Amazon defends working conditions at company warehouse

In a statement released Sunday, Amazon said it averages 2.5 to 4.2 recordable injuries or illnesses per 100 workers annually. That rate places Amazons incidence rate below that of fellow workers in auto manufacturing, the warehousing industry, and even for department stores.

Pennsylvanias The Morning Call spoke with 20 employees of the Amazon manufacturing facility in Breinigsville, Pa. Workers reported that temperatures in the complex exceeded 100 degrees during a summer heat wave and employees frequently fainted. Just one of the 20 employees interviewed enjoyed working at the complex.

Amazon said the company had taken steps to ameliorate conditions in the facility. We installed industrial air-conditioning units, the company said in the statement. To handle the low temperature events, we developed a new set of procedures for re-entering the building more quickly following fire alarms. Even with these events, our recordable incidence rate in Breinigsville continues to be low.