Amazon faces Senate probe over warehouse safety

Amazon's warehouse moving conditions, which person travel nether accrued scrutiny successful caller years, are present astatine the bosom of a legislature probe that's being led by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

In a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Sanders, who chairs the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said the e-retailer's "quest for profits astatine each costs" has caused warehouse employees to acquisition unsafe moving environments without entree to capable aesculapian attention.

"Amazon is good alert of these unsafe conditions, the life-altering consequences for workers injured connected the job, and the steps the institution could instrumentality to trim the important risks of injury," wrote Sanders, an autarkic who caucuses with the Democratic party. "Yet the institution has made a calculated determination not to instrumentality capable idiosyncratic protections due to the fact that Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder, and you, his successor arsenic Chief Executive Officer, person created a firm civilization that treats workers arsenic disposable."

Steve Kelly, an Amazon spokesperson, told CNBC successful a connection that the institution has received Sanders' missive and is successful the aboriginal stages of reviewing it. Separately, the institution said Sanders has been invited to circuit 1 of Amazon's warehouses.

Sanders called connected Jassy to crook implicit much accusation related to Amazon's wounded and turnover rates, arsenic good arsenic information connected its on-site aesculapian clinic, called AMCARE, dating backmost to 2019. He besides asked Jassy to accidental whether Amazon has, internally oregon done a 3rd party, examined "the transportation betwixt the gait of enactment of its warehouse workers and the prevalence oregon outgo of injuries astatine its warehouses."

Sanders said Jassy has until July 5, to respond to the inquiry. The HELP committee posted a signifier connected its website seeking testimonials from existent and erstwhile Amazon employees astir their experiences astatine the company.

Amazon faces ongoing national probes into its information grounds beyond the Senate's actions. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Attorney's Office are investigating conditions astatine respective warehouses, portion the Department of Justice is besides examining whether Amazon underreports injuries.

Amazon says it's made progress connected reducing injuries crossed its U.S. operations, and continues to put successful information initiatives, projects and programs. It's besides appealed a drawstring of citations issued by OSHA successful caller months astir information hazards and violations.

Under Sanders' leadership, the HELP committee has taken purpose astatine different companies' workplace grounds Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz testified successful beforehand of the committee successful March aft Sanders repeatedly criticized the java chain's handling of workers' unionization efforts. Sanders has besides been a predominant professional of Amazon's labour practices, hosting a Senate Budget Committee hearing successful May of past twelvemonth and inviting Bezos to sermon the company's attack to unions.

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