In what's being called an "unprecedented coalition," workers from Amazon, Instacart, Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, and FedEx are planning to walk out of work this Friday to protest what they say is their employers’ record profits while ignoring workers' safety during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are acting in conjunction with workers at Amazon, Target, Instacart and other companies for International Worker’s Day to show solidarity with other essential workers in our struggle for better protections and benefits in the pandemic,” Whole Foods employee Daniel Steinbrook told The Intercept.
One company that is a particular focus of the group's ire is Amazon, who protesters say has not been forthcoming about the number of coronavirus cases at its more than 175 fulfillment centers globally. Jana Jumpp, an Indiana Amazon employee, has over the last month tallied at least 500 coronavirus cases in at least 125 Amazon facilities.
"Jumpp suspects that the number is much higher, but says this is what she and her team have been able to directly confirm through their sourcing, which includes screenshots of internal company texts and voicemails to employees when cases have arisen, in addition to messages received from Amazon workers on private Facebook groups," The Intercept's Daniel Medina writes. "The numbers, which have not been previously reported, are the most comprehensive to this point."
Read more over at The Intercept.
