry Ave. North

Seattle, WA 98109-5210



Dear Mr. Bezos:



We write to inquire about your company’s efforts to protect its employees who, even during this unprecedented global health crisis, continue to fulfill online orders at Amazon’s more than 100 warehouses across the country.



Reports show that Amazon’s U.S. sales have spiked as many Americans turn to the online retail market for essential products as the federal government continues to encourage residents to stay home in order to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). In fact, Amazon recently notified vendors and third-party sellers that it would temporarily halt warehouse shipments of nonessential goods in order to alleviate the growing strain on its services.



In a recent message to your employees, you recognized the critical work they are doing. You encouraged your employees to take care of themselves, yet you failed to recognize the vital role that Amazon plays in guaranteeing their safety. In fact, workers at Amazon warehouses worldwide continue to raise concerns that their employer is not doing enough to protect them from exposure to COVID-19. More than 1,500 of these workers have signed a petition asking Amazon for a more comprehensive response plan, increased protections, hazard pay, and changes to productivity-based performance metrics.



Even prior to the dire global health crisis, these facilities have a proven record of high health and safety standard violations, and Amazon has failed to provide any substantive response or solutions to those violations. Given that the company has announced plans to hire 100,000 new warehouse workers and institute mandatory overtime, we are growing more concerned that Amazon does not possess an adequate internal pandemic preparedness and response plan. Recent statements made by Amazon do not include sufficient detail, and use vague terms such as “often” and “increasing,” instead of providing specific data. As such, we request the following information regarding the company’s policies and precautions: