Amazon workers left unable to work due to on-the-job injuries have resorted to online fundraising campaigns to cover their bills as they struggle to obtain compensation and disability benefits from their company.
According to the interviews of Amazon employees who were injured while working in the tech giant's warehouses, the company has been ignoring their concerns about the physical strains of warehouse work, denying requests for compensation or benefits after injuries and prioritizing productivity above all else.
Keith Williams, a worker at Amazon's SWF1 warehouse in Rock Tavern, New York, was loading containers by himself when a computer desk fell on him, striking the back of his head in August 2023. Feeling nauseous and dizzy, Williams sought help at Amcare, Amazon's in-house medical service, where he received aspirin and ice. However, he was unsatisfied with the care, so he visited urgent care on his own. The next day, he was put on light duty but was frequently questioned by managers about his productivity.
In February 2024, Williams was injured again while lifting heavy packages repeatedly without being rotated to less intense departments. This time, a sharp pain in his wrist and elbow left him unable to lift the package. The injury resulted in unemployment and disability with long-term consequences, including being evicted from his home two months after the incident.
Now, Williams and his family are living in a motel and have started a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for the financial impact of his injury.
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Similarly, in August 2021, Christine Manno, who worked as a picker and stower at Amazon's STL8 warehouse near St. Louis, Missouri for two years, began experiencing severe carpal tunnel symptoms due to the repetitive motions of her job. Despite undergoing two surgeries, she returned to full duty shortly after the second one. Because she was not given sufficient time to recover, her symptoms worsened, leading to another major injury in May 2022 while at work. (Related: Amazon workers FORCED to work amid rising coronavirus cases, decry workplace as "living hell.")
Amazon denied her requests for further accommodation and treatment, despite working with restrictions and undergoing ineffective physical therapy. By July 2023, Amazon had repeatedly refused to accommodate her permanent restrictions and denied a referral to a pain management specialist. Since then, Manno has started a GoFundMe campaign due to having exhausted her short-term disability benefits.
Amazon claims it strives to create "Earth's safest place to work"
Amazon, one of the world's largest employers with 1.5 million staff globally, has long been criticized for the working and safety conditions in its warehouses.
Over the years, hundreds of workers like Williams and Manno have shared troubling accounts of injuries sustained on the job; being sent back to work while still recovering by Amcare; and facing prolonged battles and delays in securing workers' compensation, medical care, accommodations and disability benefits.
Despite all this, the company has asserted that it is striving to be "best in class" on safety as part of its goal to create "Earth's safest place to work."
In response to the accounts of Williams and Manno, Maureen Lynch Vogel, a spokesperson from Amazon, stated: "Our employees' safety and health is our top priority. While we usually don't comment on employees' individual circumstances, these individuals have unfortunately chosen to share a lot of inaccurate information. Each of these claims have been thoroughly investigated, and – in the few cases where we found issues – our team has worked to address their concerns and accommodate their needs as appropriate."
Vogel, however, did not clarify which information was inaccurate or what issues had been found and resolved.
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