1. Current Ethical Situation

Amazon Prime
Amazon is known for delivering its grand selection of products in two days or less for customers that pay for their premium subscription called Prime. This prompt delivery requires a lot of planning and logistics. Amazon has various fulfillment centers that allow them to store and manage all the products they ship to customers.

These fulfillment centers are located all around the United States to deliver items faster to customers. Various warehouses and sortation centers range from 600,000 - 800,000 square feet in size. Although this fast delivery may be favorable to consumers, it has taken an unfavorable toll on employees working to get these packages delivered on time.

Amazon's Employees
The high demand has led to the pressure to meet daily goals and has created a hostile work environment for many employees. Amazon has failed to provide its employees with a sanitary workplace and proper compensation. During the pandemic, their profits soared due to high volumes of orders. Drivers had more stops in their routes and fulfillment centers were running at full capacity.

Eventually, employees began working overtime which led them to strike against Amazon all across the United States and demand better compensation and work schedule. During an interview with The Guardian, some employees took a survey that indicated the following "42% reported physical pain in their day-to-day duties – usually in the feet and lower back. (They also noted psychological pressures and a deterioration of their normal sleep schedules.)". 

Employees felt that their workload was unreasonable and they were not given the proper breaks during shifts. Many were able to show through their Fitbits and other activity trackers the high amount of steps and flights of stairs they would record in one day making deliveries or working in the warehouses. Many around the country are working hard to fight for better working conditions, benefits, and more reasonable working schedules. Many felt they were being treated like robots rather than people. Managers focused more on meeting deliveries and closely monitoring employees' performance. 

The First Union

A warehouse in Staten Island, New York made history by winning the union vote. This was a major impact because they were the first to create a union in the United States. Their main focus is to provide employees with the proper resources. They focused on helping employees report injuries on-site and to get the appropriate medical attention. 

Employees suffer many injuries during their shifts but were not entitled to any additional benefits or rewards. They were also at a disadvantage because of these injuries they were most likely to miss work and not get paid. Until now, the labor union is able to protect employees from this and connect them to resources like doctors, treatments, prescriptions, and other benefits to pay affected families.

Make Amazon Pay

On November 2022 during Black Friday employees all over the country and over 35 countries organized a strike against Amazon. Their goal was to bring awareness to their situation and working conditions. 

Many expressed a feeling of anger and disrespect toward Amazon because they believe the company only cared about their profits and the people who work so hard for the company. During the strike, a campaign was created against the company called  Make Amazon Pay. The campaign was being promoted all over Twitter and gained much attention from many media outlets.

*

Resources: 

• - https://www.amazonlaborunion.org/
• - https://makeamazonpay.com/map/
• -https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/may/10/next-day-delivery-unethical-amazon-workers-pollution
• -https://www.aboutamazon.com/about-us