Amazon workers say Prime Day rush breaks virus safety vows
Amazon. com Inc. has recklessly reinstated dangerous warehouse productivity quotas despite telling a judge that it was suspending them during the pandemic, workers said in a court filing.
“Amazon has not been honest and forthcoming,” employees at a warehouse in Staten Island, N.Y., told the judge handling their lawsuit, which claims the company’s “oppressive and dangerous” policies violated public-nuisance laws and exacerbated COVID-19 hazards.
While Amazon says worker safety is its top priority, employees at several facilities in different states claim their well-being takes a back seat to quickly shipping customers’ orders.
In July, Amazon provided the court a message it had sent to employees and posted in bathrooms at the Staten Island facility, telling them they wouldn’t be disciplined for falling short of the company’s quotas for how many tasks they complete each hour. Workers were also assured that time spent on safety measures like washing their hands wouldn’t be counted against them under Amazon’s “Time Off Task” policy, which restricts the number of unproductive minutes allowed in their day.
The company also submitted a statement by a U. S. human resources director that the more permissive policy dated back to March, when due to COVID-19 the company “ceased providing productivity rate feedback to associates and imposing any discipline related to low productivity rates.” Workers said the July message was the first time they heard of any such change, and in response to it they withdrew their request for a preliminary injunction in their lawsuit.
But in their new filing, the plaintiffs allege that in the lead-up to “Prime Day,” Amazon’s self-created, labour-intensive annual promotional holiday that started Tuesday and ends Wednesday, the company has once again been hassling employees about productivity, and warning them that slowness could get them terminated.
One Staten Island employee got “verbal coaching” from a manager for falling short, and management notified staff on a white board that “productivity feedback” was being restored, according to one worker’s account included in the filing.
Amazon representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prime Day has become the starting point of the holiday shopping season, which will look vastly different this year because pandemic- wary shoppers will avoid big store sales typically used to lure crowds. About half of shoppers plan to do most or all of their shopping on the web, according to a Harris Poll conducted with Bloomberg, demand that will strain Amazon’s warehouses and delivery stations.
Amazon has faced criticism as it has scrambled to remain open through the pandemic and hire enough people to meet surging demand. Its vast network of warehouses have become a lifeline for people looking to avoid stores, but workers risk getting infected and potentially bringing the disease home.