Teamsters, Congress Tackle Amazon Safety Crisis
Editorial StaffThe Facts -
- The Warehouse Worker Protection Act aims to regulate warehouse quotas and prioritize worker safety.
- Injury rates at Amazon facilities are 76% higher than the rest of the warehouse industry.
- The legislation is already law in several states and aims to improve working conditions at warehouses.
Here is your requested rewrite in HTML syntax:
```
Warehouse Worker Protection Act: A Solution To Dangerous Warehouse Quotas
Teamsters leaders, Amazon workers, and Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Warehouse Worker Protection Act to hold companies like Amazon accountable for unsafe practices and harsh quotas.
The Act aims to protect workers from extreme quotas, requiring transparency from companies on quota expectations and ensuring they do not compromise worker health and safety. It would also make it illegal to discipline workers based solely on their speed compared to others and call for the Department of Labor to develop regulations for safe warehouse design and access to external doctors for injured workers.
Companies enforcing unrealistic quotas, like Amazon, have seen injury rates escalate, transforming potentially stable jobs into risky positions with high turnover and low pay. Amazon's injury rates sit 76% above the warehouse industry average.
Workers are unionizing with the Teamsters to demand better standards that prioritize their safety over profits. The Act is now law in several states, including California, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Minnesota.
Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien condemns the profit-driven approach of companies, advocating for the passage of the Warehouse Worker Protection Act to prioritize worker safety.
Tom Erickson, Teamsters Warehouse Division Director, emphasizes the importance of respectful treatment of workers for running a profitable business. He calls for the adoption of the Act to maintain high standards across all warehouses.
An Amazon worker shares his experience of preventable injuries due to the company's demanding quotas, voicing his support for the Act and the Teamsters' efforts to secure safe jobs and fair pay for all workers.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, founded in 1903, represents 1.3 million workers in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit teamster.org and follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and Facebook at facebook.com/teamsters.
```
---
Read More USA Works News
