Amazon Workers Passed Away Hours After Being Denied Sick Leave

It has been reported that two Alabama Amazon employees passed away, shortly after requesting sick leave from the company.

The first unfortunately passed away on the 28^th of November 2021 and the second died only one day later, on the 29^th of November 2021.

Employees at the site have now come forward by speaking to the trade union, More Perfect Union, to advise that both employees expressed to HR that they were feeling unwell and they asked if they could go home. However, Amazon simply told them to carry on working as they did not have enough unpaid time off to use.

Therefore, due to fears of being dismissed, the workers felt forced to comply with the company’s demands. Sadly, one of the individuals  then suffered a stroke a short time later, passing away inside a trailer and not being discovered until almost 20 minutes later.

Following the incidents, it was alleged that the managers at the site advised the remaining employees to continue working instantaneously and to not discuss what had occurred. No minute of silence was allowed or any time to pray or even deal with what had occurred.

Some  employees who were particularly close to those who had passed requested to go home early as they were distressed about the events. However, this request was rejected and they were forced to continue their duties as normal.

Sadly, this is not the first fatality at the company, with allegedly six people passing away at same the warehouse in 2021 alone, with employees alleging that Amazon have tried to cover up the deaths. A spokesperson for Amazon has denied the allegations, informing The Independent that “ these claims are just false and it’s really disappointing that anyone would spread misinformation about something like this to try and advance their own agenda”

One employee advised that they felt replaceable at the company, expressing that they felt as though “You’re a body. Once that body’s used up, they’ll just bring somebody else in and do the work”.

Unfortunately, no official trade union is present at the warehouse to protect employees’ rights, with employees voting in April 2021 against the incorporation of a body. However, The National Labour Relations Board found that Amazon illegally interfered with the outcome of the vote by intimidating its workers.

A revote was therefore called, with the date falling on the 29^th of November 2021, when the second employee passed away onsite. The vote has therefore once again been moved, with a further vote taking place this year, with the hope of its employees receiving better protection in the future.

Amazon as a whole have been condemned by placing its employees in a dangerous working environment, with six workers dying when their warehouse collapsed in Illinois in 2021. Studies have also confirmed that Amazon’s warehouses have almost an 80% higher rate of serious injuries compared to warehouses owned by other companies.

More Perfect Union have stated that the cause of this is due to the company’s long history of putting their profits above their workers. Oakwood Solicitors have expanded on the Amazon’s failings in other articles, the links for which can be found here:

Pace of work in Amazon warehouses

Employee injury case study

Surge in accidents at Amazon

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Sources: Two Amazon workers denied sick leave die within hours of each other, co-workers claim | The Independent

Amazon workers speak out after employee deaths (mashable.com)