A recent report states that coronavirus cases have been reported at as many as 19 Amazon warehouses across the United States.
Reuters reports that according to recent figures, coronavirus cases have been present at as many as 19 Amazon warehouses in the United States. According to Reuters, the warehouses with coronaviruses are located in quite a few states across the country, from New York to California.
Recently, fifteen workers the 5,000 person Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York, walked out of their jobs to protest what they deemed to be unacceptable safety precautions in the workplace. One employee was fired following the protest for violating a paid quarantine.
Amazon spokesperson Kristen Kish commented on the firing of the employee Christian Smalls who was reportedly supposed to be in quarantine stating:
Mr. Smalls was found to have had close contact with a diagnosed associate with a confirmed case of COVID-19 and was asked to remain home with pay for 14 days, which is a measure we’re taking at sites around the world. Despite that instruction to stay home with pay, he came onsite today, March 30, putting the teams at risk.
Smalls commented on his dismissal to CNN stating: “Everybody’s been warning me that [this] might happen, so I kinda expected it. But for them to do it this way, and for the reasoning behind it, that tells you right there that they, number one, don’t care about people, and number two, it’s just a target, a straight up target.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James commented on the firing of Smalls stating that “it is disgraceful that Amazon would terminate an employee who bravely stood up to protect himself and his colleagues. At the height of a global pandemic, Chris Smalls and his colleagues publicly protested the lack of precautions that Amazon was taking to protect them from COVID-19,” she said. “Today, Chris Smalls was fired. In New York, the right to organize is codified into law, and any retaliatory action by management related thereto is strictly prohibited.”
Reuters has compiled a list of the affected facilities, a portion of the list can be read below:
QUEENS, NEW YORK – On March 19, Amazon said it was temporarily closing delivery station DBK1 after an associate there tested positive for the virus. It was the first known case at an Amazon warehouse in the United States.
SHEPHERDSVILLE, KENTUCKY – Amazon said it shut a warehouse until April 1 at the direction of the state’s governor. Several workers at the site, known as SDF9, had contracted COVID-19. The facility handles apparel and footwear, according to MWPVL.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA – A worker at Amazon’s OKC1 fulfillment center said until he had tested positive, he needed to keep working to pay his bills. “I hope I didn’t spread it,” he told local television station News 4. here
BROWNSTOWN, ROMULUS and SHELBY CHARTER TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN – Three facilities near Detroit have had cases of the virus, including an Amazon sorting center here and two Amazon here fulfillment centers here the company said in local media reports.
Read the full list at Reuters here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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