Deciding on a Course of Action During Backlash
Plenty of Amazon employees across the US have been talking about the work conditions in Amazon warehouses for several months now. The latest complaint from warehouse workers is that the internal temperature has become too hot to be able to work efficiently.
Recently, there was a federal complaint that was filed by a group of employees that works at the largest Amazon warehouse in New York City. In it, the warehouse workers stated that there was no ventilation, and the dirty fans ended up spreading the warehouse debris into the worker’s eyes. Some employees were also fainting from heat exhaustion, as well as getting nose bleeds, feeling dizzy, nauseous, and getting high blood pressure due to the working conditions.
The country has been enveloped in a heatwave, and warehouse workers at Amazon around the country have been working up to 12-hour shifts during it, with inefficient cooling systems, according to those workers. Additionally, in some Amazon warehouse locations, during the heat dome in the Pacific Northwest, the employees were required to finish their tasks as quickly as possible for an hour, which those departments titled “power” hour.
Although the largest Amazon warehouse in New York City already has a centralized cooling system, workers have been continuously stating that stations don’t have enough fans, which led to the incredible temperatures and heat. The situation wasn’t improved by the empty water fountains in the last several weeks, according to an internal warehouse message board.
This new complaint comes soon after yet another one from Amazon warehouse workers who were working too hard, which led to various performance issues during their work hours. Back in March, warehouse workers, as well as Amazon drivers, publicly stated some of the problems they had to face during their work hours to be able to meet quotas and keep their jobs.
Additionally, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, people can develop heat-related illnesses when the temperature and humidity combined are above 70°. According to the internal warehouse message board, the temperature inside the New York City warehouse ranged from 78 to 80° in different parts.
The company has been facing various complaints in the last year, especially in the last few months, and unfortunately, Amazon keeps releasing statements denying the workers’ complaints. The best way to go about situations like this is to have open, honest, and transparent communication with the workers first, and finding a solution that will be beneficial to both parties. Only then should the company make any sort of public statement in an effort to not damage his reputation further.
