30-06-2025
Amazon, Stop & Shop warehouse workers testify to 'unsafe' conditions
Companies like Amazon and Stop & Shop, plus the services they provide, are hallmarks of modern living for customers globally. Stop & Shop offers grocery items galore and delivery service; Amazon's exhaustive product offering makes for a one-stop-shop depot.
But the warehouse labor to make these popular amenities possible often receives fewer acknowledgments in the mainstream.
On June 18, a panel of former and current Amazon and Stop & Shop warehouse employees who are members of the Teamsters Local 25 Union in Boston testified at the Massachusetts Statehouse during a hearing for the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development.
Two major pieces of legislation, the Extreme Temperature Worker Protection Act and the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, are up for deliberation in the state's House and Senate. If passed, these bills will install stringent new measures that will force employers to comply with regulations designed to make work a safer and more comfortable environment.
Teamsters president Thomas Mari also testified at the Statehouse, sharing remarks that criticized 'unfair' quotas and 'unsafe' working conditions that he alleged warehouse workers are subjected to.
He added that the Legislature would 'address the immediate need' to improve workplace conditions at large, sophisticated companies, where employees have experienced injury at high rates when compared to the private sector, he said.
Stop & Shop employee says prolonged cold takes a toll
Luis Andrade has worked for the Stop & Shop distribution center in Freetown for 16 years. His job is to organize incoming shipments of produce on ice in a cooler that he says is set between 32 and 34 degrees.
In an interview with The Herald News, part of the USA TODAY Network, he said Stop & Shop provides employees with a $300 stipend at the start of every year. He spends $200 on boots that will lock out the chill and provide traction while bending, lifting and twisting. The other $100 is spent on 'a good jacket,' he said, but he shared that insulated jackets warm enough for the job usually run closer to $200.
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Wet gloves can be exchanged for a dry pair, but for every new pair, $5 will be deducted from his paycheck. Andrade says he requires a new pair every week.
'That's $5 for 52 weeks,' he said, estimating that he spends upwards of $600 to $700 each year on gear.
'The only way to warm up your hands, you have to go to the bathroom,' he said, which cuts into his time moving orders.
'You feel the pain on your body and the heavy lifting. I've worked with thousands of people. It's not for everybody,' Andrade said.
Stop & Shop invests in employee wellness while keeping with FDA regs
Jennifer Barr, a spokeswoman for Stop & Shop, said in a statement that the company 'takes a number of precautions to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of our distribution center associates.' She said perishable items like produce, and meat, must be maintained at specific temperatures 'in accordance with FDA requirements to ensure the safety and high quality of our products.'
Barr stated that less than 1% of the perishable product in the facility is considered "wet," or packed on ice. Though she acknowledged the $300 stipend, she added that employees get three breaks throughout the day, and at the Freetown facility, there are two full-time associates on-site to mitigate safety risks.
Physical therapy training, assistance and care is offered to employees, Barr said, and the company has invested in new 'exoskeleton suits' for added employee protection from the elements.
Andrade maintained he wishes the company could 'give you more' — boots, gear money, free gloves. 'Everybody wants to work in a safe environment,' he said.
A former employee recalls urgency, not advocacy, at an Amazon center
All of Amazon's fulfillment centers are climate-controlled and have internal systems that measure the heat index in the building, said Sam Stephenson, a spokesman for Amazon.
'We're proud that our heat mitigation practices are industry-leading — we meet all state requirements and federal guidance, and in many ways, go above and beyond them,' Stephenson said.
Former Amazon employee Max Cardone publicly accused the Revere-based warehouse of maintaining extreme temperatures that, he said, caused employees to faint and warranted ambulatory care during his three years with the company. In response, Stephenson noted that there are 'more than a dozen water fountains in the [Revere] building and we provide water bottles to employees to make staying hydrated even easier for them.'
Cardone previously stated that water was unavailable, and only after employees petitioned for it were cases delivered.
'Workplace conditions were subpar, to say the least,' he said in remarks to state senators and representatives present at the hearing.
While Cardone described 120- to 150-packages daily quotas and other safety gear being 'gate-kept' or reserved for top performers. Stephenson stated for the record that 'gear is provided to any employee working outdoors. The safety of our employees is our top priority,' and debunked the misconception that Amazon observes fixed quotas.
'We do not. Like any business, we have performance expectations for our teams, but these expectations are based on multiple factors, including the performance of the entire team, sitewide,' Stephenson said.
Last year, California fined Amazon $5.9 million for 59,000 violations of the state's quota law at two warehouses. New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut have followed suit by drafting legislation to protect warehouse workers or curtail quotas, Mari maintained.
During the hearing, Cardone lodged accusations that 10- or 15-minute breaks recommended with heat index warnings 'were ignored,' he said. But Stephenson maintained that employees are 'encouraged to take a preventive cool-down rest break anytime they need to do so.'
