Amazon warehouse workers in St. Peters call on company to provide safer working conditions

More than 400 workers at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in St. Peters have sent managers a petition calling for safer working conditions. Many employees say the current conditions, including the fast pace, are causing injuries.

The petition that workers sent last month notes that an organizing committee uncovered hundreds of injuries at the fulfillment center over the past few years. It also points to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Labor that cited Amazon warehouses for “failing to keep workers safe.”

“For a long time, Amazon's not really been the safest place to work, especially as of recently,” said Arianna Kimbrough, a former employee at Amazon’s St. Peters warehouse. “So, we have been demanding lower work rates, so that workers aren't rushing so much and getting hurt in the process.”

Some workers are calling on Amazon to lower the production standards for its associates to levels that lead to fewer injuries and to provide two additional 15-minute bathroom breaks per full shift or one additional break per partial shift. They also want Amazon to implement comfortable working conditions and install better equipment.