Amazon workers say while the company may be coming through for Americans under coronavirus quarantine orders, it is failing them. With over 75 confirmed COVID-19 cases in its warehouses – which experts say will “exponentially increase” – Amazon’s warehouse workers are planning the biggest strike of the pandemic Tuesday, Vice reported.
Hundreds of workers are expected to participate in the mass protest led by United For Respect, which advocates on behalf of retail workers for better corporate conditions. They will be joined by New York Communities for Change and Make The Road New York.
Despite making recent changes after being pressured by organizers, workers say Amazon is still falling short of its duty to protect its employees.
Monica Moody, 22, is a packer at an Amazon Fulfillment center in Concord, North Carolina and a United For Respect member.
“I will be calling out sick tomorrow to protest because Amazon is not allowing us to stay home and practice real social distancing,” Moody told Vice. “I have to go to work and risk being exposed to this virus. I need the money. If Amazon were offering it, I would use paid sick leave.”
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This latest protest comes after several others by Amazon warehouse workers across the country, some of which led to employees being fired – including a manager’s assistant in Staten Island,
But it isn’t deterring the workers’ commitment to standing up for their health and safety. Amazon confirmed its first employee death April 14, which was a warehouse worker.
Rachel Belz works as a stocker at a warehouse in West Deptford, New Jersey and is also a United For Respect member. She told Vice she hasn’t been to work since March 13 because her mother’s immune system is compromised, and her fulfillment center has 11 known cases.
“It’s definitely a financial hardship not to go to work,” Belz said. “My mother has trouble breathing on a normal day. If she were to go sick, it could kill her. I’m not going to put her health at risk to send people non-essential items. I’m not going to work this week, but I have a five year old kid and student loans and rent and car insurance to pay. I might not have a choice next week.”
