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Credit: Illustration by Jason Raish
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Hi Revealer,
While online shoppers benefit from the deals and speed of Amazon Prime Day, who pays the price?
Since 2019, Reveal reporter Will Evans has been investigating what's really going on behind the scenes, and Behind the Smiles, of Amazon. He used internal company records to reveal that Amazon’s obsession with speed has turned its warehouses into injury mills. Then, he got confidential documents that showed that not only were Amazon’s injury rates far worse than the national average for the warehousing industry, but the company has also deceived the public, press and lawmakers about this problem.
Will moved from reporting on what went on inside warehouses to what went on inside corporate conference rooms. Again using the tight-lipped company’s internal records, we collaborated with WIRED to expose the tech giant’s failures to safeguard the private data of its customers and the small businesses that rely on its platform.
Our stories hold institutions like Amazon accountable for the problems they’ve caused and benefited from, and we’re proud to have played a role in driving a suite of actions that are tackling Amazon’s work practices head-on:
- California passed a first-of-its kind law prohibiting Amazon from enforcing unfair work quotas.
- Washington State issued groundbreaking fines to Amazon for violating workplace safety law.
- The federal government is reassessing how it regulates warehouse injuries.
- Minnesota and Connecticut introduced legislation limiting speed quotas at Amazon warehouses. New York lawmakers passed a similar law, which is awaiting the governor’s signature.
- Amazon shareholders voted on an independent audit of warehouse working conditions at its shareholder meeting. It received strong support but failed because of how many shares are held by Jeff Bezos.
- News and advocacy organizations continue to hold Amazon and other companies accountable with data on workplace injuries that Reveal helped make public through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the federal government.
Although we celebrate this impact, our work is far from over. Thank you for your ongoing support of our mission. We have the courage, freedom and independence to dedicate our entire newsroom to this work because we’re powered by support from viewers, readers and listeners like you.
Thank you,
Missa Perron
Membership Manager
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