Pirate's Cove

Here’s the HuffPost

Amazon Worker Fired After Staging Walkout Over Company’s Handling Of Coronavirus Risk

Amazon fired an employee who helped organize a walkout at one of its fulfillment centers over the company’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic on Monday.

Chris Smalls, the employee who helped organize the demonstration, said he felt Amazon had failed to enact adequate measures to protect workers at the facility as many Americans turn to online shopping as stay-at-home mandates expand around the country. Smalls was one of a small group who walked out at a fulfillment center on Staten Island, demanding the company close the site and sanitize it before reopening. He said Amazon had notified employees at the warehouse of one confirmed case of the virus but claimed there were several others that hadn’t yet been reported.

Shortly after the strike, Smalls was terminated after working at Amazon for five years.

“Amazon would rather fire workers than face up to its total failure to do what it should to keep us, our families, and our communities safe,” Smalls said in a statement obtained by HuffPost. “I am outraged and disappointed, but I’m not shocked. As usual, Amazon would rather sweep a problem under the rug than act to keep workers and working communities safe.”

And CNN

Amazon fires warehouse worker who led Staten Island warehouse walkout

Amazon has terminated an employee based in the company’s Staten Island, New York, warehouse after he participated in a worker walkout protesting the company’s response to the novel coronavirus.

And Bloomberg

Amazon Fires Worker Who Led Strike Over Virus

….

In a statement Monday night, New York State Attorney General Letitia James called Smalls’ firing “immoral and inhumane.” James urged the National Labor Relations Board to investigate the incident and said her office “is considering all legal options” as well.

So many others go with this same type of headline, and a trip through Twitter shows people freaking, like

https://twitter.com/JohnKilc_yne/status/1245003179093352451

Lots of that going around. It’s totally horrible. What most of the clickbait headlines get around to, which most people aren’t reading, is (from the HuffPost article, which does a good job of laying out all the relevant information, where others only hit the highlights)

Amazon disputed Smalls’ account in a statement on Monday, saying he had been warned several times for “violating social distancing guidelines” and had been fired after failing to stay home. The company said Smalls’ claims were “simply unfounded.”

“He was also found to have had close contact with a diagnosed associate with a confirmed case of COVID-19 and was asked to remain home with pay for 14 days, which is a measure we’re taking at sites around the world,” a company spokesperson told HuffPost. “Despite that instruction to stay home with pay, he came onsite today, March 30, further putting the teams at risk. This is unacceptable and we have terminated his employment as a result of these multiple safety issues.”

Huh. Of course we get

https://twitter.com/deathmetalMarx/status/1245003267916120070

Uh huh. Or, it could be the careless actions. Amazon also fired a guy who spit on packages. I’ll tell you, my company, and we know of several others doing the same, has stated that anyone who is on property (unless an appointment to service your car) during their mandatory time off will be terminated. Period. It is about imposing a 7 days away policy. This guy chose to blow off multiple warnings and such. Did NY AG James read the whole story or just headlines?