Chicago Amazon workers refusing to go to work due to COVID-19 concerns

CHICAGO - Chicago Amazon workers are refusing to go into work, saying they do not feel safe.

The employees say two of their coworkers have tested positive for coronavirus and that production never stopped, and they want amazon to shut down and deep-clean for two weeks.

The Amazon warehouse in Chicago is located at 2801 South Western Avenue.

“Do we go to a warehouse that we know has coronavirus in it? That dilemma of needing a paycheck and also wanting to keep ourselves and the people around us healthy is traumatic,” one worker said.

This worker does not want to be identified after an employee in New York was fired for organizing a walkout.

“We don’t want to go in there. We think they need to shut it down and deep-clean for two weeks so we have time to get tested. If we are free from coronavirus we will return to the warehouse once it’s disinfected,” a Chicago worker said.

Amazon workers in the Chicagoland area complain there’s no way to social distance and they don’t have protective equipment inside the warehouse to ward off the virus.

“They have only confirmed two cases. Other people have come out and said they have it, but management isn’t reporting it for some reason,” one worker said.

Another worker received a text message saying an employee inside her Joliet facility also has coronovirus. She says the total is now two, but fears there could be more.

“We have taken extreme measures to keep people safe, tripling down on deep cleaning, procuring safety supplies that are available and changing processes to ensure those in our buildings are keeping safe distances,” Amazon said in a statement. “We began temperature checks at select sites around the U.S. in an effort to ensure that employees and support staff are healthy when they arrive at work. Anyone registering a temperature over the CDC-recommended 100.4F will be asked to return home and only come back to work after they’ve gone three days without a fever.”

Employees also say Amazon has not provided them with CDC-approved masks.

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