In the early days of the epidemic, Amazon was offering free testing to warehouse workers and even developing its own COVID testing kits for customers. But the company said it has since closed its warehouse testing facilities and now, as Kovid cases continue to rise across the US, some Amazon workers are trying to find tests to make sure it is safe to return to work.
And when they asked for help from the company's human resources system, some employees said they were at risk of losing their salary or earned time.
“I really want them to bring back the free Kovid exams for us. It's scary how many Kovid cases are in our building right now, ”said an Amazon warehouse worker in Texas who asked to be anonymous because he did not have the authority to speak to the press. “The test is tough. My partner and I had to go to two different places. Both of us had Aetna insurance and tested me for free at the same place, I tried to charge my partner $ 100.
The employee partner, who works at Amazon, eventually went to a nearby hospital for a free trial. Both were later found to be Kovid positive despite being vaccinated.
Amazon is one of the largest private owners in the country and has nearly 1 million employees in the US, so like many businesses it is plagued by a growing number of Kovid cases, from the much more contagious Omron variant. The Amazon workforce is made up of approximately 750,000 members of operations staff, most of whom work in complete centers filling out e-commerce orders.
On January 7, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced its Kovid Holiday benefits to 10, reducing the recommended isolation duration for asymptomatic Kovid cases. Workers who have been positively tested or infected with the virus are now eligible for 40 hours of paid leave. Reduced from the first two weeks. Workers have a five-day absence period to retrieve their test results, which means they are not subject to discipline for coming to work.
NBC News recently spoke to nine Amazon employees who have been infected with COVID-19 or who suspect they may be ill. The company said it had struggled to get at least five sick leave due to problems in the human resources system. Nearly all employees said they had to wait for hours when trying to contact company representatives over the phone. Five workers reported that Amazon unfairly reduced their paid vacation time or unpaid time when they were sick.
Amazon spokeswoman Barbara Agret said the company was looking into issues of employee wasting time. However, she emphasized that the company was focusing on vaccines.
"As we have during the epidemic, we continue to work with public health officials and our own medical professionals to help keep our employees and our communities safe," Agrit said in an email. “We believe the vaccine is the best way to protect our frontline workers and communities from COVID-19. To help, we offer incentives and host more than 1,800 free on-site vaccination programs at Amazon facilities across the US, making vaccines and boosters available to our employees and their families.
No answer
Speaking to NBC, Amazon employees said they believe the company's efforts are still declining and that it is difficult to contact support staff who feel they have been positively tested. They may have a virus.
“I started calling from 9am to 6pm. When my husband came home, ”a worker in Illinois was recently infected with COVID-19 and asked to remain anonymous when he spoke to the press. No authority to speak. "I'll be close to talking to someone, and then the phone will hang."
The employee received sick leave paid from Amazon after submitting the paperwork to his doctor. But when they were out, they said they had lost the 30 hours they had earned and Amazon had not yet restored it. Speaking amid the cough, he said they are now worried that they will not be able to take a day off to rest or go back to the doctor if they have problems with the virus.
Natalie Monarez, an Amazon warehouse worker and Amazon labor union organizer in Staten Island, said she tried to call Amazon to make time for the test after a close co-worker found out she was positive. “No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t reach the live person,” Monarz said. She eventually went to speak in person with a building manager, who said she was finally given time after she insisted.
Drew Dujinskas, another Amazon warehouse employee in Illinois, quickly told Amazon that he was ill after being tested positive for COVID-19 during the holidays. But a few days later, he received text messages from the company warning him that he was removing his missing shifts from the rest of the time he had earned.
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