In 2020, there were 5.9 serious injuries for every 100
Amazon warehouse workers, which is nearly 80% higher than the serious injury
rate at non-Amazon warehouses, the Strategic Organizing Center wrote in a new
report published Tuesday. The SOC said serious injuries include any injuries
that require employees to either miss work entirely, known as "lost time
injuries," or be placed on light or restricted duty.
The SOC, which is a coalition of labor unions including the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Service Employees International
Union, analyzed recently released data reported by Amazon to the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration covering work-related injuries between 2017
and 2020.
Amazon's 2020 injury rates were higher than Walmart, one of
its closest retail competitors. Amazon's overall injury rate in 2020 was 6.5 cases
for every 100 workers, according to the study. That's more than twice that of
Walmart, which reported three cases for every 100 employees in 2020.
Separately, The Washington Post on Tuesday published an
analysis of OSHA data, which showed that Amazon's serious injury rates are
nearly double that of non-Amazon warehouses.
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel told CNBC in a statement
that the company in 2020 spent more than $1 billion on initiatives like
"WorkingWell," a program that aims to better educate employees on how
to avoid workplace injuries, and also offers mental health and nutrition
guidance; as well as on coronavirus safety measures, such as providing workers
with personal protective equipment. The company also employs more than 6,200
people on its workplace health and safety team, Nantel said.
"While any incident is one too many, we are
continuously learning and seeing improvements through ergonomics programs,
guided exercises at employees' workstations, mechanical assistance equipment,
workstation setup and design, and forklift telematics and guardrails — to name
a few," Nantel said in a statement.
Representatives from Walmart didn't respond to a request for
comment.
Amazon has recently taken steps to improve its workplace
safety programs as it faces growing scrutiny from employees, advocacy groups
and politicians over working conditions at warehouses before and during the
pandemic.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently admitted the company needs
"to do a better job for our employees" and vowed to make Amazon the
world's "best employer." Last month, Amazon reiterated its goal to
cut worker injuries by 50% by 2025. Amazon also plans to invest more than $300
million this year in safety projects.
Amazon's health and safety programs have focused, in part,
on ergonomics, equipment improvements and, more recently, targeting work-related
injuries tied to musculoskeletal disorders. Amazon said these types of
injuries, typically things like sprains or strains from repetitive motions,
fell by 32% between 2019 and 2020. Serious MSDs that resulted in time away from
work decreased by more than half, the company said.
But Amazon workers, former OSHA officials and union
representatives told the Post that Amazon's productivity quotas are partly to
blame for rising injury rates. The company requires warehouse workers to pick,
pack and stow a certain number of items per hour.
Injury rates at Amazon warehouses were lower in 2020
compared with previous years, the SOC found. The decline was likely a result of
Amazon temporarily pausing performance tracking for part of last year to give
workers more time to wash and sanitize their hands amid the coronavirus
pandemic.
Much of the discussion around workplace safety at Amazon has
focused on employees of its sprawling warehouse operations. The SOC study also
identified that injury rates across Amazon's contracted delivery network are
higher than those in its fulfillment centers.
Amazon's delivery service partners, or DSPs, are contracted
companies, usually distinguishable by Amazon-branded cargo vans, that are
responsible for picking up packages from Amazon delivery stations and dropping
them off at doorsteps. Because they aren't considered employees of Amazon, the
company doesn't report injury rates among drivers.
In 2019 and 2020, at least 129 DSPs filed injury records to
OSHA that cover more than 6,000 workers, according to the study. The SOC found
that these DSPs reported injury rates of 14 and 13.3, respectively, per 100
workers. Additionally, the majority of injuries reported by DSPs in 2019 and
2020 were severe, requiring employees to take time off work to recover, the SOC
said.