RDU1 Worker Speak Out

 Amazon Fulfillment Center: Workers Speak Out  

DRAFT  

Problems  

1. Rates and quotas are too high, meaning that workers are too rushed and  pressured. They can’t help each other when something goes wrong or a coworker  has a question, because this takes away time from their own task. In all the  different jobs, the benchmarks are much too high. This is a safety issue.  

2. Vacation time is only 4 days (40 hours) per year. Because of 10 hour shifts, 40  hours is not enough time to take a vacation. Vacation time accumulates very slowly.  Yet workers need vacations to recharge their minds and bodies, connect with family  and tend to their personal lives. This is an uneven exchange between what the  workers give and what the company gives back.  

3. Time Off Task is unfair, because things are too far away. It takes 5 minutes to  get to a break room where there is space to take a break. Half of the break is lost to  travel time. There is not enough time to reach and use the bathroom. Also, adults  should not have to ask permission to use the bathroom. This is degrading. Workers  are not being treated as human beings. 

4. Mandatory overtime. These jobs are very demanding. It can be too much to  require workers to stay longer or work extra days. Mandatory overtime interferes  with people’s sleep cycles, child care, health, and personal life. OT should be a  choice. Let people who want more hours volunteer, or hire more people so that  mandatory OT is not necessary. 

5. Unpaid time off is unfairly counted. It is taken in minimum increments of an hour,  meaning that even if you only need five minutes, you still lose a whole hour of your  time. 

6. Schedules change with no notification, out of nowhere. Workers do not have  enough control over their time. It is difficult to plan. 

7. Managers are not wearing masks or staying distanced. Managers will pull down  their masks and lean in close to talk with workers. At least one Garner worker  caught COVID from this. Many managers do not seem to care about workers at all. 

8. COVID cases are not reported by department. There are notifications, which is  good, but since workers are not told which department the person worked in, there  is no way to figure out whether or not to get tested, or the degree of risk. 

9. Heat and lack of water and supplies are big problems in some parts of the  building. Some of the packers have personal fans, but lately managers have been 

saying that the fans will be taken away. Also, the water stations are often empty.  The restrooms are often out of soap and paper towels. These are safety issues. 

10. Overwork is causing illness and injury. People develop body aches, or fall asleep  on the line and get injured. During one recent shift, a worker witnessed three 911  calls to the plant. For some workers, especially older workers, their bodies cannot  handle three or four overnight shifts in a row. This should not be mandatory. 

11. $15 per hour is not enough for jobs that are this demanding, especially  considering Amazon’s profit margins and the amount of money that is going to Jeff Bezos. It is not fair to pay workers so much less, when they are the ones who are  creating the wealth. Also, why should Amazon take away the $2 hazard pay, when it  is making more money than ever during COVID?  

12. For some jobs, there is little or no training. Workers are expected to figure things  out on their own, then unfairly written up for not knowing what to do. This is a  safety issue, too. 

13. Workers should be allowed to rotate tasks. Doing the same repetitive task is  exhausting. Workers should be able to ask for a change and do different activities.  At present, some people are given this chance and others are not. 

14. Some managers are abusive. They yell, write workers up unfairly, treat them like  children, slaves, or robots. Some bosses are good, but a few good bosses does  not solve the problem. Managers are also stressed out about meeting their  benchmarks, and push their stress onto the workers. 

15. Amazon does not offer any help for people with children. Walmart, for example,  negotiates discounts and reduced rates for employees. Amazon shows no signs of  caring about its workers or their family lives.  

16. Tools and equipment are starting to break down and be in short supply. When  a tool breaks, it is not fixed or replaced right away. There are not enough hand  jacks, for example. The maintenance area is inundated with broken equipment  awaiting repair. The message is “keep it moving, improvise.” This is a safety issue.