Lawmakers Question Amazon for Workers’ Safety on Warehouse Rebuilding, After 2021 Tornado

US lawmakers released a joint statement addressed to the President and Chief Executive Officer of Amazon Inc., stating their concerns regarding workers' safety as they reconstruct the tornado-struck warehouse facility in Illinois.

(Photo : TIM VIZER/AFP via Getty Images)
Recovery operations continue after the partial collapse of an Amazon Fulfillment Center in Edwardsville, Illinois on December 12, 2021. - The facility was damaged by a tornado on December 10, 2021. The confirmed number of fatalities has been raised from two to six people.

Lawmakers Question Warehouse Rebuilding

United States Representatives Cori Bush of Missouri, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts demanded an explanation from retail company Amazon Inc. regarding workers' safety as they started reconstructing the warehouse facility in Illinois after being hit by a tornado in 2021 and killing six employees.

As per the joint statement released by the lawmakers, the facility is being rebuilt without upgrading to specifically designed storm shelter material that are much stronger safety features.

The company has a responsibility to make investments not only for its benefits but also for its employees. According to Bloomberg, the lawmakers suggested that the company was putting its profits over workers' safety.

"Workers have a right to safety at work, and employers have a duty to ensure, to the best of their ability, that their workplace is safe from harm and built to withstand reasonably expectable safety risks," the statement added.

By rebuilding this facility without adding the upgrade materials, it will only meet the same 'pre-loss conditions' that the company had previously. The three lawmakers asked Amazon to respond by mid-January with a revised approach for workers' safety.

Amazon's Response

Amazon also released a statement via Spokesperson Kelly Nantel but did not directly address the Democrats' demands. The Washington Post reported that she explained instead that the company has been supporting the people affected by the storm for the past year.

Nantel added, "We've strengthened our emergency response plans and tailored them to meet the specific needs of individual sites, increased the frequency of emergency drills for employees and partners, and reevaluated the severe weather assembly area locations in many of our facilities."

She stated that the purpose of these reconstructed emergency plans was not only to meet the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) but also to meet the guidance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The tornado in Illinois struck the Amazon warehouse in St. Louis, Edwardsville, Illinois on December 10, 2021. This tragedy resulted in several injured employees and six deaths. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado was an E-F-3.

Last March, Members of the House Committee also sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, regarding his failure to produce materials for the reconstruction. The company was given a list of materials to hand over to the committee by mid-April.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Rep. Cori Bush, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a letter, "Unfortunately, Amazon has failed to meaningfully comply with the Committee's requests, obstructing the Committee's investigation."