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Date: October 3, 2018
Contact: mediacenter@freeandfairmarketsinitiative.org
Free & Fair Markets Initiative Responds To Amazon Minimum Wage Announcement
Robert B. Engel, chief spokesperson for the Free & Fair Markets Initiative, issued the following statement regarding Amazon’s announcement that the company will raise its minimum hourly wage to $15 for all of its United States workers.
“It is important to not lose sight of the fact that this announcement on minimum wage is also an attempt by Amazon to distract from the fact that the company’s workplace conditions are driving workers to the point of collapse. Raising the minimum wage will do little for fulfillment center workers and delivery drivers if they cannot work because of injuries suffered on the job.”
Recent reports of Amazon safety issues among workers and delivery drivers include:
- A National Council for Occupational Safety and Health report found that seven Amazon workers have died on or near the job since 2013, listing the company as one of its “dirty dozen” of most dangerous places to work in the United States
- Delivery drivers were reportedly forced to speed and engage in reckless driving to meet quotas, with one former driver admitting that he almost hit a child playing in the street during a delivery
- Amazon allegedly refused worker compensation to a fulfillment center worker who suffered an injury in a Texas fulfillment center that lacked safety equipment, and her medical bills left her unable to afford housing
- Amazon workers have reported urinating in bottles because they were scared walking to a bathroom would cause them to miss targets
- Some Amazon workers in a Minnesota fulfillment center were forced to work without air conditioning systems during Ramadan, leading to fatigue, exhaustion and injuries after conditions became too hot while handling heavy boxes
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ABOUT THE FREE & FAIR MARKETS INITIATIVE
The Free & Fair Markets Initiative (FFMI) is a non-profit coalition of businesses, consumer advocacy groups, workers and community activists committed to scrutinizing and highlighting emerging market trends that are stifling competition and innovation, influencing federal and local government spending, putting consumer data in harm’s way and limiting consumer choice. For a list of members, please visit https://freeandfairmarketsinitiative.org/about-us/members/. For more information on the Free & Fair Markets Initiative, please visit https://freeandfairmarketsinitiative.org.
To download a PDF of this press release, click HERE