Amazon’s yearly Prime Day event has once again drawn attention to the significant safety concerns surrounding its warehouse workers, as revealed by a recent US Senate investigation. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions has highlighted the increased dangers in Amazon warehouses during Prime Day and the holiday season, periods notorious for heightened work demands and soaring injury rates.
The investigation, spearheaded by Sen. Bernie Sanders, has brought to light the perilous conditions Amazon warehouse employees face during these peak periods. The committee’s report emphasizes the “extremely unsafe conditions” in Amazon’s warehouses, which are exacerbated during Prime Day, held each July, and the holiday season.
Prime Day, occurring on July 11 and 12, has been pinpointed as a significant contributor to worker injuries. The report indicates that during Prime Day 2019, the rate of “recordable” injuries—those mandated to be reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)—surpassed 10 per 100 workers. This figure is more than double the average injury rate in the US warehousing and storage industry. When considering injuries not required to be reported to OSHA, Amazon’s total injury rate approached 45 per 100 workers.
Despite Amazon’s impressive revenue, the report criticizes the company for failing to adequately address these high injury rates. During Prime Day 2023, Amazon achieved record-breaking sales, totaling $12.7 billion, with July 11 being the single largest sales day in the company’s history. For the first quarter of 2024, Amazon reported a profit of $10.4 billion. This financial success starkly contrasts with the unsafe working conditions documented in the Senate’s findings.
Amazon’s response to the Senate report underscores its dedication to employee safety. The company has noted a 28% reduction in recordable injury rates in the US since 2019. Amazon claims that it meticulously plans and staffs its warehouses to handle peak periods and maintains excess capacity to manage unexpected volume increases. However, the report indicates that these measures have not sufficiently mitigated the risks faced by workers.
Worker accounts during Prime Day and other peak periods describe the experience as grueling, with long hours and intense pressure to meet high productivity targets. The warehouses, some as vast as 28 football fields, are equipped with stringent tracking systems that monitor employees’ every move. This pressure contributes to the unsafe working conditions highlighted in the investigation.
Sen. Bernie Sanders has long called on Amazon to improve its treatment of workers, criticizing the company’s approach to handling worker injuries and the intense surveillance that drives high productivity rates. According to Sanders, Amazon’s relentless pursuit of profits often compromises worker safety, offering minimal medical care for those injured on the job.
Amazon holds Prime Day in July each year to boost sales during traditionally slow summer months. The Senate’s findings spotlight the challenges faced by warehouse workers during this critical sales period, emphasizing the need for Amazon to address the reported safety issues and enhance working conditions.
As Amazon continues to expand its operations and achieve record sales figures, the Senate’s investigation underscores the urgent need for the company to prioritize worker safety and address the hazardous conditions in its warehouses.