An Amazon fulfillment center in Hazlton PA was petitioned by workers after 9 workers in the facility were diagnosed with COVID-19. The petition aims at a shutdown and deep cleaning. It is interesting to note that the COVID-19 positive cases in Hazleton spiked to 300 in the last few days, which for a city of 25,000, is very high, roughly 1.2% (as of yesterday, Pennsylvania was about 0.06%).
This where it becomes so important for facilities to manage COVID-19 within the facility. With a high pressure of positives from the local community, there is increasing risk within the facility of wide-spread infection.
Citizens Voice
https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/workers-say-amazon-must-clean-hazleton-facility-1.2613885
Workers say Amazon must clean Hazleton facility
BY JIM DINO / PUBLISHED: APRIL 2, 2020
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Workers at the Amazon fulfillment center in Humboldt Industrial Park have launched an online petition to temporarily close the facility for cleaning.
They say management is not telling employees enough, and not taking steps fast enough, to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, which they say is rampant in the facility.
The large retailer said Wednesday it is taking steps to minimize contact and clean the facility — something employees said wasn’t being done earlier in the week.
As many as nine cases of the virus at the facility have workers concerned they are not being told the truth about the spread of the virus at the plant.
As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, their petition had 1,477 signatures.
“As of (Wednesday) morning, management finally reached out to all associates, and told us that there are seven new, confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the warehouse,” in addition to two before, said Dominica Mercuri of McAdoo, who works at Amazon. “One of the people was there (Tuesday).”
Mercuri echoed the concerns of the petition signers that workers will be forced to complete shifts in contaminated work spaces.
“They will not be closing for deep cleaning, though. They will be taking our temperatures when some thermal equipment comes in, and informing those they feel had close contact with these individuals,” she said. “For the rest of us, business as usual.”
The petition says multiple Amazon locations have had confirmed cases of COVID-19, yet Amazon still “expects associates to risk both their and their families safety by continuing to come into work to ship non-essential items.”
Amazon spokesperson Alyssa Bronikowski said in an email the company has taken steps to limit personal contact.
But in the petition, workers say social distancing is almost impossible.
“We know Amazon is trying to take precautions when it comes to slowing the spread of COVID-19, but the fact of the matter is we work with over 200-plus per shift,” the petition states. “We feel that Amazon should follow suit with New York City and Kentucky by shutting down temporarily.”
The petition says a shutdown would allow employees to stay home with their families with pay and would give employees peace of mind that the facility was completely disinfected.
Bronikowski said Amazon is taking steps to stop the spread of the virus.
“We’re continuing to monitor the situation in our facilities and corporate offices, and we are taking proactive measures to protect employees and associates who have been in contact with anyone who has been diagnosed or becomes ill,” she said. “We’re doing all that we can to protect our employees and take the proper precautions as stated in WHO (World Health Organization) guidelines.”
Now, they are working on cleaning procedures, Bronikowski said.
“We are consulting with health authorities and medical experts on how to handle building closures for deep cleaning if an employee tests positive for COVID-19,” she said. “Our process evaluates where the employee was in the building, for how long, how much time has passed since they were onsite, and who they interacted with, among other items.”
Contact the writer:
jdino@standardspeaker.com
570-501-3585
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