Amazon warehouse workers stage protest, days after NYC walkout

Those protesting near Detroit demanded that Amazon shut down the facility for additional cleaning and cover all medical bills for associates and their family members who contracted coronavirus from the site.

Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in the Manhattan borough of New York City, US.
Reuters

Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in the Manhattan borough of New York City, US.

Amazon workers staged a demonstration at one of its warehouses near Detroit, another US protest this week over staff concerns about contracting the novel coronavirus on the job.

It comes after a worker based there had tested positive for the virus. 

The news reflects the operational risks facing the world’s largest online retailer if more workers contract Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, and if their peers quit in protest.

Earlier this week, employees at an Amazon fulfillment centers in Staten Island, New York joined a walkout, and others went on strike at a company facility near Florence, Italy.

Amazon fired the organiser of the New York walkout after he allegedly put others at risk by violating a company request to stay at home for two weeks, a dismissal that prompted the city to open an investigation. 

The organiser had had close contact with a person who had tested positive for Covid-19.

Those protesting near Detroit demanded that Amazon shut down the facility for additional cleaning and cover all medical bills for associates and their family members who contracted the virus from the site, according to a Facebook live stream of the demonstration.

“I feel it’s going to take someone to die for them to finally take action,” protest co-organiser Mario Crippen, 26, said.

Amazon said it has taken “extreme” measures to protect workers, “tripling down on deep cleaning, procuring safety supplies that are available and changing processes to ensure those in our buildings are keeping safe distances.”

Cases of Covid-19, which has led to more than 45,000 deaths globally, have been reported from at least 19 of Amazon’s US warehouses.

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