American Sweatshops? Amazon’s Employee Angst

The Post article “Prime and punishment” (Maureen Donnelly, Dec. 1) about the sweatshop conditions experienced by an exworker at Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse should be validation to the people who stood up when the company planned to build headquarters in Queens.

In a city and state with progressive reputations, how are these conditions allowed to exist?

Where are the federal and state agencies that are supposed to protect the workers from these harsh and inhumane conditions? Existing laws are so watereddown and ineffective, they are useless.

We all welcomed the possibility of 25,000 jobs to be created, but at what (and whose) cost?

Amazon was included in the 2019 “Dirty Dozen” list of the nation’s most dangerous employers by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. How is the company allowed to get away with this? Tony Giametta Oceanside

I am not saying that stocking at an Amazon warehouse is an easy job, but it is a job.

Companies have rules that employees need to follow for the company to run well. If you don’t like the way a company is run, you are free in America to look for another job, which Maureen Donnelly did.

Not all things in life are fun. From the story, I saw a company that cared about safety: no distracting cell phones, bend at the knees, stay hydrated and get paid $16-an-hour plus benefits.

Fixes for certain situations (like the distance to bathroom and difficulty in contacting an employee in an emergency) can be approached without being critical of a company that has offered so many people employment and a service that consumers obviously want. Christine Fennes West Hempstead

Is it no longer the American dream to work hard and be promoted to other well-paying positions by putting your time in?

Donnelly should be ashamed for working for a month and thinking she was doing mind-numbing tasks.

Why did The Post not interview the many thousands of employees who have worked their way up in the company to management positions?

I think the list of people who would like to work for Amazon is quite long, yet The Post published one person’s viewpoint that made it seem that all workers feel this same way.

I think to be promoted in any job, you cannot just punch a clock and think that the world is coming to you. Joe Ryan Livingston, NJ

Thank you for printing the article about the horrible working conditions at Amazon fulfillment centers.

My husband worked for one about five years ago and had exactly the same experience. He had worked lots of different, laborious jobs before, but nothing as horrible or soulcrushing as Amazon.

Because of his experience, and Amazon’s lack of respect for the human condition, I absolutely refuse to buy from the company. Amazon is a money-grubbing profit machine out of the days of the Rockefellers and Standard Oil.

It doesn’t care for its employees or the employees’ families. Jeff Bezos could use a “come to Jesus” moment. Kelsey Mayher Fort Worth, Texas

I just read the article on the poor, overworked exAmazon employee.

I love The Post but was totally flabbergasted as to why you would give two pages of your newspaper to one complaining exemployee.

As someone who is in leadership myself, it is our job to be positive, upbeat and pro-company. I don’t see why she expected something less and then complained about management “drinking Kool-Aid.” It’s very probable they do love their careers.

Not all jobs are a good fit for all people. I would strongly suggest that she go back to school or learn a trade, so she can work in a job that does make her happy.

I would never hire someone with such a whining, negative attitude. Terri Costa Bedminster, Pa