U.S. Senate Democrats Smith, Markey to advance warehouse worker safety bill – Minnesota Reformer

WASHINGTON Two Democratic U.S. senators announced Thursday that they plan to introduce a bill that would require large companies to disclose their quota practices to workers and prevent those quotas from interfering with workers' health. The Warehouse Worker Protection Act would end the most dangerous quotas hitting warehouses, said Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, the bill's sponsor. There is no published bill text yet. Markey said the bill would require companies to notify workers of the quotas they must meet and would ban quotas that rely on 24/7 monitoring or are likely to lead to violations of labor laws. health and safety. He added that companies that fail to comply would be investigated by the Labor Ministry and could face fines and penalties. Injuries at Amazon Markey was joined outside the U.S. Capitol by workers who shared their stories of on-the-job injuries at Amazon warehouses, as well as Minnesota Democratic Sen. Tina Smith and Chairman Sean O'Brien of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Smith said large companies like Amazon care about efficiency, cost savings and maximizing their profits. They are making record profits at the same time as the people whose work they profit from are suffering completely unacceptable levels of injuries, she said. Sen. Tina Smith in a Reformer brief photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer. Speakers pointed the finger at Amazon for its quota practices that put workers at risk, although Markey said the Seattle-based online retail giant is not the only company engaging in a quota system that harms workers. Amazon may be leading the pack with an injury rate twice the national average, but other big warehousing companies follow closely, he said. Some of Amazon's quota practices include constant monitoring to measure the number of items a worker scans, with automatic flags for workers below a certain percentile, and monitoring the time employees take to going to the toilet and other leave, depending on a Thursday report from the National Employment Law Project. Amazon's warehouse injury rate is twice the private sector average for all industries, and tens of thousands of warehouse workers suffer serious injuries requiring medical treatment each year, according to the report. OBrien said Amazon's business model pushes workers to the brink and creates a culture of fear. Warehouses can be very dangerous workplaces if safety is not a priority, he said. Wendy Taylor, an Amazon worker in Missouri who is organizing for a union, was injured on the job in March. I have been injured at work because of Amazon's inhumane work rates and the grueling pace of physical labor that my co-workers and I perform, she said. Taylor said she fell and injured her knee, but when she went to the company medical center, she said they (refused) to let me see a doctor when I I asked him, thus sending me back to work. She eventually went to her own doctor, who diagnosed her with a torn meniscus in her knee. This experience (shows) how difficult it is to get adequate, timely medical treatment from a company that breaks down my body and accelerates my aging for the profit of shareholders, she said. Amazon spokespeople did not immediately return a message seeking comment Thursday. Brian Wild, a spokesman for the National Association of Wholesale Distributors, said in a statement that the industry group did not support the bill, arguing it could lead to delays and price increases. The bill includes provisions that inappropriately tilt the scales in favor of union bosses over employees and employers by inviting labor organizations to participate in investigations, essentially granting union leaders access to potential means of coerce or harass workplaces under the guise of worker safety, Wild said. Seeking bipartisan support Markey said there is bipartisan support in the Senate for the bill, as well as in the House. We just want to expand on that, Markey said. This should not be a Democratic or Republican issue, this is a worker safety bill. A warehouse protection law took effect in Minnesota last year, but advocates have expressed concerns that Amazon is not following the law. Several other states, including California, new YorkOregon and Washington have passed legislation similar to that proposed by Markey and Smith. Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/05/02/u-s-senate-dems-smith-markey-to-push-warehouse-worker-safety-bill/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article