Strike Updates


This post is following up on the grocery and warehouse worker strikes post that I shared last week on April 1st. Since then, the stances of both sides have remained mostly the same. Employees want to receive a real hazard pay, not just a $2 increase. They also want buildings to be closed and sanitized when a positive case of coronavirus occurs, and pay for the employees while the closure goes on. Lastly, they have expressed the need for additional personal protection equipment (PPE) as they want to take as many precautions as possible if they must continue to work. Amazon, on the other hand, stands firm in the ruling that they do not plan to close the JFK8 building. They say that they are working within the World Health Organization (WHO) requirements and have implemented a more rigorous cleaning schedule as well as staggering shift start times to help aid in social distancing. Employees at warehouse will now go through a temperature check point when they come into work and any individual with a temperature above 100 degrees will be sent home. The company also disputes the numbers that are being reported as far as how many employees are participating in the protest events.

This week, on Monday April 6th, there was a second set of walk-out protests at the Staten Island (JFK8) Amazon building, as well as walk-outs in Chicago and Detroit by other warehouses. In Boston this week, on Tuesday April 7th, a downtown Whole Foods had employee demonstrations as well. One Whole Foods employee was quoted saying, "The richest corporation in the history of our planet is refusing to pay its workers more than $2 hour hazard pay and is not providing its employees with adequate protective equipment."

These employees are now gaining support from elected officials and union leaders, many of whom have written letters to Amazon demanding that real safety measures to be implemented. Excerpts from the letter are as follows:
  • “You claim to have adopted a number of practices to sanitize worksites and protect workers but a compelling number of workers have come forward -- and even run the incredible personal risk of walking off the job -- to report that the actual situation in warehouses does not match Amazon’s public relations statements. Your workers deserve to have full protections and to be confident that they are not carrying COVID-19 home to their families.” 
  • “We write in support of your own workers calling for you to CLOSE Amazon warehouses until you put into place real solutions — with independent monitors — to protect your workers and the public in this moment of public health crisis.”
Stay tuned to see what happens next.....

-Vicky

P.S - In a bright spot amidst all of this negative news, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and Square made a rather large donation yesterday to fund COVID-19 relief around the world. Communicated via a tweet, Dorsey stated that his $1 billion donation was approximately 28% of his net worth. He said that he hopes this inspires others, saying "life is too short, so let’s do everything we can today to help people now.” Go Jack!!

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