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☆ Democratic senator aims at Amazon's labor practices with first federal bill regulating quotas
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The bill, called the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, is the first attempt to police warehouse quotas at the federal level, after similar laws have passed in states including California, New York, Washington and Minnesota. The legislation would require employers to be more transparent about workplace quotas and potential disciplinary consequences, and provide workers with at least two business days' notice of any changes to quotas or workplace surveillance. Wendy Taylor, a packer at an Amazon warehouse in Missouri, said during Markey's press conference on Thursday that she and others are "fighting for quota transparency." Taylor blamed Amazon's "inhumane work rates" for the injury, and added, "Amazon workers provide same-day shipping, but we can't even get the same-day care we deserve." WATCH: Amazon's worker safety hazards come under fire from regulators and the DOJ

Persons: Democratic Sen, Ed Markey, Markey, It's, Wendy Taylor, packer, Taylor, Amazon's Organizations: Democratic, Amazon, Health, Education, Labor, Pensions, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, OSHA, U.S, Attorney's, U.S . Department of Justice, DOJ Locations: California , New York, Washington, Minnesota, U.S, Missouri

☆ How the UAW’s win may change the South
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Now, the United Auto Workers has dealt a serious blow to that model: winning a landslide union victory after decades of failing to unionize automakers in the South. It’s the UAW’s first win in trying to represent workers at a foreign car manufacturing plant in the South. Before Friday’s win, the highest profile union election held in the South in recent years was the attempt to organize Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama in 2022. Bill Lee in 2019 visited Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga to encourage workers to reject the union, and former South Carolina Gov. But the Volkswagen win, said UAW President Shawn Fain to CNN, shows that politics are not an insurmountable obstacle when it comes to organizing in the South.

Persons: Stephen Silvia, Southern, ” Silvia, – Tesla, Tesla, Henry McMaster, Kay Ivey, “, ”, Erica Smiley, Honda, Friday’s, you’ve, they’ve, Bill Lee, Nikki Haley, Biden —, Shawn Fain, “ Trump, ” Fain, “ I’m, George Walker IV, Harley Shaiken, Justice, CNN’s Chris Isidore Organizations: New, New York CNN, United Auto Workers, UAW, American University, Southern Gamble, Workers, Foreign, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo, –, South Carolina Gov, Alabama Gov, “ Unions, Justice, Union, Auto, South Detroit, Benz, Kia, P Global Market Intelligence, Republicans, Environmental Defense Fund, Southern, “, GOP, Tennessee Gov, Democratic, CNN, Tennessee, AP, Chattanooga won’t, University of California, Jobs Locations: New York, United States, Volkswagen’s, Chattanooga , Tennessee, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Mercedes, Vance , Alabama, Alabama, Smyrna , Tennessee, Spartanburg , South Carolina, Lincoln , Alabama, Southern, South, Chattanooga, Georgia, Berkeley

☆ Amazon and Walmart warehouse employees are so surveilled that they're worried about breaking to use bathroom: Oxfam report
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Data from two recent surveys, funded in part by Oxfam — the National Survey of Amazon Warehouse Workers and the National Survey of Walmart Warehouse Workers — is included in the report. The results show that a substantial amount of Amazon and Walmart warehouse employees surveyed reported being closely watched by technology while in the workplace. Advertisement"The conditions there are absolutely horrific," one Amazon warehouse worker in Alabama was quoted as saying in the report. The Oxfam report says that at Amazon, warehouse workers "are assigned handheld devices or scanners that record, count, and measure every item they move during their day." One Walmart worker quoted in the Oxfam report alleged that the company's warehouse robots "are treated better than human beings."

Persons: —, Soren Larson, Maureen Lynch Vogel, Vogel, Petion, Suzanne Kreiter, Irit Tamir, they're, Tamir, Abby Maxman Organizations: Oxfam, Amazon, Walmart, Service, Securities, Exchange Commission, Oxfam —, National Survey, Amazon Warehouse Workers, National Survey of Walmart Warehouse Workers, Reuters Amazon, BI, Employees, Boston Globe, Getty, Oxfam America Locations: United States, Amazon, Alabama

☆ Amazon has an office in a former prison in the Netherlands
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Caroline Haskins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In 2022, Amazon opened office space in de Koepel, a former prison in Haarlem, Netherlands. AdvertisementAdvertisementAmazon Web Services debuted a new office space in Haarlem, Netherlands in 2022 , but there's one unusual thing about it, which has gained traction on social media this week: the office is inside a former prison. Amazon uses space on the third floor of de Koepel, where prison cells have been converted into office spaces, and communal desks are available for individuals. The video shows a few former prison cells, with the AWS logo plastered just above the cell numbers. The prison is a dome-shaped building, with multiple stories of prison cells facing the central space.

Persons: —, De Koepel, underpaid, they're, Valerie Vallenduuk, Koepel Organizations: Amazon, Service, Federal Trade Commission, Rabobank Locations: Koepel, Haarlem, Netherlands, TikTok

☆ Amazon's focus on speed, surveillance drives higher warehouse worker injuries, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An employee looks for items in one of the corridors at an Amazon warehouse. Amazon warehouse workers are suffering physical injuries and mental stress on the job as a result of the company's extreme focus on speed and pervasive surveillance, according to a new study. The data adds to a drumbeat of scrutiny around Amazon's workplace safety and treatment of warehouse employees. The researchers estimate Amazon is the largest warehouse employer in the country, accounting for an estimated 29% of workers in the industry. In June, a Senate committee led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also launched a probe into Amazon's warehouse safety.

Persons: they've, they're, Sen, Bernie Sanders Organizations: University of Illinois Chicago's Center, Urban Economic, Amazon, Regulators, Walmart, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, U.S, Attorney's, U.S . Department of Justice Locations: U.S

☆ Amazon gets labor board complaint on failure to bargain with NY union
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Chandni Shah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 13 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) was hit with a complaint on Wednesday for refusing to bargain with a New York workers' union, a spokesperson for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said. Workers at the facility, located in the New York City borough of Staten Island, voted to join the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) last year, a first for the company in the United States. However, the e-commerce giant has challenged the results before the labor board, delaying any discussions with the union until the matter is resolved. The company's challenge has already been struck down once by the labor board in January. Amazon has faced dozens of complaints from workers and the ALU as the union attempts to organize warehouses across the country.

Persons: Chris Smalls, Shubham Kalia, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Sohini Organizations: National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, Workers, New, Amazon Labor Union, Thomson Locations: New York, New York City, Staten Island, United States

☆ Amazon faces labor complaint over failure to bargain with union
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 12 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) was hit with a complaint on Wednesday over allegedly refusing to bargain with a New York workers union, a spokesperson for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said. Amazon and the union did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Workers at Amazon's JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island voted to join the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) last year, a first for the company in the United States. Amazon is still challenging the results before a U.S. labor board and has yet to engage in bargaining with the union. The NLRB complaint comes as dozens of Amazon warehouse workers in New York sued the union on Monday, alleging that top union officials were refusing to hold democratic elections to fill leadership posts.

Persons: Chandni Shah, Shubham, Urvi Dugar, Nivedita Organizations: National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, Amazon, New, Amazon Labor Union, Thomson Locations: New York, New York City, Staten Island, United States, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Amazon is the No. 1 company to work for in the U.S. for the third year in a row, according to LinkedIn
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

1 company to work for in the U.S., according to new research from LinkedIn: For the third year in a row, Amazon has claimed the top spot on the networking platform's annual Top Companies list, followed by Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase. Meta, which ranked twelfth on LinkedIn's list last year, was not eligible for this year's list after announcing it was eliminating approximately 13% of its workforce in November 2022. Just last month, Amazon told its staff the company would lay off 9,000 more employees in the coming weeks. 1 on LinkedIn's list for the third consecutive year. Amazon maintained its top spot after making a "significant investment" to support employees' upskilling and raise salaries, says Roth.

REUTERS/Aude GuerrucciLOS ANGELES, April 17 (Reuters) - United Parcel Service (UPS.N) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union will on Monday start U.S. private sector labor contract talks covering roughly 340,000 U.S. drivers, package handlers and loaders at the global delivery firm. The powerful Teamsters union wants an agreement that shares billions of dollars in UPS pandemic profits with workers, exerts leverage over other negotiations and helps to recruit new members - including Amazon warehouse workers. UPS, the world's biggest parcel delivery firm and No. "Failure is not an option," Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien told a rally on an April 2 in Boston. These are the first labor talks for both O'Brien and UPS CEO Carol Tomé.

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWhy OSHA is investigating Amazon for 'failing to keep workers safe'For years, Amazon warehouse workers have been speaking up about unsafe conditions and how they risk injury to churn out millions of packages every day. Now their claims are being backed up by federal investigators who cited Amazon for "failing to keep workers safe" and new 2022 injury data that shows Amazon workers get injured at a rate of 6.9 for every 100 workers. CNBC spoke with workers who've been hurt and asked the government, and Amazon, what's being done to make these warehouses safer.

☆ Amazon warehouse workers are seriously injured at twice the rate of employees at similar warehouses, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The serious injury rate among Amazon warehouse workers is more than double the rate at other warehouses. The report also found that the rate of "serious" injuries was more than double the serious-injury rate at other warehouses. In 2022, the serious-injury rate among Amazon warehouse workers was 6.6 serious injuries for every 100 workers — more than double the rate at other warehouses, which was 3.2 serious injuries for every 100 workers. But both years reflected an increase in serious injuries compared to 2020, when Amazon's serious injury rate was 5.9 for every 100 workers. At the end of 2022, Amazon was hit with 14 citations from federal regulators for failing to record workers' injuries.

☆ Hard work just doesn't pay like it used to
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Today's workers, especially gig workers, don't have the security that hard work once promised. Fueling the pessimism about hard work might be that Americans have "been doing nothing but hard work for the last two decades," Jennifer Klein, a Yale labor historian, told Insider. Blame the rise of gig work for hard work not paying offThough Americans work fewer hours now than they have in years past, they're working harder than ever. As a result, "people have experienced hard work and intensified work, but in very, very unpleasant and not particularly rewarding terms," she added. However, deregulation of employment and the dismantling of the New Deal structures of fair work have decoupled hard work and security, Klein said.

☆ Federal regulators tell Amazon that the 'gamification' of its warehouses contributes to a 'high risk of serious' injury
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon was cited again by federal regulators alleging its warehouse workers face "high" injury risks. Regulators said a "gamification system" encouraged working at a fast pace that could pose injury. Amazon said it is cooperating with investigators and that it has worked to lower injury rates. In a letter targeting the warehouse in Idaho, OSHA said Amazon should change its "gamification system to eliminate incentives for excessively paced work." In recent months, Amazon has been hit by similar OSHA citations relating to injury risks facing workers, and to how it tracked and monitored those injuries.

☆ ‘Robots are treated better’: Amazon warehouse workers stage first-ever strike in the UK
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Amazon workers are going on strike in Britain, in a move that marks the first formal industrial action in the country for the U.S. tech giant. But warehouse workers say it fails to match the rising cost of living. Amazon workers have raised concerns about long working hours, high injury rates, and the unrelenting pace of work, as well as aggressive, tech-enhanced monitoring of employees. A spokesperson for the tech giant told CNBC in a statement that the staff involved represent "only a fraction of 1% of our UK employees." The spokesperson said that pay for Amazon's U.K. warehouse workers has increased 29% since 2018, and pointed to a £500 one-time payment made out to staff to help with the cost-of-living crisis.

☆ Amazon warehouse workers at Coventry walk out over pay in UK first
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Muvija M | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid./File Photo/File PhotoLONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) workers at a warehouse in central England will walk out on Wednesday in a months-long wrangle over pay, marking the first time the U.S. tech giant's operations in Britain have faced strike action. About 300 employees in Coventry are expected to take part in the industrial action, according to the trade union GMB. Amazon increased starting pay by 50 pence to a minimum of between 10.50 and 11.45 pounds ($12.95 to $14.12) per hour last year. The country's minimum wage, which is currently 9.50 pounds an hour, is set to rise to 10.42 in April. Amazon, which employs thousands of workers across its 30 warehouses in the UK, had then responded to say its pay was competitive.

☆ Amazon warehouse workers walk out in first UK strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Amazon workers at a warehouse in central England went on strike Wednesday, the first time employees of the US tech giant have walked out in the country. Workers are asking for £15 ($18.49) an hour, which the GMB union said would be in line with pay at Amazon in the United States. Starting pay for warehouse workers in the United States averages over $19 an hour after the company’s latest raise in September. The strike comes as employees in the United States continue to organize and push for collective bargaining rights. Amazon has refused to formally recognize or bargain with the Amazon Labor Union, which was recently certified by regulators.

☆ Here are the companies that have laid off employees this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Tech firms went on a hiring spree. “Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth,” CEO Sundar Pichai said in an email to employees. The crypto brokerage announced in early January that it’s cutting 950 people – almost one in five employees in its workforce. Departments from human resources to the company’s Amazon (AMZN) Stores will be affected. They’re not in heavy people expansion mode every year,” CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to employees.

☆ Amazon cited by Labor Department for exposing warehouse workers to safety hazards
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued citations against Amazon at three of its warehouses for exposing workers to safety hazards, the department announced Wednesday. Amazon also faces a separate investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office's civil division that centers around worker safety hazards at the e-retailer's facilities nationwide. Amazon warehouse workers have previously complained that the company's pace of work prevents them from taking adequate bathroom and rest breaks, and leads to unfair disciplinary actions. In April, workers at an Amazon warehouse on New York's Staten Island voted to form the company's first U.S. union. Workers at another Staten Island facility rejected a union, while a second election at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama is being contested.

☆ US Labor Department accuses Amazon of failing to keep warehouse workers safe
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Amazon has been accused by federal safety regulators of failing to keep warehouse workers safe from workplace hazards at three US facilities, in the latest example of government officials scrutinizing the e-commerce giant’s labor practices. The Department of Labor said Wednesday that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Amazon and issued hazard letters related to injury risks from workers lifting packages after inspecting three warehouse facilities in Deltona, Florida; Waukegan, Illinois; and New Windsor, New York. An Amazon spokesperson said the company “strongly” disagrees with OSHA’s claims and intends to appeal. “We’ve cooperated fully, and the government’s allegations don’t reflect the reality of safety at our sites,” Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokesperson, told CNN in a statement Wednesday. But Amazon is also known for carefully tracking worker productivity and for working conditions that have been called “grueling.”“We have to keep up with the pace,” Jennifer Bates, an Amazon warehouse employee who helped organize a union push at an Alabama facility, said in testimony before the Senate Budget Committee in 2021.

☆ Whole Foods must pay $300,000 over accusations that a system meant to track productivity captured warehouse workers' voices without their consent
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Workers at an Illinois warehouse had to record their voices in a system that directed their work. At Whole Foods warehouses, employees are given a headset that they wear while at work. Using biometric data is just one way that some employers, including many retail companies, track and guide workers' productivity. Amazon warehouse workers have been tracked by the amount of time they spend doing things other than working, such as going to the bathroom. Do you work in a warehouse operated by Whole Foods or another retailer and use voice technology to do your job?

☆ Amazon warehouse workers in UK vote to go on strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Amazon warehouse workers at a facility in the United Kingdom plan to go on strike, their union confirmed to CNN on Friday, in a move that’s being billed as a first for the company’s workers in the country. The GMB union, which represents workers in a range of industries in the UK, said that hundreds of Amazon workers at a warehouse in Coventry overwhelmingly voted for the strike, which is expected to take place in the new year. “On top of this, we’re pleased to have announced that full-time, part-time and seasonal frontline employees will receive an additional one-time special payment of up to £500 as an extra thank you.”The move from Amazon workers in the UK also comes as Amazon workers in the United States continue to organize and push for collective bargaining rights. Amazon workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, made history earlier this year when they voted to form the first-ever labor union at one of the company’s US facilities. Despite the landmark victory for the worker group, known as the Amazon Labor Union, the company has yet to formally recognize the union or come to the bargaining table.

☆ Starbucks and Amazon's PR nightmare is coming true as one of their combined stores pushes to unionize
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Alex Bitter | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

About 30 Starbucks employees at the New York store will participate in the vote, Bloomberg reported. One of the Starbucks Amazon Go stores is considering unionizing this week. Roughly 30 Starbucks employees at the Times Square location will decide on December 15 whether to join Starbucks Workers United. The workers were protesting "short staffing and the company's failure to bargain with union stores," Starbucks Workers United said in a press release. A Starbucks Amazon Go cafe StarbucksBoth Amazon and Starbucks have cultivated reputations as progressive employers and pushed back against unionsBoth companies have painted themselves as forward-thinking on worker treatment and benefits.

☆ Meet the Amazon warehouse workers paying the price for fast, free shipping
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Katie Nixdorf | Noah Lewis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The serious injury rate at Amazon warehouses was double that of other distribution centers in 2021. Workers suffer musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs, which are caused by repetitive movements. Amazon spent $300 million on safety initiatives to try and become "Earth's safest place to work." Loading Something is loading. We accessed rare video footage from inside one of the most dangerous Amazon warehouses in the US and spoke to former employees to understand the true cost of Amazon's push for speed.

☆ Amazon CEO explains thinking behind layoffs as unionized warehouse workers protest outside
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon, more than most tech companies, experienced a staggering pandemic boom as more customers shifted their spending online during the health crisis. Despite the landmark union victory in April, Amazon has so far refused to formally recognize the grassroots worker group known as the Amazon Labor Union, or come to the bargaining table. The company has aggressively pushed back against the workers’ victory through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Jassy also emphasized that the last two Amazon union elections held resulted in workers voting not to unionize, and that Amazon prefers to have a direct relationship with fulfillment center workers rather than going through unions. Labor activist Chris Smalls joins members of the Amazon labor union and others for a protest outside of the New York Times DealBook Summit as Amazon's CEO, Andy Jassy, will be appearing on November 30, 2022 in New York City.

☆ Amazon workers strike in the US and 30 other countries on Black Friday in global 'Make Amazon Pay' campaign
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Protests by Amazon workers and allies were planned in 30-plus countries on Black Friday. The Make Amazon Pay campaign comes as Amazon faces unionization efforts across the globe. The campaign is led by Make Amazon Pay, a coalition of 70 trade unions and organizations including Greenpeace, Oxfam, and Amazon Workers International. Protests were planned in more than 30 countries, including India, Germany, and Japan, according to Make Amazon Pay. Gig Workers Association (GigWA) in association with Amazon Warehouse workers and Hawkers Joint Action Committee participate in a protest in New Delhi, Friday, Nov. 25, 2022.

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