The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has reached an agreement with Amazon over hazardous workplace conditions at ten of the tech giant’s facilities. Under the terms of the settlement, Amazon will pay a $145,000 fine and must implement “company ergonomic measures” to reduce the risk of injury to workers. OSHA will continue to inspect facilities over the next two years. On the government side of the deal, OSHA is dropping nine of its ten ergonomic citations against the company.
Ergonomic injuries are also known as musculoskeletal disorders. This can include sprains and problems experienced at work.
A spokesman for the Department of Labor said ABC News that this solution is “the largest of its kind” and will “resolve all ergonomic claims” against Amazon. However, it will not affect a separate investigation into Amazon’s alleged cover-up of workplace injuries currently underway at the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Amazon has denied those charges.
Amazon workers also made headlines this week as strikes began at multiple facilities in California, Georgia, Illinois and New York. Teamsters union members organized the effort, with several union chapters voting to take action against the company. The Teamsters have asked Amazon to negotiate working conditions, wages and benefits, asking the company to agree to a contract negotiation date of December 15. Hell’s Gate captured footage of the first day of strikes in Queens, NY, showing a peaceful picket line being broken by local police, who reportedly set up barriers for contractors to enter and exit an Amazon distribution center.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien told the union. “We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it.”
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