Letter to Loren Sweatt, Deputy Assistant Labor Secretary - Tlaib, Dingell Request OSHA Investigation into Work Conditions at Amazon Romulus Fulfillment Center - Letter comes after workers sound alarm on lack of workplace safety and protection from COVID-19

Letter

Dear Deputy Assistant Secretary Sweatt:
Since March of this year and the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, our offices have been in regular
contact with many constituents who work in warehouse and fulfillment facilities for Amazon. These
constituents have detailed a disturbing number of unsafe working conditions and workplace management
policies that run counter to CDC guidance for personal safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response, we have worked together to communicate worker concerns to Amazon's corporate
management in a series of letters, attached, detailing conditions in our districts. While Amazon has
provided our offices with an accounting of the corporate policies they have announced, we have
consistently heard from our constituents that these policies are not being implemented on the ground by
Amazon management in their warehouse facilities. Worker concerns persist, from an inability to maintain
social distancing to a lack of personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer. This is not isolated to our
districts, as reports continue to surface across the country about unsafe conditions in Amazon facilities
and Amazon workers dying from COVID-19.
To illustrate the credible fears Amazon workers in our districts have, we have compiled a short summary
of the unacceptable conditions they are facing inside the DTW1 facility in Romulus, Michigan:
* Workers have observed no increase in facility cleanings or the availability of cleaning supplies.
Workers have reported seeing a facility-wide cleaning just once, and cleaning products are
difficult to find and not readily available at workstations.
* Workstations are only three feet apart in some places, rendering social distancing impossible.
Workers who complained to management have been threatened with discipline or termination.
Management continues to spread misinformation about social distancing, including telling
employees that a person is not as risk of exposure unless they stood within six feet of an individual
who tested positive for more than 15 minutes.
* Amazon's demanding "Time Off Task" limits and quotas have not been adjusted to allow workers
enough time to wash their hands, use the restroom, or abide by social distancing.
* Workers are not notified with any specificity of positive cases amongst their co-workers. Workers
are not provided with information about what shifts and workstations employees who tested
positive worked at, and workers receive notification three to seven days after the positive test is
known. At least 25 individuals who work at DTW1 have tested positive for COVID-19.
* Amazon's worker leave policies do not allow Amazon workers to stay home from work to avoid
the spread of COVID-19. Sick workers are going to Amazon facilities, as even workers in
medically ordered quarantine are being denied paid leave unless they can produce a positive
COVID-19 test result. Amazon has ended its unlimited unpaid time off policy, and multiple
employees who cannot safely report to work as long as Amazon warehouses remain hotspots for
infection have reported being denied a personal leave of absence.
Amazon operates more than 100 fulfillment centers across the U.S., employing hundreds of thousands of
people. Inadequate safety measures in these facilities present unacceptable risks for workers and threaten
to exacerbate our larger public health crisis. We know that OSHA is aware of these risks and has
undertaken investigations into specific Amazon facilities across the country in recent weeks.
In light of the continued spread of COVID-19 through Amazon facilities, the number of workers affected,
and the millions of packages leaving their warehouses during this crisis, we request that OSHA conduct
an immediate investigation into workplace safety in Amazon facilities nationwide and issue guidance to
Amazon about policies it must implement to keep their workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. We
know this is not the first time in recent years that Members of Congress have raised serious concerns
about worker safety inside Amazon facilities, and we would appreciate your prompt reply.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or need help connecting with affected
Amazon workers.

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