Why Working For Amazon May Be More Dangerous Than Ever
It could now be more dangerous than ever to work at Amazon if the latest set of complaints are even remotely true
Throughout the pandemic, Amazon had ongoing issues with its warehouse policies. The tech company’s factories were under constant scrutiny for not providing PPE or enforcing social distancing rules. Some workers even stated that their management would not disclose when someone was infected with COVID-19, leading to various outbreaks. Today, it’s not surprising when former employees come forward with horror stories about working at these warehouses, but it currently may be more dangerous than previously suspected.
One warehouse in Joliet, Illinois, has had several former and present workers file claims about discrimination and threats in their workplace. Though the claims don’t say that the bigotry came from upper management, the filings state that management did not reprimand people or curtail these actions. The employees are holding Amazon responsible for racism, specifically anti-Black racism, that went unpunished in the Chicagoland warehouse.
Twenty-six present and former workers collaborated on a complaint about the Amazon warehouse due to one absurd and bigoted account. According to photos included in the complaint, an unknown suspect wrote racist, disparaging, and violent comments on the walls of the women’s bathroom. The words were unmistakably directed toward Black employees at the warehouse, making many workers fear for their safety. When Black employees addressed this issue to management while asking for tighter security, they were allegedly told that the only solution was to take off work for the day sans payment.
Other racist issues preceded the threatening bathroom writing at this Amazon warehouse. Complaints about staff wearing confederate-flag t-shirts and other racist propaganda had arisen in months prior, without any management solution. Other problems occurred when Black employees attempted to switch their shifts for Juneteeth, the holiday commemorating the last day enslaved people were freed in the US. But, workers have stated that their requests to change shifts were consistently denied.
One former employee at the Amazon warehouse stated that they were fired after they addressed workplace racism. Tori Davis, one of the people responsible for the complaint, said that she was unjustly fired after talking to management about racism within the warehouse. She was laid off in early July after she told Amazon she’d take legal actions if the staff didn’t formally address racism and bigotry. Davis is appealing her firing on the pretense that she was unlawfully laid off.
Davis spoke out during a press conference this past week. She stated publically that there were “no further security measures” after Amazon management was notified about the threatening bathroom writing. Higher-ups at the Joliet warehouse allegedly painted over the graffiti before the police could get there, obfuscating the critical evidence.
Though Davis, and 25 others, have filed a complaint about Amazon’s continuous neglect of workplace discrimination and harassment, one spokesperson adamantly denied the hostile work environment. Racism is “certainly not tolerated by Amazon,” said Amazon spokesperson Richard Rocha, but did not comment further on the warehouse’s graffiti incident. Rocha did add that the company intends to make every work environment safe for its thousands of staff nationwide. But, if the company is so dedicated to its workforce, Amazon management should have no qualms about reprimanding the racist culprits and instilling safety measures to protect its Black employees.
