By State Representative Kim Schofield (D-Atlanta)
(895 words)
Last year, I toured an Amazon facility in my district following concerns from workers that severe safety issues were going unaddressed. During my tour at the ATL6 facility in East Point, I spoke directly to Amazon ATL6 employees who raised concerns about issues, including but not limited to: lack of training for new hires, overheating in the warehouse, inadequate break periods, rising injury rates from unsafe working conditions, constant management surveillance, ineffective health and safety teams, increased workloads with no pay increase, unsafe working pace, unstable scheduling and lack of security measures outside of the warehouse. What followed was a robust campaign by these Amazon associates, supported by the worker advocacy organization United for Respect and legislators including myself, to get Amazon to address the deteriorating working conditions at the facility that were putting associates at risk. In an effort to get Amazon to listen to its employees and take concrete action to improve working conditions, associates sent letters to management, held on-site meetings and rallied at the facility to make their voices heard.
Yet, despite these persistent efforts, the work environment at ATL6 remains hostile and unsafe for the frontline workers who power the company’s massive profits. Instead of addressing their concerns, Amazon retaliated against these vocal advocates, firing long-time employees who courageously organized for safer working conditions.
The dangerous working conditions at ATL6 and the retaliation they faced is a microcosm of what is taking place at warehouses across Georgia and across the nation.
As e-commerce demand skyrockets, driven by the expectation of rapid delivery, the human cost of meeting this demand is often invisible. Workers like those at ATL6 bear the brunt of packing, shipping and delivering these products under grueling conditions. Most consumers don’t think about the dangerous environments these associates endure to make next-day delivery possible and many are likely unaware.
During my tour of the ATL6 facility it became clear just how intensive the job was and that the health and safety of associates was nowhere near a priority for Amazon. After speaking with workers, I learned that it’s common for them to be forced to work through breaks, to be penalized for travel time to restrooms and to adapt to ever-changing productivity quotas in a short period of time. This means associates are always being pushed to move faster and faster, jeopardizing their own safety in the process.
Not surprisingly, Amazon is the leader in injury rates within the sector, as much as 30 percent higher than the industry average, according to a recent report from the U.S. Senate HELP committee. That’s because it has created a model ripe for workplace injuries.
That’s why I, along with Georgia General Assembly House Representatives Dewey McClain (D-109), Sandra Scott (D-76), Viola Davis (D-87) and Lydia Glaize (D-67), have introduced the Warehouse Workplace Protection Act to safeguard Georgia’s warehouse workers by enforcing key workplace protections. The commonsense legislation would require basic transparency around quotas, the prohibition of quotas that interfere with breaks and travel time to the restroom, an end to unlawful retaliation and a right to due process for workers who have faced retaliation, robust ergonomic standards to reduce musculoskeletal injury and required paid rest breaks.
This legislation is crucial because it’s not just Amazon workers who face these safety issues. Other massive retailers, most notably Walmart, the largest private employer in the U.S., are ramping up their warehousing operations in order to compete. And with this increase in operations will undoubtedly come an increase in injury rates.
A recent report from the Center for Urban Economic Development and United for Respect, the worker advocacy organization that has been supporting ATL6 associates in their efforts to improve working conditions, found that Walmart’s warehouse workers are subjected to the same dangerous model that Amazon has created. Surveillance, breakneck productivity quotas and injuries on the job have become the norm in Walmart’s rapidly growing warehouse operations. Walmart and other billion-dollar retailers are now following the same playbook to maximize their profits by cutting corners and implementing unreasonable productivity quotas that put warehouse workers at risk.
For Georgia, this issue is even more concerning. The state has quickly become a major hub for billion-dollar retailers like Amazon, which now operates 25 fulfillment and sortation centers in Georgia. As of October 2024, the Georgia Department of Labor reported 88,400 workers were employed in the warehousing and storage sectors. That number will only grow in the coming years.
Versions of the Warehouse Workplace Protection Act have already been adopted in California, Minnesota, New York, Oregon and Washington. Georgia has an opportunity to join them in putting working families over corporate greed. We can set a precedent for other southern states to follow suit, ensuring that jobs created from this growing industry are safe and value the health of their workforce.
I’m calling on my fellow legislators to support this critical legislation and on Georgia residents to stand with the people who work tirelessly to ensure their groceries, electronics and everyday items arrive at their door.
No worker should be subjected to dangerous working conditions, and no worker should be afraid to speak out about safety issues. For wildly profitable companies like Amazon and Walmart, there is no excuse for allowing such egregiously dangerous working conditions to continue. It’s time for Georgians to hold them accountable, and passing this legislation is our opportunity to do so.
Representative Kim Schofield represents the citizens of District 63, which includes a portion of Fulton County. She was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2017 and currently serves as Secretary of the Urban Affairs Committee. She also serves on the Creative Arts & Entertainment, Health, Industry and Labor and Small Business Development committees.
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