Amazon says nearly 20,000 of its workers have had coronavirus
LA TimesAmazon was facing pressure from labor groups and its own workers to divulge its COVID-19 numbers. Amazon says that nearly 20,000 of its frontline U.S. workers have tested positive or been presumed positive for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. “This is not an arena where companies should compete — this is an arena where companies should help one another.” The Seattle-based retailer said that it examined data from March 1 to Sept. 19 on 1.37 million Amazon and Whole Foods Market workers across the U.S. Based on that analysis, if the rate among Amazon and Whole Foods employees matched that in the general population, Amazon said it would have seen 33,952 cases among its workforce. Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents grocery and meatpacking workers, called Amazon’s disclosure as “the most damning evidence we have seen that corporate America has completely failed to protect our country’s frontline workers in this pandemic.” UFCW is calling for immediate action by federal regulators and a full congressional investigation.