Amazon takes action as workers criticise warehouse conditions
Amazon has fired two employees who blasted the company over its warehouse conditions during the coronavirus outbreak.
UX designers Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa were let go on Friday. They were members of the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice group and had flagged up via Twitter a “lack of safe and sanitary working conditions” for warehouse workers.
“Amazon fired me and @marencosta,” Cunningham said on Twitter. “As Mary Oliver wrote, "oh! how rich it is to love the world." It's a gift to be able to fight for something you love so deeply. All I know is that we need eachother. And that we can do this. PS I love you.”
An Amazon spokesperson stated the pair had been shown the door for “repeatedly violating internal policies…We support every employee’s right to criticise their employer’s working conditions, but that does not come with blanket immunity against any and all internal policies.”
A third employee, Chris Hayes, also had his employment cut short after he criticised its treatment of warehouse workers. He had already handed in his resignation and was planning to leave this week, but a few hours after he invited co-workers to a virtual discussion with warehouse workers, a human resources representative told him he would no longer be allowed to work.
John Oliver
John Oliver, host of HBO's Last Week Tonight show, recently hit out at Amazon in a segment involving the coronavirus pandemic and the essential workforce.
Last month, the e-commerce giant debuted a commercial dedicated to the “Amazon retail heroes on the floor, in the air, or behind the wheel.”
“It’s hard to say what I like least about that,” Oliver said “Maybe it’s the schmaltzy piano music, maybe it’s Amazon patronisingly claiming they care about the well being of their ‘heroes,’ or maybe it’s just the fact that, out of context, the Amazon smile logo is a quick sketch of an uncircumcised dick. It's probably a combination of all three.”
"If you feel like you are not working in safe conditions, then it is even more infuriating to know the items you are packing can sometimes be anything but essential,” he added.
He then showed a news clip of an employee who was upset that his warehouse was still in operation even though it was completely out of "essential" items. "If we are depending on those workers for our survival and to a certain extent, our comfort, we owe them a lot in return," Oliver commented.
He also addressed paid sick leave, which US Congress recently mandated temporarily for smaller companies.
"Amazon's initial policy would give two weeks paid time off for anyone whose been diagnosed with Covid or who has been quarantined, which sounds good, but there is a big problem with requiring a positive test," Oliver said.
Former employee Chris Smalls claimed it was near impossible to get a test in New York. He was later fired for leading a walkout over work safety concerns at a Staten Island warehouse.
"And Amazon will say they have now made their sick leave policy more lenient for their 'heroes,' which is true. What's also true is that only came after they got letters from 14 state attorneys general saying their initial policy was inadequate to protect the public health."
Amazon recently posted an update to its blog citing the numerous safety measures it has offered employees, including personal protective equipment, temperature checks, social distancing guidelines, and other process updates meant to keep workers healthy.