TRAGIC

Worker at NYC Amazon Warehouse, Where Employees Demanded Better Protections, Dies From COVID-19

Employees at the New York facility had staged walkouts in March and April to protest for more stringent safety measures.

A warehouse worker at Amazon’s Staten Island packaging center has died of coronavirus, The Verge reports. A company spokesperson told The Verge: “His family and loved ones are in our thoughts, and we are supporting his fellow colleagues.” Two other warehouse workers have died of the virus, both in California, and 29 workers at the Staten Island plant have tested positive. The company has only closed one of its U.S. fulfillment centers, a facility in Kentucky. The Staten Island facility was also the site of strikes in March and April when employees walked off the job to demand greater protections from COVID-19; one organizer was later fired. The company said it plans to spend $4 billion on its coronavirus response, but employees contend its efforts have been inadequate.