Labor rights advocates are condemning Amazon for firing a warehouse worker who organized a strike at its Staten Island facility Monday. The fired worker, Chris Smalls, and dozens of other employees walked out to demand more protective measures and that Amazon close and sanitize the warehouse after multiple co-workers tested positive for COVID-19. This is an Amazon worker speaking Monday from the walkout.
Amazon worker: “And I’m doing this because of my health and my fellow workers’ health, as well. It should be closed down, it should be cleaned properly, and we shouldn’t be working in that environment. We can’t even get gloves from the machine.”
Grocery store delivery app Instacart also staged a protest Monday to demand better worker protections and hazard pay.