Just in time for the holidays—which for many folks will include ordering mounds of gifts from online sellers—here's an informative and disturbing podcast about worker safety (or lack thereof) at Amazon, the leading online retailer in the United States. The investigative journalists at Reveal have just released "A Reckoning at Amazon," which provides a deep dive into Amazon and its abysmally high injury rates. Reveal explains that, "As Amazon has made huge profits, their worker injury rates are higher than other companies"–Business Insider specifies that "While Amazon workers are twice as likely as non-Amazon warehouse workers to get hurt, per the federal data, they're four times as likely to incur a musculoskeletal disorder." Reveal further describes the episode:
Host Al Letson speaks with Reveal's Will Evans, who's been reporting on injuries at Amazon for years. By gathering injury data and speaking with workers and whistleblowers, he has shown that Amazon warehouse employees are injured on the job at a higher rate than at other companies. Evans' reporting has focused national attention on the company's safety record, prompting regulators, lawmakers and the company itself to address the issue more closely. Members of Congress have scrutinized Amazon's working conditions – and at the state level, lawmakers and safety regulators are taking action against Amazon in ways they never have before.
To read more about Amazon's injury rates, here's an in-depth report by the National Employment Law Project and another one from the Strategic Organizing Center. And if you want more hard-hitting investigative journalism, subscribe to Reveal, it's terrific:
Reveal is the country's first weekly investigative public radio show and podcast. Peabody Award-winning host Al Letson takes listeners across the country and the world, exposing wrongs and holding the powerful accountable. Whether it's Amazon's poor workplace safety record, inequity in the juvenile justice system or exploitation at drug rehabs, Reveal connects with listeners through gripping and compassionate storytelling. Reveal is co-produced with PRX.
