‘They’re more concerned about profit’: Osha, DOJ take on Amazon’s grueling working conditions

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02.03.2023 - 10:31

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theguardian.com:

The US’s top workplace safety regulator and the justice department are pressuring Amazon to explain safety practices that have led to injury rates for warehouse workers that are on average close to twice as high as the company’s competitors and in one case five times higher.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) issued citations against Amazon at six warehouses in December 2022, January 2023 and February 2023 over unsafe working conditions, ergonomic hazards and failure to properly report injuries.

The warehouses include ALB1 in Castleton, New York; DYO1 in New Windsor, New York; DEN5 in Aurora, Colorado; BOI2 in Nampa, Idaho; MDW8 in Waukegan, Illinois; and MCO2 in Deltona, Florida.

A seventh warehouse in Colorado Springs, Colorado, DCS3, was cited in February 2023 for exposing workers to ergonomic hazards. There are currently dozens of Amazon warehouses with open Osha investigations around the US.

A judge extended the six-month investigation limitation period for three of the warehouses for Amazon to comply with subpoenas as it had not provided all documents demanded as part of the investigation.

A worker in the packing department at BOI2 in Nampa, Idaho, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, said they have yet to see any changes since the Osha citations were issued.

“I’m not surprised they found violations in the warehouse. Management is pushing production goals on the workers all hours and safety very much seems to be an afterthought,” they said. “For each process path, there’s a certain production rate you’re expected to meet each hour. In the packing department where I work, they expect at least 200 units per hour, and failure to reach that number often leads to write-ups, warnings