Coronavirus: Amazon worker fired amid strike over protective gear
Calls for hazard pay after multiple employees test positive for coronavirus
Amazon has fired a New York warehouse worker who led a protest over safety precautions taken by the firm during the coronavirus pandemic.
Staff walked out of a New York City facility on Monday, demanding increased protective gear and hazard pay, after reports of multiple employees testing positive for coronavirus.
Chris Smalls, an assistant manager and organiser, learned that his contract had been terminated as dozens of workers protested. He told Vice News: “It’s a shame on them. To fire someone after five years for sticking up for people and trying to give them a voice.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Guardian reports that New York’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, said he has ordered the city’s human rights commissioner to investigate the dismissal. New York state’s attorney general, Letitia James, said her office was considering “all legal options” regarding Smalls’s firing.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important business stories and tips for the week’s best shares - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Amazon has defended the sacking, claiming in a statement that Smalls “had close contact with a diagnosed associate” but did not comply when “asked to remain home with pay for 14 days”.
Smalls alleges Amazon did not send him home until 28 March, three weeks after the exposure, The Guardian notes.
After US senators wrote to boss Jeff Bezos to express concerns over working practices, Amazon insisted it is taking extra precautions.
A spokesperson for the company said: “We are going to great lengths to keep the buildings extremely clean and help employees practice important precautions such as social distancing and other measures.
“Those who don't want to work are welcome to use paid and unpaid time off options and we support them in doing so.”
“Since the building won’t close by itself, we’re going to have to force their hand,” Smalls had previously told CNBC, adding that workers “will not return until the building gets sanitised”.
Amazon workers have also walked out in Italy, amid claims that “several employees working at the site” had to wear face masks “for days instead of having new ones each day”, according to a union representative speaking to Reuters.
Amazon said: “As customers use e-commerce as a useful tool for their social distancing efforts, we too have adopted specific measures within our sites so that our employees can respect social distance and work safely.”
After workers at Instacart also threatened to go on strike, CNN said the industrial action “highlights a fundamental tension in the tech industry”.
The broadcaster added: “Business such as Amazon and Instacart are experiencing so much demand from customers wary of stepping outside that they have announced plans to hire 100,000 warehouse workers and 300,000 shoppers, respectively.
“But the workers… believe both companies are not doing enough to protect them.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'The House under GOP rule has become a hostile workplace'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal is about more than bad bets
In The Spotlight The firestorm surrounding one of baseball's biggest stars threatens to upend a generational legacy and professional sports at large
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Covid four years on: have we got over the pandemic?
Today's Big Question Brits suffering from both lockdown nostalgia and collective trauma that refuses to go away
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The hollow classroom
Opinion Remote school let kids down. It will take much more than extra tutoring for kids to recover.
By Mark Gimein Published
-
Excess screen time is making children only see what is in front of them
Under the radar The future is looking blurry. And very nearsighted.
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Covid-19: what to know about UK's new Juno and Pirola variants
in depth Rapidly spreading new JN.1 strain is 'yet another reminder that the pandemic is far from over'
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Long-term respiratory illness is here to stay
The Explainer Covid is not the only disease with a long version
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Covid inquiry: the most important questions for Boris Johnson
Talking Point Former PM has faced weeks of heavy criticism from former colleagues at the public hearing
By The Week Staff Published
-
China's pneumonia cases: should we be worried?
The Explainer Experts warn against pushing 'pandemic panic button' following outbreak of respiratory illness
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
Vallance diaries: Boris Johnson 'bamboozled' by Covid science
Speed Read Then PM struggled to get his head around key terms and stats, chief scientific advisor claims
By The Week UK Published