For Immediate Release: December 16, 2024
Media Contact: Lisa Thomas, lisa@alignny.org, (347) 415-6431
As Safety Bill Awaits Hochul Signature, Internal Amazon Documents Show Amazon Knew About Injury Crisis
In New York, the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act
awaits the Governor’s signature to become law
ALBANY, NY – In response to a Senate investigation revealing that Amazon ignored internal injury data, Lucas Shapiro, ALIGN Deputy Director and leader of the New Yorkers for a Fair Economy coalition released the following statement:
“Today, a federal Senate investigation reconfirmed what we already know: Amazon hurts workers to feed their bottom line. But now with chilling detail, we learn that Amazon’s own internal safety teams linked the corporation’s arduous pace of work and repetitive movements to serious injuries, recommending they relax quotas; executives simply did not care.
“Amazon will lie, cheat, and steal to keep their profits up, spinning yarns about out-of-date data and reduced injury rates while the hard facts tell a different story. In New York, we have a solution: the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act, which was delivered to Governor Hochul’s desk and awaits her signature to become law. The Act addresses the issues head on, requiring industry-wide safety standards and evaluations by qualified external experts to protect workers over profits. It’s time for New York to stand up to Amazon and end this cycle of exploitation once and for all.”
Background:
- The New York State Legislature passed the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act (S5081C/A8907A) by a vote of 52-5 in the Senate and unanimously in the Assembly. Sponsored by Labor Chairs State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Harry Bronson, the bill currently awaits Governor Hochul’s signature to become law.
- 1 in 9 NY warehouse workers are injured annually and NY’s warehouse worker injury rate is more than double the national average.
- The Act requires annual safety evaluations of large warehouses for potential risks, establishes industry-wide safety standards, improves training and medical care, and empowers the DOL to implement and enforce the act.
About New Yorkers for a Fair Economy
New Yorkers for a Fair Economy (NYFE) is a coalition of labor unions, small businesses, and immigrant and community organizations uniting to safeguard our state from the abusive practices of big corporations and achieve an economy that works for all New Yorkers. NYFE is led by ALIGN (The Alliance for a Greater New York) and includes labor unions Teamsters Joint Council 16 and Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union; community groups like New York Communities for Change and New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health; and research and advocacy organizations like National Employment Law Project and Strategic Organizing Center, among others.
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