Now legislation on the village. in the bathroom.
This measure passed by state MPs earlier this month is in response to reports that warehouses are often pushed beyond their physical boundaries. In December, the Amazon rushed to the disposal of $ 145,000 with the US Professional Safety and Health Administration, alleging that conditions in an Illinois warehouse left the workers in contact with high risk of injury.
If the Pritzker signs the bill in the law, Illinois will join five other states that have similar measures on books and dozens of others who have tried to address the issues of the warehouse workplace.
The bill includes warehouses that appoint 250 or more workers in a single warehouse distribution center, or have 1,000 or more employees in statewide such features. State rape. Kevin Olych, a Chicago Democrat, who sponsored the bill, said that Warehousing is one of the fastest growing industries in the country and the remedy “especially addresses some of the concerns that we we Finding. ”
Olych said, “The bill is actually trying to address some working conditions and efficiency standards and quota that are used in warehouses such as Amazon.”
Between 2021 and 2022, Amazon Warehouse workers were injured across Illinois at a rate of 8.2 per 100, which was 30% higher than other warehouses of the state, which according to a National Employment Law Project Analysis of OSHA data according to the project analysis Was.
“I can’t insist on the injuries we are talking about – stress injuries in the severe muscle muscle caused by heavy, tremendous, strange and repetitive movements without adequate recovery time – not only painful, are not only painful, Rather, they are often disabled and lived with workers.
Amazon spokesperson Morin Lynch Vogel the findings of the controversial law project, which they had noted were since a few years ago, and said Amazon activists were not injured at a high rate as revealed by analysis.
Unions and other advocates for those workers who have long been accused of setting up unrealistic production goals on Amazon, who says the injury needs to take steps with additional security for states, especially In light of possible changes in federal policy. While former President Joe Biden was widely seen by experts as the most laborious president in modern history, OSHA’s authority was brought back under President Donald Trump’s first administration.
The Illinois law is supported by the International Brotherhood of Teamstors, which has laid significant resources towards organizing both Amazon Warehouse workers and third -party delivery drivers of the company.
Passuel Gianni, Director, Government Affairs for Teamstors Joint Council, Teamstors Joint Council, Ellinois and Northwest Indiana, said that the standards said that the Sangh has said that the Sangh has said that the Sangh has siege under the warehousing industry and siege by companies like Amazon in the warehousing industry and by companies like Amazon. Going “.
Giani said that the Sangh had heard the “horror stories” of those workers who were afraid to use the bathroom for fear of meeting Kota, even going to urinate in bottles near their work stations. Were.
“We hope that one day, one day, Amazon’s employees across the country are protected by a collective bargaining agreement,” said Jianni. “Meanwhile, we believe in raising standards for all workers.”
Osha arrived at its disposal with Amazon after withdrawing nine quotes for facilities with high number of workplace injuries in New York, Florida, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Colorado and New Jersey. In addition, in December, the results of the 18 -month -old American Senate Committee investigation were released and shown that the facilities of retail veterans have recorded a much higher injury rate than the average of the industry. The committee also found two internal Amazon studies, which connects productivity speed with high injury rates.
In a statement, Amazon stated that OSHA does not include the claim of wrongdoing on Amazon’s part for withdrawn quotes, nor directed to adopt new security controls. ” And the company denied the conclusions prescribed in the Senate Committee report, stating that it “used out-of-date documents and unnatural anecdotes to create a pre-scrapped story.”
Amazon spokesman August Green said, “There are facts, our expectations for our employees are safe and appropriate.” He focused on the decision of a court in the last summer, which left four workplace security quotes issued by the Washington Department of Labor against Amazon in 2020 to 2021, which exceeds the dangers of the workplace for high rates of musculoskletal disorders Was.
Opponents of Illinois Vidhan include Illinois Chamber of Commerce and Illinois Manufacturers Association, who have expressed concern that bills will negatively affect the functions of businesses.
“Warehouse and manufacturer Illinois are responsible for transferring important items within the state. Businesses should be responsible for the market and fill the orders and carry the goods as required. The bill will obstruct this, ”Donovan Griffith said, who testified against the bill on behalf of the Illinois Manufacturers Association.
Griffith said in an email statement, “Businesses require the ability to take employment decisions in the interest of safety and quality control without any fear that they will be punished incorrectly.”
Griffith also stated that bill warehouse features only evaluate employees on quota performance, while safety, attendance, quality production and ability to work with colleagues are also important assessors.
Some supporters of the bill expressed concern that it is low in some areas. For example, the law does not include security for warehouse workers at Amazon delivery stations, as laws in California, New York, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota and New York.
“I don’t think it was in our mind, any kind of idea. These things are different,” Olical said about the conversation that the final bill was led. “But what we did is especially the workers inside the warehouse Was narrow, not for delivery drivers. ”
Although this bill provides the way for enforcement, existing staff-company agreements can provide a challenge. Marco Seniseros, Executive Director, Warehouse Workers for Justice, said that the agreement requires employees to undergo a mediator to sue the company or report major events.
“This bill creates some kind of route for Sahara, although it can be difficult to follow through it,” Ceniceros said.
Other advocates said that the bill is not enough to address health concerns, such as indoor heat and poor ventilation.
“Heat is something that a lot of people misunderstand, but the high indoor heat is something we see in this work,” said JC Cruz, who represents the National Council for business safety and health in Chicago Is. “This bill is protecting a lot of warehouse workers from unrealistic quota and dangerous security situations, but we want to see the indoor heat and ergonomics more addressed for the workers.”
Tung said that this bill is the first step in a broader range of efforts in the states.
“All these things go by hand,” said Tung. “Kota and disciplinary practices, it is a leg of feces. Ergonomics stool has another leg. And the last one, which I think is most important, is an organized workforce. ,
The new workplace security law, if signed by Pritzker, will be effective on 1 January. Olych said that he is ready to discuss with parties and discuss it to strengthen it, which depends on what kind of issue.
“If there is something that needs to be addressed in advance, if there is a technical change that needs to be made, we are happy to consider it,” said Olyel. “But any change to strengthen the law, we will not really see until it is implemented.”
Separate, recommendations on warehouse security were issued last month after six workers were killed by a task force created by state MPs, when an Amazon Warehouse was killed by a powerful tornado in Edwardsville in December 2021. The main one of them was that the building code required storm shelters. In warehouses.