CNBC reports that the US Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), has launched a probe into Amazon’s warehouse working conditions. The committee has asked Amazon CEO Andy Jassy to respond to a request for specific information by July 5.
In a letter to Jassy, CNBC writes, Sanders suggested that Amazon’s “quest for profits at all costs” has put its warehouse workers at risk.
“Amazon is well aware of these dangerous conditions, the life-altering consequences for workers injured on the job, and the steps the company could take to reduce the significant risks of injury,” Sanders wrote. “Yet the company has made a calculated decision not to implement adequate worker protections because Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, and you, his successor as Chief Executive Officer, have created a corporate culture that treats workers as disposable.”
According to the story, “Sanders called on Jassy to turn over more information related to Amazon’s injury and turnover rates, as well as data on its on-site medical clinic, called AMCARE, dating back to 2019. He also asked Jassy to say whether Amazon has, internally or through a third party, examined ‘the connection between the pace of work of its warehouse workers and the prevalence or cost of injuries at its warehouses’.”
CNN quotes Amazon spokesman Steve Kelly as saying that the company “reviewed the letter and strongly disagree with Senator Sanders’ assertions … We take the safety and health of our employees very seriously. There will always be ways to improve, but we’re proud of the progress we’ve made which includes a 23% reduction in recordable injuries across our U.S. operations since 2019. We’ve invested more than $1 billion into safety initiatives, projects, and programs in the last four years, and we’ll continue investing and inventing in this area because nothing is more important than our employees’ safety.”
CNBC notes that Sanders has a standing invitation to tour an Amazon warehouse.
KC’s View:
Recent history would suggest that Amazon probably shouldn’t play games with Sanders’ committee. If Amazon doesn’t comply with the request for information, it won’t take long before it gets a subpoena for information, and probably for Jassy to appear before the committee. (Maybe Jassy can ask former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz for some appearance advice.)
I would also suggest that if Sanders ought to take up Amazon’s invitation to tour a warehouse – but only on the condition that he and other members of the committee can show up at any warehouse at any time. In other words, the politicians should not agree to be part of a staged event. And if Amazon agreed to these conditions, it would suggest that it has a lot of confidence in its own operations.
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