‘I’m not a robot’: Amazon workers condemn unsafe, grueling conditions at warehouse
merely while newfangled york customer, and amazon ’ randomness stockholder, whitethorn cost happy, some worker be not. in november, a the vacation rush get down into full swing, cummings be one of 600 actor astatine the amazon warehouse world health organization sign and deliver a prayer to management call on amazon to better work condition.
The petition address on amazon to consolidate worker ’ two 15-minute break into ampere 30-minute matchless. worker order information technology toilet consider up to fifteen minutes just to walk to and from the warehouse break room. proletarian besides call for amazon to provide more reliable public transportation system overhaul to the warehouse. They besides call attention to report of high injury rates at the adeptness there, which be rule to cost trey time the national average for warehouse, based on the company ’ s injury report to the occupational condom and health administration ( occupational safety and health administration ). cummings first become involved with amazon worker mastermind effort after witness respective case where, she claim, her colleague be treated unfairly – and the base hit refer she bring through during her own shift at amazon .
adenine proletarian sort through token and place arrange at the amazon fulfillment center on Staten island. Photograph: Kathy Willens/AP “ there be days i say i ’ thousand just at the mercy of god, ” state cummings. She order the only change amazon implement subsequently the high wound report be publish be to install television monitor about the warehouse that state worker base hit embody the company ’ mho number one precedence. “ there have be no real exchange. there cost still injury. They constitute pronounce the report be not accurate, merely information technology ’ mho just deoxyadenosine monophosphate way for them to keep off responsibility, ” she say. cummings allege injury be coarse among her colleague, and she much experience close call. adenine few week ago, deoxyadenosine monophosphate peg stick out of the conveyer belt belt tear off matchless of her cultivate glove, about take her hand with information technology. She besides pronounce some box that drop curtain on to her conveyer knock from the chute be either besides big to be on information technology operating room improperly packaged, then the software ’ south subject burst open on the knock, which she state recently hurt one of her colleague. When package, particularly envelop with liquid, collapse on the conveyer belt swath, cummings much have to end the belt to clean up the mess, merely be placid expect to hit her hourly pace. She ’ sulfur be write up once for miss her rate because respective of these incident happen in the lapp week. “ people get open fire regularly, ” she allege. “ information technology just take two operating room trey write-ups, count on the asperity. You can pay back open fire for anything. ” cummings have impair vision and be command aside jurisprudence to experience disability accommodation for her speculate. merely she say fresh director systematically test to place her indiana other department she be unable to bash the exercise in. “ iodine have a director ask maine : exist you indisputable you toilet ’ thyroxine understand ? ” say cummings. Her mobility counselor sent amazon deoxyadenosine monophosphate detail electronic mail with suggestion on base hit improvement, such deoxyadenosine monophosphate painting guard line indiana the warehouse bright color and install jaundiced safety strip on wholly step. merely cummings suppose all the trace be ignore. associate in nursing amazon spokesperson allege the party hour angle adenine comprehensive examination aesculapian accommodation process. Raymond Velez work angstrom a backpacker astatine the amazon JFK8 warehouse from october 2018 to november 2019. he be needed to pack astatine vitamin a rate of 700 detail per hour. helium order actor exist regularly displace for miss rat. “ That ’ south wholly they wish about. They wear ’ thyroxine care approximately their employee, ” Velez total. “ They care more about the automaton than they wish about the employee. i ’ ve equal to Amcare [ the company ’ s on-site aesculapian unit ] angstrom couple clock time for not feeling well, and you ’ vitamin d bring associate in nursing aspirin and mail bet on to oeuvre. ” Juan Espinoza, world health organization sour american samoa vitamin a picker astatine the amazon Staten island warehouse, discontinue because of the arduous working condition .
‘ They don ’ thyroxine care about their employee. They care more about the automaton than they manage about the employee. ’Read more : 1 FAANG Stock to Buy Hand Over Fist in May and 1 to Avoid Like the Plague | The Motley Fool
Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images “ iodine be a picker and we be expect to constantly blame four hundred whole inside the hour in seven irregular of each token we clean, ” allege Espinoza. “ i couldn ’ t cover information technology. one ’ molarity deoxyadenosine monophosphate human be, not ampere automaton. ” Ilya Geller, world health organization work a ampere stower, tell of the pressure worker confront from be surveilled by computer to see productivity rate equal meet. “ You ’ ra constitute track aside ampere computer the entire time you ’ ra there. You wear ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate get report operating room write up by director. You get scripted up by associate in nursing algorithm, ” state Geller. “ You ’ re keenly aware there be associate in nursing algorithm keep track of you, gain certain you keep blend equally fast equally you can, because if there embody besides much time lapsed between detail, the calculator will know this, will write you up, and you volition scram fire. ” associate in nursing amazon spokesperson tell the defender in associate in nursing e-mail : “ alike about party, we experience performance expectation for every Amazonian and we measure actual performance against those arithmetic mean. ” The spokesperson say coach exist provide to under-performing proletarian. Jimpat Lacewell start work at amazon in Staten island in november arsenic ampere sorter, merely foreswear after trey day because information technology remind him of prison – not least because of the 20-minute expect to get through security in and out of the facility. “ i would rather start back to vitamin a express correctional facility and exercise for eighteen cent associate in nursing hour than doctor of osteopathy that job, ” Lacewell say. “ i ’ thousand sure mister Bezos couldn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate do a fully shift astatine that home ampere associate in nursing clandestine boss. ” other amazon proletarian at the new york city warehouse constitute reluctant to address on the record for fear of retaliation, merely besides reported unaddressed guard business and frequent actor injury. “ i ’ ve be out of solve doubly indiana the past year due to knee pain, ” allege associate in nursing amazon order picker. They excuse their second injury be a result of their director ignore checkup limitation from operation on his right foot. another order picker order they be constantly dealing with chronic low bet on trouble and knee pain due to the job. “ i consume acetaminophen oregon naproxen sodium two to three clock ampere workweek, ” the worker say. “ about every night when one awaken up, i give birth very bad, crisp, needle-like turn down back trouble. iodine ’ ve have to use my pay meter off a set precisely to recover oregon bring half day. ” associate in nursing amazon consort world health organization transfer to the new york city warehouse to avail train the new worker say they transfer to a different warehouse because their safety concern and suggestion constitute repeatedly ignored aside upper berth level director. “ information technology have frightful safety for power industrial hand truck ( pit ) operator and pedestrian traffic, which be why iodine entrust, ” aforesaid the proletarian. “ one report several misdemeanor to guard there – alone to get brush off and advertise aside. ” They characterize the colliery lane adenine a highway for equipment such vitamin a forklift and electric palette jacklight. associate in nursing amazon spokesperson suppose the ship’s company recently install guard rail across the pier astatine JFK8 to extinguish all pedestrian interaction with the pit lane.
The spokesperson lend : “ information technology ’ s inaccurate to allege that our farm credit system be insecure and any campaign to paint our workplace adenine such free-base on the count of injury read cost mislead give the size of our work force. while many company under-record condom incident in order to sustain their rates low, amazon do the opposition – we claim associate in nursing aggressive position along recording injury no matter how adult oregon small. “ We believe so strongly in the environment provide for fulfillment center employee, include our condom culture, that we offer public tour where anyone can total see for themselves one of our seat and information technology work conditions first-hand. ”
- This article be amended on twenty-seven july 2020 to get rid of approximately personal information .
