Workers from major companies including Amazon, FedEx, Walmart, and others are planning to walk out on Friday over a lack of health and safety standards. They’re also demanding hazard pay for having to work during the coronavirus lockdown.
The Intercept reported Tuesday that the walkout was planned because while the employers are making record profits, the employees do not feel safe or protected. The outlet reported that a press release from the organizers said employees would call out sick or simply walk off the job during their lunch break. Rank-and-file union members are expected to join the walkout in some places as well.
“We are acting in conjunction with workers at Amazon, Target, Instacart and other companies for International Worker’s Day to show solidarity with other essential workers in our struggle for better protections and benefits in the pandemic,” Daniel Steinbrook, a Whole Foods employee and strike organizer, told The Intercept.
Indiana Amazon employee Jana Jumpp told the outlet that she and a small team of coworkers have compiled a tally of Amazon workers who have contracted the coronavirus. She said they found 500 cases across 125 facilities, but suggested the number is higher, since the 500 cases were the only ones they were able to directly confirm through internal company communications and on Facebook. – READ MORE
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