For Immediate Release: June 5, 2024
Labor Coalition Celebrates NY State Senate Passage of Warehouse Safety Bill; Urges Assembly, Governor Hochul to Take Swift Action Amid Worker Safety Crisis
The Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act would require companies like Amazon to design warehouses for safety over profit
ALBANY, NY – Today, unions and advocates applauded the New York State Senate for passing the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act (S5081C/A8907A), proactive legislation to ensure warehouse safety in a state where the injury rate is 54% higher than the national average. New Yorkers for a Fair Economy, the coalition behind the bill including ALIGN, Teamsters, and RWDSU, also urged the Assembly and Governor Hochul to take swift action to pass the legislation, hold employers like Amazon accountable for workplace safety, and design warehouses to protect workers before profit.
The Senate passed the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act (S5081/A03309) by a vote of 52-5. In the Assembly, the bill has been making progress, passing out of Labor, Codes, Ways & Means, and Rules committees. If passed into law, the bill—sponsored by State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Harry Bronson—would establish industry-wide safety standards, require annual safety evaluations of large warehouses for hazards, improve training and medical care, and empower the Department of Labor to implement and enforce the law. In addition to keeping workers safe, the bill can reduce turnover for employers and ease the burden on the state’s healthcare and workers’ compensation systems.
“By passing our warehouse safety bill this session, New York can protect tens of thousands of workers in warehouses statewide and make a growing industry sustainable. We can’t turn our backs when 1 in 11 workers are getting seriously injured — the time to act is now. Bravo to the Senate for recognizing the urgency of our state’s worker safety crisis, and our thanks to Senator Ramos for her steadfast leadership with the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act. Now, we urge the Assembly and Governor Hochul to take swift action to pass the bill this session and get it signed into law,” said Theodore A. Moore, ALIGN Executive Director and spokesperson for the New Yorkers for a Fair Economy coalition.
Background:
-
1 in 11 NY warehouse workers are injured annually and NY’s warehouse worker injury rate is 54% higher than the national average. Amazon workers are injured at an even higher rate — 37% more often than workers at non-Amazon facilities.
-
Act requires annual safety evaluations of large warehouses for potential risks, establishes industry-wide safety standards, improves training and medical care, and empowers DOL to implement and enforce.
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 (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.
###