From CNBC:
“Amazon warehouses are a more dangerous place to work than comparable facilities, new federal injury data shows.
“In 2022, there were 6.6 serious injuries for every 100 Amazon workers, according to a report released Wednesday from the union coalition Strategic Organizing Center, which relies on data submitted by Amazon to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. That’s more than double the rate of all non-Amazon warehouses, which had 3.2 serious injuries for every 100 workers.
“Amazon’s serious injury rate fell by about 3% between 2021 and 2022. The rate shot up to 6.8 serious injuries for every 100 workers in 2021, compared to a rate of 5.9 serious injuries for every 100 workers in 2020. Amazon previously attributed the jump to a warehouse hiring push during the pandemic.”
According to the SOC report, “Amazon has ‘not made meaningful progress’ on its total rate of injuries or serious injuries between 2017 and 2022, the six-year period in which it has data. Until 2020, OSHA did not release full injury and illness records submitted by employers, claiming that more detailed logs contained confidential commercial information … While Amazon’s serious injury rate fell between 2021 and 2022, its overall injuries increased. Amazon reported 39,000 total injuries at its U.S. facilities in 2022, up from 38,300 total injuries in 2021.”
CNBC quotes Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel as saying that the SOC’s findings “paint an inaccurate picture.”
“‘The safety and health of our employees is, and always will be, our top priority, and any claim otherwise is inaccurate,’ Nantel said. ‘We’re proud of the progress made by our team and we’ll continue working hard together to keep getting better every day.’
“Amazon also disputed the SOC’s use of the term ‘serious injury rate,’ saying it’s not a regulatory metric. The company said the term could capture any injury that could lead to an employee taking time away from work, or spending time working in another role, including what it considers to be minor injuries, such as a strain that might require a worker to avoid lifting heavy boxes.”
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