AOC and Congress want to know if Amazon forces employees to work during dangerous weather events

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other members of the Congressional Oversight Committee have sent a letter to Amazon CEO Adam Jassy informing him they are investigating whether Amazon forces employees to work during dangerous weather events. In the letter, the Congressional Oversight Committee committee expresses concern over recent and past reports that Amazon employees and contractors are threatened with job loss if they seek shelter during extreme weather conditions. Specifically, the letter points to the deadly tornado strikes in Edwardsville, Illinois, in December 2021, in which six Amazon workers at a local warehouse were killed. As the letter points out: Before he died in the Amazon warehouse collapse, Amazon employee Larry Virden texted his girlfriend, “Amazon won’t let us leave.” According to dispatcher messages, a contract delivery driver located outside the Edwardsville facility, who expressed concern about the growing storms, was told by her supervisor to “just keep delivering, we can’t just call people back for a warning unless amazon [sic] tells us to do so.” When the driver reported continued tornado alarms and asked permission to seek safety, she was told such a choice “will ultimately end with you not having a job come tomorrow morning.” The letter also inquires about reports of Amazon workers being required to keep working during wildfires in California in 2018 and flooding caused by Hurricane Irma in 2017 and Hurricane Ida in 2021, among other events. “The Committee seeks to fully understand the events that led to the tragedy at Amazon’s Edwardsville facility,” the letter reads. “We also seek information about Amazon’s workplace policies or practices that may have prevented the workers from seeking safe shelter, as well as Amazon’s actions in responding to other severe weather incidents and natural disasters.” The Congressional Oversight Committee is giving Amazon until April 14 to hand over documents and communications related to the extreme weather events noted as well as Amazon’s policies on working during extreme weather events. We’ve reached out to Amazon for comment and will update this post if we hear back.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90737759/aoc-and-congress-want-to-know-if-amazon-forces-employees-to-work-during-dangerous-weather-events?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

Établi 3y | 4 avr. 2022, 14:21:16


Connectez-vous pour ajouter un commentaire

Autres messages de ce groupe

Smarter AI is supercharging battery innovation 

The global race for better batteries has never been more intense. Electric vehicles, drones, and next-generation aircraft all depend on high-performance energy storage—yet the traditiona

24 août 2025, 11:40:14 | Fast company - tech
AI passed the aesthetic Turing Test, raising big questions for art

Pick up an August 2025 issue of Vogue, and you’ll come across an advertisement for the brand Guess featur

24 août 2025, 09:20:14 | Fast company - tech
This word-search website is the brain boost you never knew you needed

Language is the original technology, the tool we’ve all used to coordinate with each other for thousands of years. Our success in life—both professionally and in relationships—depends on it.

24 août 2025, 00:10:13 | Fast company - tech
Dropbox Passwords is shutting down. Do this before your passwords are deleted for good

It’s been a bad year for password managers. First, Microsoft announced earlier this summer that its popular Microsoft Authenticator app would be

23 août 2025, 10:10:09 | Fast company - tech
The TikTok dorm water panic is officially here

Instead of worrying about making friends or keeping up with their studies, new college students have a different concern on their minds: dorm water.

“Praying dorm water doesn’t ruin my h

22 août 2025, 20:20:07 | Fast company - tech
Reddit—and a dash of AI—do what Google and ChatGPT can’t

Hello, everyone, and thanks once again for reading Fast Company’s Plugged In.

For years, some of the world’s most

22 août 2025, 20:20:06 | Fast company - tech