Nine Senate Democrats asked Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to explain the rationale for firing four employees who spoke out about the company’s workplace safety policies in a letter sent to the executive Wednesday, May 6.
The lawmakers added their voices to a chorus of criticism over Amazon’s response to the coronavirus crisis and decision to fire the employee activists, reported GeekWire.
Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, and several of their colleagues asked Bezos to explain Amazon’s policies for employee discipline and termination “to understand how the termination of employees that raised concerns about health and safety conditions did not constitute retaliation for whistleblowing” by May 20. “Given the clear public history of these four workers’ advocacy on behalf of health and safety conditions for workers in Amazon warehouses preceding their terminations, and Amazon’s vague public statements regarding violations of ‘internal policies,’ we are seeking additional information to understand exactly what those internal policies are,” the letter states.
Last month, Amazon fired user experience designers Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, outspoken leaders of the activist group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice. They spent more than a year pressuring their employer to enact stronger sustainability policies before turning their attention to the COVID-19 outbreaks at Amazon fulfillment centers. Two warehouse workers who called for broader safety measures were also terminated last month. An influential Amazon engineer and VP resigned from the company last week in response to the firings.
Full Content: United States Senate
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