New York Amazon Employees Had to Work During Deadly Floods

As Tropical Depression Ida reworked New York City right into a lake on Monday night time, Amazon, absurdly, stored its warehouses open and anticipated workers to work.

The National Weather Service issued its first-ever flash flood emergency for the area. City residents obtained emergency alert warnings on their cell telephones that learn, “do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.” Yet communications reviewed by Earther recommend that was not a adequate excuse for Amazon employees to overlook their shifts. No matter the life-threatening risks they may face on their manner in, the individuals wanted their Prime deliveries apparently.

Jonathan Bailey, an Amazon warehouse worker in New York City and co-founder of Amazonians United, a community of employees combating for higher pay and dealing situations, stated the floods have been “freaking crazy.”

“This is like the first time that I’ve seen anything remotely like this in New York,” he stated.

Despite that, he stated it didn’t come as a shock that employees have been anticipated to make their shifts at Amazon. Even as floods which have killed not less than 14 swept by means of the town, warehouses remained open. (Earther has reached out to Amazon for remark however has not obtained a response. We will replace this publish if we hear again.)

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This isn’t the primary time Amazon employees have been on the job throughout excessive climate that’s being worsened by the local weather disaster. In June, a viral TikTok confirmed an Amazon driver braving flooded roads in Detroit to make a supply. That identical month, throughout document warmth within the Pacific Northwest, Amazon warehouse workers in Washington have been reportedly compelled to work in 90-degree warmth indoors. (That identical warmth wave was deemed a “mass casualty event” by Oregon county officers as dozens perished.) In 2019, employees for Amazon’s Chicago operations publicly demanded air conditioning, saying that amid an extreme warmth watch, administration solely supplied popsicles to remain cool. The firm has additionally fired staff for talking out on unfair warehouse employee situations who additionally organized for Amazon to improves its lackluster local weather plan.

Earlier this 12 months, Bailey organized a walkout over issues about covid-19 at an Amazon warehouse in Queens; he stated the agency nonetheless anticipated individuals to return into work regardless of the dangers of contracting the virus.

“So in a life-threatening [flooding] situation, that Amazon would still require us to come in … that’s so on-brand for Amazon,” he stated.

It wasn’t simply Amazon staff who have been anticipated to work regardless of the torrential downpour. Lyft and Uber have been nonetheless working. One video that went viral on Twitter exhibits a purported GrubHub supply employee strolling his bicycle by means of waist-deep floodwaters to drop off an order.

This all speaks to the shortage of local weather protections for employees within the U.S. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers have a basic responsibility to guard employees from acknowledged critical hazards within the office. Yet regardless of a years-long campaign, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has did not challenge a federal commonplace defending individuals from excessive warmth, providing solely pointers. It additionally has no particular commonplace in place to guard employees from dangerous rain or floods.

Of course, Amazon also needs to bear great duty for failing to guard its employees. “Their interests are [sending CEO Jeff Bezos] into space,” stated Bailey, “not whether the lives of sortation associates are being endangered or not.”