Amazon Writes Lawmakers, Refuting Unsafe Working Conditions

Amazon refuted a report referenced by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey and Rep. Joseph Kennedy, all Massachusetts Democrats, alleging unsafe working conditions in a Fall River fulfillment center, in a Nov. 1 letter released by the lawmakers Tuesday. The legislators wrote Oct. 14, expressing concern over unsafe working conditions, saying Amazon didn’t make meaningful changes to protect workers “but instead responded by rolling out PR campaigns and appearing to misrepresent workers' injury risk to Congress and the public.” They cited a probe by the Center for Investigative Reporting that said Amazon’s "obsession with speed has turned its warehouses into injury mills.” Amazon Vice President-Public Policy Brian Huseman took issue with the report’s use of the term “serious injury rate,” saying there’s no such classification. Huseman cited the Dart (Days Away, Restricted or Transferred) rate, which “does not differentiate between the type or severity of injuries, and it also includes lesser injuries, such as sprains and strains.” Amazon offers comprehensive health benefits starting on day one of employment, he noted. It's seeing improvements in injury prevention and reduction, “including our work focusing on improving ergonomics, delivering guided physical and wellness exercises, improving workstation setup and design, and separating pedestrians from powered industrial equipment (e.g. forklifts).”