The warehouse workers are said to be exposed to an increased risk of infection. The company insists on its guidelines and wants to silence internal critics.
Amazon is said to have done it again: Two employees are said to have been fired after they fell out critical of the working conditions at the time of the corona crisis. While the company denies this, the ex-employees concerned denounce Amazon’s behavior – and they are not alone in that. Because other workers have been laid off since the spread of the coronavirus.
Amazon denies the allegations
Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, both of whom worked in the user experience design department, were fired after a petition was circulated within the company. In the petition, the two women addressed the precarious hygiene conditions for warehouse workers during the corona crisis. Amazon’s protective measures would not be sufficient and there would be an increased risk of infection for the employees. Shortly after the petition was circulated, both employees were fired. In a statement, Costa emphasizes:
I don’t regret standing up with my co-workers. This is about human lives, and the future of humanity. In this crisis, we must stand up for what we believe in, have hope, and demand from our corporations and employers a basic decency that’s been lacking in this crisis.
An Amazon spokeswoman confirmed the layoffs of Cunningham and Costa. The reason for this was the repeated violation of internal guidelines. These prohibit Amazon employees from expressing themselves publicly about the company without a statement from the company and the permission of executives. According to the spokeswoman, the right of employees to express themselves critically about working conditions is supported. However, the criticism must conform to the internal guidelines. With this explanation, the question arises to what extent Amazon actually supports the freedom of expression of its employees. In any case, the existence of such strict guidelines smacks of something like censorship.
Employees received negative attention several times
But Cunningham and Costa did not only become active due to Corona, but since the ongoing climate crisis. During their collaboration with the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice group, the two employees received repeated warnings because they were critical of the company’s carbon footprint. Apart from that, they wrote an open letter with the group about Amazon’s lack of response to the climate crisis, which was signed by 8,700 employees. They also organized a strike that was attended by over 3,000 employees. At this point it should be noted that the dismissed employees, despite criticism of some of the company’s practices, worked for Amazon for several years – Costa more than five years, Cunningham even 15 years. The former doubts Amazon’s actions against internal critics:
Why is Amazon so scared of workers talking with each other? No company should punish their employees for showing concern for one another, especially during a pandemic.
The Amazon Employees for Climate Justice group has expressed further criticism of the company’s actions in response to the firings of Cunningham and Costa. A virtual event was recently planned where both warehouse workers and office workers could have met digitally. The warehouse workers would have had the chance to comment on the working conditions during the corona crisis. But even though thousands of employees had already accepted the invitation, all announcements and emails regarding the event were suddenly deleted. The group accuses the company of wanting to avoid contact between the two groups of workers. Amazon itself did not want to comment on the allegations about the event.
Amazon fires other critical employees
Chris Smalls was fired back in March after critical of the increased risk of infection in an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, New York. This week, Bashir Mohamed was released, who also complained about the lack of corona protective measures. Both employees are accused by Amazon of not adhering to the physical distancing guidelines in the workplace. According to another spokeswoman, the company would not tolerate any dangerous behavior on the part of employees, even if you support their right to protest and criticize. Cunningham questions the company’s view:
We are in the middle of both the climate crisis and a global pandemic. This is the time to deeply care about one another. We have to do all that we can to support workers on the frontlines, now more than ever.
Ultimately, in the cases described here, there is one statement against one statement. If the employees have actually violated guidelines, dismissal is of course legitimate. At the same time, it should be questioned what purpose the internal guidelines for expression of opinion pursue, while Amazon repeatedly emphasizes that it supports the right of employees to criticize. Presumably, the company wants to protect itself from unfounded accusations, but there are certainly better ways to do this than the apparent “prior censorship” and monitoring of expressions of opinion. And maybe the employees’ allegations should be taken seriously, especially in the current situation. With retail restrictions in some parts of the world, people order a lot online. Precisely for this reason, the employees in Amazon’s warehouses should be treated fairly and, above all, adequately protected against infection with Covid-19.
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