Union: Amazon's supply dampening for a day could "put the worker's life in danger"
Amazon wants to turn its famous two-day delivery into just one day on most Prime orders. But can stock workers handle it?
The company's plan to spend $ 800 million this spring to speed up deliveries to Prime members has given a thrill back and forth between an Amazon leader and a great workforce leader. 19659002] Stuart Appelbaum, president of Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, said the fillings could be dangerous for employees of the Amazon center. Appelbaum said workers already struggle to hold on to and handle 200 to 300 orders during a single 12-hour shift.
"Increasing rates of fulfillment mean that they need to hire more workers, under more sustainable speeds that do not put workers' lives at risk," appelbaum said Friday.
RWDSU, representing brick and mortar grocery stores, has been trying for Amazon workers in the past and is trying to help them unite in some parts of the country. Amazon warehouse workers in the United States are not unionized. RWDSU also criticized Amazon's plan for a second headquarters in New York City. That plan was finally deleted.
[Amazon is building a warehouse and delivery center in Garner. It also has several other operations in the Triangle and North Carolina.]
Amazon's Dave Clark, senior vice president of worldwide operations, shot back on Appelbaum's comments. He accused the association's leader of continuing to "endure lies".
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"We appreciate his concern for our employees, but his concern is misleading and self-serving," Clark said in a statement shared by Amazon.
An Amazon spokesman told CNN Business that workers are not "struggling to sustain" their workloads and their lives are not at stake. "We have a very safe working environment," the spokesman said in an email.
It is unclear whether Amazon is planning to add jobs to its fulfillment centers to help speed up shipments. Managers have not specified how the $ 800 million investment in one-day shipping will be spent.
Clark said Amazon has spent two decades expanding its network of storage and shipping lines, enabling Amazon workers to "deliver orders faster and more efficiently – not by working harder, but by working smarter. . "
Amazon was criticized in April last year after it turned out that the employee's median salary was $ 28,446 in 2017. The company said in October it would increase its minimum wage to $ 15 per hour.
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The company has offered free two-day shipping to Prime members for more than a decade. It is a key benefit that has helped draw in millions of subscribers and forced other online stores to pick up. The company also offers a selection of items eligible for free one-day shipping, and two hours of delivery in some cities with their Prime Now service rolled out. Amazon says it wants to make a day standard for all Prime members.
Amazon is one of the largest employers in America with 647,500 full-time and part-time employees as of December 31, 2018.
