Report on Supply Chain Compliance 3, no. 14 (July 23, 2020)
Amazon has come under fire[1] during the pandemic for allegedly disregarding the safety of its workers and for silencing and firing workers who speak out about worker conditions.
Those issues came to a head in Germany, after infections at several Amazon warehouses, including one at Bad Hersfeld,[2] developed into coronavirus hot spots. Local authorities visited the Bad Hersfeld warehouse in early June and ordered everyone to wear masks, but German labor union ver.di said that was not enough. Amazon also issued a statement saying that it had gone to great lengths to secure the facility and protect its workers.
But after the infections increased dramatically in the month of June—from less than 20 to roughly 60 at the time of writing—employees at six warehouses across the nation decided to go on strike June 29. The strike is currently ongoing.