John,

According to data reported to OSHA, Amazon had 6.6 serious injuries for every 100 workers in 2022 -- more than double the industry standard, which was 3.2 serious injuries per 100 workers. That year, more than half of all warehouse injuries in the U.S. happened at Amazon, though they only employed 36% of all factory workers.

A group of current and former Amazon workers called “Warehouse Life” has been collecting stories of workers who have been injured, but they were rebuffed when they asked for a meeting with Amazon’s VP of Global Workplace Health and Safety, Sarah Rhoads, to address the high rate of injuries and Amazon’s response to them.

Warehouse Life reports that many employees felt “silenced and discarded” after being injured. Their complaints include being required to continue a delivery route after being mauled by a dog, told to return to work immediately after a miscarriage, even given no time off to recover from an amputated limb. One employee paid for her own ambulance after a workplace injury.

In the worst cases, some family members are seeking justice after their loved ones died of injuries sustained while working at Amazon. But Amazon’s VP still refuses to meet with them.

That’s where we come in. Amazon needs to feel public pressure. Tell Amazon to meet with the injured employees and take protective action! Workers will hand deliver the petition signatures directly to Amazon.

Employees say Amazon expects them to carry out repetitive motions at unsafe speeds, causing many of the injuries. OSHA backs this up, issuing citations at six warehouses, and the Washington State Department of Labor issued fines due to employees being required to perform repetitive lifting, carrying, and twisting “at such a fast pace that it increases the risk of injury.”

Injuries to the ACL ligament in the knee, where the shin bone can slide out in front of the thigh bone, are especially debilitating. These injuries occur due to sudden changes in motion, such as stopping, slowing, or changing direction suddenly, twisting, or landing badly -- all frequent hazards for a hurried factory worker or delivery driver.

Other employees report being denied medical help, being fired illegally, and enduring poverty and homelessness after denial of their worker’s comp claims.

The list of injuries and injustices goes on and on.

Meanwhile, with the VP of Health and Safety refusing to meet with workers, Amazon continues to block workers’ compensation claims, violate workers’ medical accommodations, and discourage workers from pursuing any new claims.

We need to back up the workers with public pressure. Sign on to demand that Amazon’s VP of Health & Safety meet with workers, and take action to protect them now!

Thank you for standing up for workers’ rights to be safe on the job.

- DFA AF Team