How local reporters are pushing our Amazon story forward.

At Amazon fulfillment centers, software tracks workers’ scan rates by the second, sending the data in real time to managers. CREDIT: Patrick Semansky via AP Images

As a subscriber, you probably know that in late November, we released a major investigation ([link removed]) into worker safety at Amazon fulfillment centers across the U.S. Our reporter Will Evans spent months interviewing current and former employees and analyzing injury records. He found that the rate of serious injuries at nearly two dozen Amazon facilities was more than double the national average for the warehousing industry.

He also found evidence that Indiana officials let Amazon off the hook ([link removed]) for a worker’s death at the same time the state was courting the company to build a headquarters there.

Shortly after it was released, our investigation caught the attention of some big names in politics. In December, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota called on federal regulators ([link removed]) to make public all the injury records Amazon is required by law to provide to the federal government each year. These records, also known as 300 forms, include a breakdown of all worker injuries, as well as an account of the work time lost as a result. They’re not publicly accessible, but current and former Amazon employees have a legal right to obtain and share them. (Here’s our handy guide ([link removed]) on how to request them.)

When our story first published, we made the records we had available to hundreds of reporters in our Reveal Reporting Networks ([link removed]) . And as more and more Amazon employees step forward with their facilities’ records, we’ve shared them with local reporters, who have continued to scrutinize the human impact of Amazon’s relentless push for speed.
Here are some examples:

In Troutdale, Oregon: One worker told the Portland Mercury that “Amazon doesn’t want any long-term workers. ... They want you to work hard and fast and get rid of you when your body can’t take it anymore. That’s their business model.” Troutdale has among the highest injury rates of Amazon fulfillment centers in the U.S. for which we have records.
Read the story. ([link removed])

In Sacramento, California: Workers claim that the company nearly doubled its production expectations on a category of worker known as “scanners.” The uptick, these workers say, corresponded with more injuries.

Read the story. ([link removed])

In Salt Lake City, Utah: Four fulfillment center workers told KUER that high production quotas, and a focus on speed over safety, were the causes of physical injuries they sustained. Derek Parker, a former warehouse worker, said Amazon’s safety guidelines aren’t working, “so obviously something needs to be changed.”

Hear the story. ([link removed])

In Fresno, California: Workers described a breakneck production environment in which even the shortest breaks – to use the bathroom, for example – could result in a write-up from managers. They also said they were afraid to report injuries.

Read the story. ([link removed])

We’re going to continue making Amazon’s injury records available to our network of local reporters. Were you injured in an Amazon warehouse? We want to hear about it. ([link removed])
Photo illustration by Michael Schiller/Reveal.


** In this week’s episode …
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Since police used genetic genealogy to crack the famous Golden State Killer case, the technology has helped to solve dozens of killings and rapes that had gone cold for decades. This week’s episode ([link removed]) looks at the promise and peril of this powerful tool that combines DNA science with genealogy.

The story begins with the slaying of a young Canadian couple in Washington state. This was the first case after the Golden State Killer to employ genetic genealogy, and the person who identified the suspect walks us through how she did it.

We then hear a cautionary tale from a man who was misidentified as a murder suspect by an early version of genetic genealogy and discuss the constitutional and privacy issues raised by this technology.

Despite its power, genetic genealogy finds itself at a crossroads. The technology is heavily dependent on police having access to databases controlled by consumer DNA companies, and there’s a debate going on about how open those sites should be to law enforcement.
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