John,

“Amazon won’t let us leave.” This text was sent by one of the six workers who were killed this past weekend when Amazon failed to prioritize workers’ safety in the tornado that hit its Edwardsville, Illinois warehouse.^1,2 Rather than allowing workers to shelter at home, Amazon penalized workers who could not make their shifts due to the tornado and prohibited workers in the warehouse from having their cell phones on them, preventing them from receiving what could have been live saving alerts about the incoming tornado. In the aftermath, Amazon forced workers from the other warehouses at the site to show up to work the next day, even as rescue teams continued to search for survivors in the rubble.^3,4 

We cannot wait on labor regulations to be passed to protect Amazon laborers and helpers—workers we know are disproportionately Black people and people of color—from preventable loss of life like this.⁵ So Color Of Change is demanding Amazon immediately implement protections for its workers. Amazon must: 

• Cancel worker shifts when there are natural disaster alerts
• Allow workers to have their phones for emergencies during shifts
• Reverse penalizations for employees who could not work due to the tornado
• Add tornado sirens inside Amazon warehouses located in tornado-prone areas

TELL AMAZON TO PUT PEOPLE OVER PROFITS

Amazon is powered by its workers, but this climate disaster may point to a greater problem with safety protections for Amazon workers. It is the second largest private employer in the U.S., and it pressures its workers to fulfill 2-day orders at the cost of their safety.^6-8 Amazon drivers are forced to deliver to several addresses in one stop, which sometimes means workers must endanger themselves by crossing highways.⁹ And when Black workers tried to organize for safer working conditions, Amazon busted up their organizing efforts.¹⁰ In response to the recent tornado, Amazon claimed it did not know it had workers in its Edwardsville warehouse.¹¹ But Amazon vigilantly controls both warehouse and delivery lines, oversurveils, overworks, and underpays its warehouse and delivery workers, many of whom are Black.¹² Even when there are not climate change disasters, Amazon warehouse workers experience twice the serious injuries than non-Amazon warehouse workers according to 2020 numbers.¹³ Therefore, we are demanding they implement protocols to protect their workers.

Amazon is continually prioritizing profits over people. But rather than use the billions of dollars he has to provide a safe workplace for employees, Amazon founder and former CEO, Jeff Bezos, used his billions to launch himself into space, as evidenced by Amazon’s trending news on the day of the tornado.^14,15 In doing so, Amazon shows us what it really cares about; it is not empowering small businesses, or protecting its warehouse workers. Their priority is lining their executives’ pockets. But it’s time for that to change—Black workers’ lives depend on it.

TELL AMAZON TO IMPLEMENT SAFETY PROTECTIONS FOR WORKERS

Until justice is real,

—Jade Magnus Ogunnaike

References

1. Richa Naidu, “Six dead, no hope of more survivors after tornadoes destroy Amazon warehouse,” Reuters, December 11, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/337959?t=7&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5. 
2. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/338007?t=9&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5.
3. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/337961?t=11&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5. 
4. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/337962?t=13&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5. 
5. Jodi Kantor, Karen Weise, and Grace Ashford, “The Amazon That Customers Don’t See,” New York Times, June 15, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/338008?t=15&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5.
6. April Glaser, “Amazon now employs almost 1 million people in the U.S.—or 1 in every 169 workers,” NBC News, July 30, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/334142?t=17&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5. 
7. Michael Sainato, “14-Hour Days and No Bathroom Breaks: Amazon’s Overworked Delivery Drivers,” The Guardian, March 11, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/334143?t=19&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5. 
8. Alexia Fernández Campbell, “The Problem with Amazon’s Speedy Shipping, in One Graphic,” Vox, October 18, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/334144?t=21&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5. 
9. Lauren Kaori Gurley, “Amazon’s cost saving routing algorithm makes drivers walk into traffic,” Vice, June 2, 2021,  https://act.colorofchange.org/go/334147?t=23&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5.
10. Jay Greene, “Amazon’s anti-union blitz stalks Alabama warehouse workers everywhere, even in the bathroom,” The Washington Post, February 2, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/338009?t=25&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5.
11. Ibid.
12. “Report Update | Eyes Everywhere: Amazon’s Worker Surveillance Continued,” Open Markets Institute, September 23, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/334145?t=27&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5. 
13. Jay Greene and Chris Alcantara, “Amazon warehouse workers suffer serious injuries at higher rates than other firms,” The Washington Post, June 1, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/334146?t=29&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5. 
14. Ben Gilbert, “Jeff Bezos thanks Amazon employees and customers paying for his jaunt to space: ‘You guys paid for all of this’,” Business Insider, July 20, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/337967?t=31&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5. 
15. Zahra Tayeb, “Jeff Bezos criticized for celebrating Blue Origin launch before addressing Amazon warehouse collapse,” Business Insider, December 12, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/337968?t=33&akid=52609%2E4731121%2E0mJ4S5.