Amazon Terminated Paid Sick Leave for Covid-19 Day After Union Vote Ended
A day after union voting ended late last week at Amazon’s LDJ5 warehouse in Staten Island, the company announced it is ending its nationwide Covid-19 paid sick leave policy.
On Saturday, Amazon informed employees that it is “returning to standard sick leave policies,” meaning that workers who test positive for Covid-19 will no longer get a week of paid time off.
“Amazon waited until the day after the union election in Staten Island to announce what for many will be very troubling news,” tweeted Lauren Kaori Gurley, a labor reporter for Motherboard.
Nationwide, Amazon will no longer pay workers who suffer from Covid-19. In addition to this, it will not inform workers when someone at their warehouse tests positive for the virus.
Amazon’s U.S.-based employees will now receive just five days of unpaid leave if they test positive for Covid-19. The move comes at a time when Covid-19 continues to spread across the country.
Business Insider reported that Amazon is also ending its coronavirus vaccination incentives. Moreover, it is no longer excusing “any time for employees who are waiting for test results.”
The policy move took effect Monday as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) prepared to count union election ballots cast at LDJ5, an Amazon facility across the street from the JFK8 warehouse that became the company’s first U.S. location to vote in favor of unionizing last month.
At JFK8, meanwhile, Amazon is disputing employees’ historic vote to join the Amazon Labor Union (ALU). ALU is an independent worker-led organization spearheaded by Christian Smalls. Small is a former JFK8 employee who was fired after organizing protests against the company’s inadequate Covid-19 safety measures.
“This is outrageous,” tweeted Vicki Shabo, a paid leave expert and a senior fellow at New America. “Covid is not over, Amazon. Leave for sick or exposed workers is an investment in health, well-being, and productivity. You can’t advertise great benefits and then do this.”
Originally published at Commondreams.org, written by Jake Johnson.
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