Workers at Amazon’s Staten Island, New York, fulfillment center walked out today to protest the company’s response to COVID-19 infections among its warehouse employees. Amazon has confirmed one case of COVID-19 at the New York facility, but workers say there have been at least 10 and that the company has failed to notify workers or properly clean the warehouse. Now, they are calling for Amazon to shut down the facility for two weeks for deep cleaning.
“The goal is to get that building shut down, and they will shut it down, because no packages, nothing gets out the building without associates,” says Derrick Palmer, who has worked at the facility, JFK8, for four and a half years. “This is a pandemic. People are literally losing their lives because of this virus. And [Amazon is] not taking this seriously. They’re not giving us our respect that we demand. We’re not going to ask for it. We’re going to demand it, because at the end of the day, we’re the heart and soul of that building, not the managers. They’re back in the office. We’re in the front lines working.”
Workers at 19 US Amazon warehouses have tested positive for COVID-19, according to local news reports. So far, Amazon has closed facilities only when forced to do so by government order or worker protest. Last week, the company indefinitely closed a returns processing warehouse in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, after three workers tested positive and the governor ordered it shuttered. On March 18th, a sortation center in Queens, New York, was temporarily closed for cleaning after workers walked out upon learning of a positive COVID-19 case. Employees learned about the case from co-workers and say they had been expected to come to work.
The failure to notify workers when someone at a facility tests positive appears to be systemic. Last week, The Verge spoke with workers at several warehouses across the US who learned of COVID-19 cases from co-workers. At JFK8, Palmer says the first case was confirmed on March 12th, but workers were only told several days afterward when managers walked the floor and told employees in person. But the facility is staffed by more than 4,000 workers and is 855,000 square feet, so many learned of the incident through hearsay much later.
Amazon has a strong infrastructure for keeping its warehouse employees informed. For example, when the company announces mandatory overtime, Palmer points out, the company sends out texts and emails to every worker. “With this incident, they have not sent out one text — nothing at all,” Palmer says.
Amazon says it has intensified the cleaning of its warehouses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but workers at JFK8 and elsewhere say the measures fall far short of what’s needed. Palmer says shifts of about a dozen cleaners work at JFK8, too few to properly disinfect such an enormous building. (Workers in other warehouses in the US have expressed similar concerns about understaffing of cleaning crews.) While Amazon has stopped daily stand-up meetings and staggered schedules to minimize workers clustering together, certain roles in the warehouse, like the packing department, still require employees to stand in close proximity, and workers often pass items between each other.
“The way that the department is set up, everyone is on top of each other,” Palmer says. “It is literally impossible to maintain the social distance within those departments, and they haven’t been practiced, they haven’t tried to adjust that at all because there’s no way they can do it.”
In Italy and Spain, where COVID-19 outbreaks have been spreading longer, Amazon refused to shut down facilities after workers became infected, prompting protests. Earlier this month, a group of senators wrote a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos expressing concern for the safety of Amazon workers and asking, among other things, whether the company would temporarily shut down facilities and provide paid leave for workers if someone tests positive for COVID-19. A petition among workers calling for a similar approach has garnered more than 1,500 signatures. The workers at JFK8 are also calling for paid leave while the facility is shut down for cleaning.
In a statement, Amazon called the workers’ claims “unfounded” and said its employees are “heroes.” The company is taking worker safety extremely seriously and has instituted several changes, the company said, including intensifying cleaning and screening worker temperatures. Regarding closing buildings, the company said it consults with health authorities and medical experts, and if a diagnosed worker hasn’t been in the building for some time or if the area where they worked has already been cleaned during the regular course of business, the facility may not need to be closed.
The pandemic has shown a spotlight on the role of workers at Amazon, Instacart, and other goods-delivering tech companies. No longer laboring in the background of digital interfaces, they’re increasingly being recognized as frontline workers providing a vital service to millions of Americans who are being told to stay home. Both companies are trying to hire tens of thousands more people to meet surging demand. Amazon is giving its workers letters to carry saying they are “essential” employees, delivering “critical supplies directly to the doorsteps of people who need them” and should be allowed to continue their jobs amid shutdowns.
But the pandemic also exposes these workers to new risks, and workers say companies have been slow to adjust policies and protections. Instacart and Amazon now offer workers diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine two weeks’ paid leave, but that doesn’t help workers who have COVID-19 symptoms but can’t get tested. Amazon warehouses have been optimized for speed and efficiency, and workers say the intense pace leaves them little time to use cleaning material that is often in short supply.
Today, Instacart workers are going on strike, calling for expanded sick leave, hazard pay, and protective equipment. Workers at Whole Foods, which is also owned by Amazon and faces unprecedented demand for delivery, are striking tomorrow. JFK8 marks the first major action at an Amazon fulfillment center, and workers at Amazon warehouses across the country have expressed similar concerns.
Shutting down a fulfillment center for a prolonged period would threaten Amazon’s ability to continue delivering products, but refusing to do so and failing to assure employees their safety is being taken seriously pose potentially greater threats to the company. Already, workers are staying home rather than venturing into crowded warehouses, choosing to forgo pay that Amazon recently increased rather than risk getting infected. Delivery times for some items now stretch to a month or more. Now, at JFK8, workers frustrated with the company’s coronavirus response are trying to shut down the facility themselves.
Around 1PM on March 30th, workers filed out of the New York warehouse, many wearing masks and bandanas over their faces. “Alexa, please shut down and sanitize the building,” read one of the signs. On a live stream of the protest, workers expressed frustration with not being told about infections at the warehouse and said many were choosing to stay home without pay.
“We’re not done here. Today was a cry for help,” said Chris Smalls, a worker at the facility and one of the walkout organizers, wearing a black bandana as he addressed protesters. “Today was a win for us, but it’s a battle and the war is not over. We’re going to go to City Hall possibly tomorrow morning. We’ve got to get the government’s attention. Just like in Kentucky, the government has to step in and close the building down.”
Update 3PM ET: The story has been updated to identify one of the speakers at the protest, Chris Smalls.
Amazon, the e-commerce giant that has fared well financially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is facing a bevy of worker strikes. Today, warehouse workers on Staten Island in New York walked off the job in protest of Amazon’s treatment amid the crisis.
“Like all businesses grappling with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we are working hard to keep employees safe while serving communities and the most vulnerable,” an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch. “We have taken extreme measures to keep people safe, tripling down on deep cleaning, procuring safety supplies that are available, and changing processes to ensure those in our buildings are keeping safe distances. The truth is the vast majority of employees continue to show up and do the heroic work of delivering for customers every day.”
In solidarity with warehouse workers, tech workers at Amazon are demanding the company provide fully paid family leave for people who miss work, provide fully paid leave to all Amazon workers, close facilities immediately following contamination, ensure full paid leave for workers whose jobs are impacted by such closures and ensure everyone has unlimited time to take care of their health.
“Recognizing the urgency of the moment, tech workers are going beyond asking Amazon to take action and are pledging not to work for Amazon if it fails to act,” the DC Tech Workers Coalition wrote in a petition. “We also pledge to ask organizations in our communities such as universities and conferences to not accept Amazon as a sponsor or participant in events.”
Meanwhile, workers at Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon, are organizing a “sick out” strike tomorrow to demand better protections on the job, Vice reports.
According to Vice, Whole Foods workers will call in sick tomorrow and demand paid sick leave for those who stay at home or self-quarantine during the pandemic. They will also demand free coronavirus testing for employees and hazard pay.
Led by group Whole Worker, the sick-out was originally planned for May 1, but was moved up in response to reports that workers have started getting sick and testing positive for COVID-19.
“As this situation has progressed, our fundamental needs as workers have become more urgent,” the group wrote on its campaign page. “COVID-19 poses a very real threat to the safety of our workforce and our customers. We cannot wait for politicians, institutions, or our own management to step in to protect us.”
This action will come one day after Instacart workers are refusing to shop and deliver groceries until the company meets their demands. Shoppers’ current demands are offering hazard pay of $5 extra per order, changing the default tip to 10%, and extending the sick pay policy to those who have a doctor’s note for a pre-existing condition that may make them more susceptible to contracting the virus.
“For the sake of public health and worker safety, every non-union grocery worker must speak out,” United Fodo and Commercial Workers International Union President Marc Perrone said in a statement. “If Amazon, Instacart, and Whole Foods are unwilling to do what is right to protect their workers and our communities, the UFCW is ready to listen and do all we can to help protect these brave workers from irresponsible employers who are ignoring the serious threat posed by the rapidly growing coronavirus outbreak.”
The company said Monday that the pandemic has taken a "heavy toll" on its business. Macy's(M), which also owns Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, closed all of its 775 stores in the United States earlier this month to slow the virus from spreading in crowded areas, and because of laws in some states that forced the closure of nonessential businesses, including retailers.
Macy's painted a bleak picture of its already perilous financial situation. The company said that it has lost a "majority" of sales because of the brick-and-mortar closures and has implemented other changes to bolster its bottom line, including drawing down its credit line and freezing hiring and spending.
"While these actions have helped, it is not enough," the company bluntly said. Macy's is "moving to the absolute minimum workforce needed to maintain basic operations." That is resulting in furloughs for a "majority" of its employees beginning this week. Affected workers will still get the company-funded health care for at least through May.
Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette and the company's board of directors will stop receiving their salaries, according to a regulatory filing.
Macy's websites remain open for orders. The company will furlough fewer workers at its digital operations and distribution and call centers, Macy's said, but online sales make up just a fifth of Macy's overall revenue.
"We expect to bring colleagues back on a staggered basis as business resumes," the company said. However, its unclear when retailers will be allowed to open. President Donald Trump announced Sunday he's extending the nationwide social distancing guidelines until at least April 30.
The news is another blow for Macy's, which has already been reducing its store count as dwindling sales took hold in the US even before the coronavirus pandemic. Department stores have already been being squeezed by discount chains, like TJ Maxx (TJX)and Target(TGT), which is pressuring profits and forcing them to put products on sale. Meanwhile, more shoppers are migrating online.
Macy's shares fell 2% in early trading. The stock is down nearly 70% for the year.
The company said Monday that the pandemic has taken a "heavy toll" on its business. Macy's(M), which also owns Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, closed all of its 775 stores in the United States earlier this month to slow the virus from spreading in crowded areas, and because of laws in some states that forced the closure of nonessential businesses, including retailers.
Macy's painted a bleak picture of its already perilous financial situation. The company said that it has lost a "majority" of sales because of the brick-and-mortar closures and has implemented other changes to bolster its bottom line, including drawing down its credit line and freezing hiring and spending.
"While these actions have helped, it is not enough," the company bluntly said. Macy's is "moving to the absolute minimum workforce needed to maintain basic operations." That is resulting in furloughs for a "majority" of its employees beginning this week. Affected workers will still get the company-funded health care for at least through May.
Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette and the company's board of directors will stop receiving their salaries, according to a regulatory filing.
Macy's websites remain open for orders. The company will furlough fewer workers at its digital operations and distribution and call centers, Macy's said, but online sales make up just a fifth of Macy's overall revenue.
"We expect to bring colleagues back on a staggered basis as business resumes," the company said. However, its unclear when retailers will be allowed to open. President Donald Trump announced Sunday he's extending the nationwide social distancing guidelines until at least April 30.
The news is another blow for Macy's, which has already been reducing its store count as dwindling sales took hold in the US even before the coronavirus pandemic. Department stores have already been being squeezed by discount chains, like TJ Maxx (TJX)and Target(TGT), which is pressuring profits and forcing them to put products on sale. Meanwhile, more shoppers are migrating online.
Macy's shares fell 2% in early trading. The stock is down nearly 70% for the year.
The company said Monday that the pandemic has taken a "heavy toll" on its business. Macy's(M), which also owns Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, closed all of its 775 stores in the United States earlier this month to slow the virus from spreading in crowded areas, and because of laws in some states that forced the closure of nonessential businesses, including retailers.
Macy's painted a bleak picture of its already perilous financial situation. The company said that it has lost a "majority" of sales because of the brick-and-mortar closures and has implemented other changes to bolster its bottom line, including drawing down its credit line and freezing hiring and spending.
"While these actions have helped, it is not enough," the company bluntly said. Macy's is "moving to the absolute minimum workforce needed to maintain basic operations." That is resulting in furloughs for a "majority" of its employees beginning this week. Affected workers will still get the company-funded health care for at least through May.
Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette and the company's board of directors will stop receiving their salaries, according to a regulatory filing.
Macy's websites remain open for orders. The company will furlough fewer workers at its digital operations and distribution and call centers, Macy's said, but online sales make up just a fifth of Macy's overall revenue.
"We expect to bring colleagues back on a staggered basis as business resumes," the company said. However, its unclear when retailers will be allowed to open. President Donald Trump announced Sunday he's extending the nationwide social distancing guidelines until at least April 30.
The news is another blow for Macy's, which has already been reducing its store count as dwindling sales took hold in the US even before the coronavirus pandemic. Department stores have already been being squeezed by discount chains, like TJ Maxx (TJX)and Target(TGT), which is pressuring profits and forcing them to put products on sale. Meanwhile, more shoppers are migrating online.
Macy's shares fell 2% in early trading. The stock is down nearly 70% for the year.
Macy's said the majority of its employees will be furloughed beginning this week as it copes with significant sales losses during the coronavirus pandemic.
The retailer declined to say how many employees will be affected by the furloughs. It said it's lost most of its sales, even as it remains open online, and that's why cost cuts are necessary.
Macy's is one of dozens of retailers that have been forced to close stores to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. All of its stores have been closed since March 18, and it has not decided when it will be safe to reopen.
Like Macy's, many retailers have continued to sell online. Without brick-and-mortar locations, though, they have lost the engine that still fuels most customer purchases.
In a statement Monday, Macy's listed the many steps it's already taken to try to shore up its finances. It has suspended its dividend, drawn down a line of credit, frozen hiring and spending, and canceled some orders, among others.
"While these actions have helped, it is not enough," the company said in a statement. "Across Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and Bluemercury brands, we will be moving to the absolute minimum workforce needed to maintain basic operations."
The company said it is evaluating all other financing options.
Macy's had roughly 130,000 employees, excluding seasonal staff, as of Feb. 2. As of the latest reported quarter, the company was operating 551 Macy's department stores, 34 Bloomingdale's locations, 19 Bloomingdale's outlets and 171 Bluemercury shops, according to its website.
Shares of Macy's were up slightly in trading Monday on the news. The stock, which has a market capitalization of $1.7 billion, has lost 68% of its value since the start of the year.
As department stores remain dark, companies may feel even more squeezed. According to an analysis by Cowen and Co., Kohl's and Macy's have enough liquidity for five months. J.C. Penney and Nordstrom fare a bit better and have enough cash to last eight months with their stores closed, Cowen said.
Along with furloughs, Macy's said last week that its CEO Jeff Gennette will not receive compensation starting April 1 and until the end of the crisis. It said it would also reduce pay for the period for all executives at management director level and above.
Macy's said it will have fewer furloughs on the digital side of its business, such as in its distribution centers and call centers. It said furloughed employees enrolled in health benefits will continue to receive coverage, with the company paying 100% of the premium.
"We expect to bring colleagues back on a staggered basis as business resumes," it said.
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