While US consumers may rush to Amazon for its Prime Day sales event, Amazon warehouse workers are bearing the brunt of the shopping surge, at the expense of their health and safety.
Amazon Prime Day
Amazon Prime Day is an annual sales event for the paid subscription Prime, where members can buy thousands of products at significantly discounted prices. While it’s an exciting time for customers, it’s more likely to summon up dread for Amazon workers.
HELP Committee Report
Sen. Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a report that described the two-day event as a “major cause of injuries” for Amazon warehouse workers.
Amazon Warehouse Investigations
The committee spent an entire year investigating Amazon warehouse safety protocols, which have come under intense scrutiny over the years due to chronic reports of unsafe and unfair working conditions.
10 in 100
The report focused on data from 2019 and 2020 and found that 10 in 100 workers operating Amazon warehouses on Prime Day 2019 suffered “recordable injuries.”
More Than Double the Industry Rate
Recordable injuries are injuries significant enough that the company is legally required to disclose them. 10 in 100 is more than double the average injury rate in the warehouse retailer industry, according to the report.
Nearly Half of All Workers Affected
The total injury rate for Prime Day 2019, beyond the “recordable” injuries, was a staggering 45 injuries per 100 workers, affecting almost half of all warehouse workers.
Various Injuries
Injuries varied from minor scrapes, bruises, and cuts, to more severe incidents including concussions and torn rotator cuffs.
Claims of Under-Reporting Injuries
The report also maintained that Amazon had misclassified and under-reported workplace injuries, thus keeping the number of recordable injuries lower than they truly were, which would classify as a legal violation.
Huge Sales Surge
Prime Day is the source of a massive surge in demand for warehouse workers. This year Amazon Day was predicted to involve more than 40% of American shoppers, according to data and tech company Numerator.
Little Support for Workers
Sander’s report asserts that the e-commerce giant is well aware of the danger that its workers face due to “increased volume” during these sales events, yet it does little to nothing to support them.
Amazon Already Knows
“Amazon warehouses are especially unsafe during Prime Day and the holiday season — and the company knows it,” the report states.
Warehouse Workers Speak
These findings were reportedly supported by Amazon warehouse workers who spoke to the Committee about Prime Day and holiday periods, describing them as by far “the most dangerous” times of the year for staff.
Unreasonable Expectations
Workers alleged that they would be expected to ramp up productivity by processing double their normal number of packages, working 12-hour shifts each day, and were directly told to prioritize productivity over safety.
“Horrendous Working Conditions”
“Amazon must be held accountable for the horrendous working conditions at its warehouses and substantially reduce its injury rates,” said Sanders in a public statement on Tuesday.
A History of Criticisms
The senator has a long history of criticizing Amazon for its labor practices. Just last year he wrote a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, urging the company to prioritize worker safety.
Amazon Must Take Action
“Amazon must stop pushing workers past their limits… In its endless pursuit of profits, Amazon sacrifices workers’ bodies under the constant pressure of a surveillance system that enforces impossible rates (of work),” he wrote.
“False” Claims
A spokesperson for Amazon, Kelly Nantel, gave a statement responding to the report. “Claims that we systemically underreport injuries, and that our actual injury rates are higher than publicly reported, are false,” Nantel said.
Reduced Injury Rate SInce 2019
In a separate response, Nantel noted that the company had reduced its recordable incident rate – which covers any injury requiring treatment beyond first aid – by 28% since 2019.
Claims of “Flawed Methodology”
Nantel also accused Sanders and the Senate HELP Committee of “flawed methodology and gaps in the research,” claiming that their research had been rejected by data analysis experts prior to the report release.
More Disputes
The report also claimed that warehouses across the country were chronically understaffed during peak shopping periods, which the company disputed. Amazon has reportedly spent more than $750 million to bolster safety efforts in the workplace this year.
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Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Brett Hondow.
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