Public's Reaction

The public reaction has been very negative especially since there other scandals involving amazon such as their treatment of their truck drivers and how they treat small business owners trying to sell on the website. Governmental officials have gotten involved including the two OSHA fines mentioned before. Politicians including Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden have called for better treatment of their workers. Some states have gone as far to pass laws addressing work quotas being used in warehouses. "New York isn’t the first state to take such action against Amazon and its peers for quotas. In September, California signed into law a similar bill. And earlier this year, lawmakers in Washington and New Hampshire introduced bills that target warehouse production quotas." The law passed in New York mandated that employers make the requirements for quotas known to employees. The bill also requires amazon and other companies with warehouses to notify their employees if there is change to expectations. It also prevents companies from imposing quotas that prevent workers from taking breaks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3oVbC-Z7HI 

There have also been calls for unionization as a way to protect warehouse works

and give them more power to enact change. There were three total votes with one

vote resulting in the creation of a union at the Staten island warehouse in New York.

The leader of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) is named  Chris Smalls who was a

former employee. Push for unionization has been backed by Bernie Sanders and

other progressive lawmakers. Bernie Sanders pushed for the federal government to

cut contracts with amazon stating "[Amazon] has become the poster child for illegal

anti-union behavior while raking billions in federal contracts. The Staten Island

Warehouse remains the only unionized warehouse under amazon despite the

company suing claiming the vote to unionize wasn’t legitimate. On Jan 11, 2023

The National Labor Relations Board ruled that the union had won the election. The

fact that Amazon pushed back against the results of the vote to unionize further

shows how much amazon is focused on maintaining power and prioritizing their

profit over their employees. Since there has been such widespread response by

the government from states working to limit or ban quotas in warehouses as well

as investigations and fines into amazon. By the time the government gets involved

the situation is very bad, this is because governmental action is very slow and

historically reluctant to go after corporations especially one as big as amazon.

The fact that the government not only launched investigations but also issued

fines as well as state governments going after the direct practices of Amazon

means the company won't change their practices unless forced to.

References:

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/11/amazon-union-victory-at-new-york-warehouse-upheld-by-

labor-board.htmlhttps://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/03/new-york-passes-bill-targeting-amazon-

warehouse-productivity-quotas.html https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/26/bernie-pressures-biden-on-amazon-unions-the-time-for-talk-is-over-00027872