On March 16, Jeysson Manrique--who delivers packages for Amazon--woke up with a fever and body aches. Jeysson called in sick but his supervisor told him he needed proof Jeysson had a fever.
Jeysson couldn’t find a thermometer, so he had to go in for his shift at an Amazon facility in Queens. Two days later Jeysson’s father-in-law tested positive for coronavirus.1
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the richest man on earth, is refusing to properly protect his workers. He’s personally profiting from coronavirus--Amazon stock is up 5% while the rest of the stock market crashes and millions of people lose their livelihoods.
We need you to add your voice now and demand Congress investigate and shut down and sanitize unsafe Amazon facilities that are hotbeds for spreading coronavirus.
Amazon workers and our communities deserve better protection than relying on half-measures determined by the whims of a reckless billionaire.
Amazon delivery lead Kathy Knight said "I'm worried that I have infected 1000 people in the last three days." She and her 22-year-old son, who is also an Amazon driver, are awaiting test results for COVID-19 after her son began showing symptoms.2
COVID-19 is spread from person-to-person. Amazon delivery drivers come into contact with hundreds of households a day.
Coronavirus has now spread to over 50 Amazon warehouses. Amazon workers across the country have been organizing strikes and actions demanding safer working conditions and paid leave.
Instead of protecting workers, Amazon fired one of the worker organizers, Christian Smalls, and planned to smear him with a racist PR campaign.3
Hundreds, sometimes thousands of workers are packed together with few protective measures in Amazon facilities. Workers are calling Amazon facilities a “breeding ground” for coronavirus infections.
They report that Amazon is refusing to shut down and properly sanitize warehouses despite worker demands.
After the Houston location confirmed that employees had tested positive for coronavirus, workers reported that Amazon “refused to shut down the facility for deep cleaning and has barely increased their normal cleaning schedules.”4
We can’t afford to wait for Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to do the right thing and slow the spread of COVID-19. Congress must step in to protect public health. Sign the petition calling on Congress to investigate and shut down unsafe Amazon facilities.
The pressure is working. Workers and elected officials have gotten Amazon to expand its paid leave policy and forced Amazon to increase its safety measures.
On March 25, attorneys general in 14 states and Washington, D.C., wrote a letter to Amazon saying Amazon should not require COVID-19 testing for workers to receive paid leave because there is a widespread lack of access to testing.
Members of Congress led by Rep. Ilhan Omar--including all members of the Squad--also sent a letter to Amazon pressuring them to improve safety measures.5
On March 27, Amazon expanded its paid leave policy.6
But Amazon isn’t implementing all of these changes across all of its facilities and isn’t doing enough to protect workers.
Workers report that the company is not providing gloves and masks, is not adhering to social distancing measures, and isn’t being honest about the risk of infections in Amazon facilities.
On Monday, an Amazon warehouse worker’s child tested positive for COVID-19 so she requested paid leave. Amazon told her to take unpaid time off until she received test results even though executives say they have expanded their paid leave policy.
It’s unacceptable for one of the most profitable corporations in the world led by the richest man on earth to force workers to choose between risking their lives or having enough money to eat and pay rent.
Health experts say that if we are not successful at slowing the spread of COVID-19, as many as 1.5 million people may die in the U.S. alone.7
Jeff Bezos has already hired 80,000 new warehouse and delivery workers during this pandemic without doing enough to protect workers. If he continues to risk the safety of Amazon workers, their families, and neighbors, COVID-19 could spread even faster around the world.8
There is a precedent for elected officials to take action -- last week Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky ordered the temporary closure of an Amazon facility after three workers tested positive for the coronavirus.9
The Squad is leading the way in Congress, but we need more congressional support to take federal action if we’re going to slow the spread of COVID-19 across all Amazon facilities.
Jeff Bezos is riding this pandemic out in comfort while Amazon profits from coronavirus. We can’t wait for Jeff Bezos to prioritize the health of our communities.
We urgently need your voice now. Tell Congress to investigate Amazon’s unsafe working conditions and shut down unsafe warehouses.
Sources:
1. The New York Times, "Gaps in Amazon’s Response as Virus Spreads to More Than 50 Warehouses," April 5th, 2020.
2. Business Insider, "'I'm worried that I have infected 1000 people in the last three days': Amazon workers reveal all the reasons why they're afraid to go to work," April 5th, 2020.
3. Vice, "Leaked Amazon Memo Details Plan to Smear Fired Warehouse Organizer: ‘He’s Not Smart or Articulate’," April 2nd, 2020.
4. Business Insider, "'I'm worried that I have infected 1000 people in the last three days': Amazon workers reveal all the reasons why they're afraid to go to work," April 5th, 2020.
5. Twitter, "Tweet by Rep. Ilhan Omar ," March 27th, 2020.
6. The New York Times, "Gaps in Amazon’s Response as Virus Spreads to More Than 50 Warehouses," April 5th, 2020.
7. The Atlantic, "NIH Director: ‘We’re on an Exponential Curve’," March 17th, 2020.
8. Amazon.com Blog, "Update on how we’re protecting employees," April 2nd, 2020.
9. The New York Times, "‘We Didn’t Sign Up for This’: Amazon Workers on the Front Lines," April 3rd, 2020.