Amazon suspended at least 50 warehouse workers who refused to take their shifts after a fire in a trash compactor at one of its New York locations, according to union organizers.
The company suspended workers from pay on Tuesday, a day after the fire disrupted operations at its Staten Island warehouse, which it voted for union work earlier this year.
Derrick Palmer, vice president of the Amazon Labor Union, said day shift workers were sent home paid because of the fire that broke out late Monday afternoon. But the night shift workers, who just walked in for their shift, were told to stay in a break room until management understood the situation, he said.
Dozens of workers started raising safety concerns. Some feared that the air in the facility was unsafe to breathe due to the smoke from the fire. Eventually, about 100 workers organized a table protest at the facility’s headquarters, demanding to be sent home paid.
“They said ‘we don’t feel safe, we don’t feel safe working,” Palmer said. Amazon spokesman Paul lningan said in a prepared statement that the company had asked all night shift workers to report to their services Monday after New York firefighters declared the building safe.
“While the vast majority of employees reported to their workstations, a small group refused to return to work and remained in the building without permission,” Flaningan said. Some workers had also left, organizers said, while others continued to protest.
