Elizabeth Brennan

Days after workers filed a formal complaint about dangerous working conditions related to extreme heat, state inspectors open a formal investigation. 

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – After weeks of scorching temperatures and poor safety protections, workers and members of the Inland Empire Amazon Workers United (IEAWU) at the Amazon KSBD air hub in San Bernardino marched on managers to demand better heat safety protections and filed a complaint with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). Cal/OSHA opened an on-site inspection on Friday, July 28.

“I work outside with the planes and the only shade provided to us is under the airplane, or in vans where there’s not enough seating and the A/C is sometimes turned off,” said Cynthia Ayala, an Amazon warehouse worker and member of the IEAWU. “Managers are prioritizing production over our safety. I have seen my coworkers deal with heat illness, and I’ve dealt with it myself. Heat illness shouldn’t be taken so lightly when it makes you fear for your safety thinking you’ll be next. ”

Daily high temperatures in San Bernardino have been over 100°F, peaking as high as 106°F on July 25. Ramp workers at the San Bernardino air hub are regularly exposed to this extreme heat working outside on the tarmac, often in the blazing sun. Inside the warehouse, many workers also experience hazardous conditions with poor air circulation and very strenuous physical workloads.  

“Workers inside are so easily forgotten during this heat. Amazon’s main focus is production. Safety is not the priority until it’s too late,” said Daniel Rivera, an Amazon warehouse worker and member of the IEAWU. “I have suffered nose bleeds while working in the summer in the warehouse. Managers didn’t do anything and the on-site first aid team brushed me off. When Cal/OSHA was at the warehouse I saw managers acting with urgency about our health. I’ve never seen that before and I have been here for two years.”

In two delegations to management last week, workers with IEAWU demanded better protections for their safety, including shaded areas with seating for everyone working outside, consistent heat break practices, and the right to take preventative cool-down breaks as needed. Workers reported similar concerns in their complaint to Cal/OSHA, including the inadequate provision of shade, cool water, and training on heat illness prevention. 

“California law clearly requires employers to provide workers in outdoor areas with shaded rest areas and a sufficient supply of cool water,” said Tim Shadix, attorney and legal director of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center, which assisted the workers with the complaint. “Employers must also allow and encourage employees to take a preventative cool-down rest in the shade any time they feel the need to in order to protect themselves from overheating. Failing to follow these requirements properly places workers in grave danger of heat illness.”

Last summer, workers with IEAWU documented extremely high temperatures at KSBD and demanded better protections. They won some improvements, including new break areas and fans in some indoor areas, but after seeing inconsistencies and dangerous conditions during the recent heat wave, workers are taking action again to protect themselves. 

“Amazon has been promising us shade structures outside for months but we still don’t have them. When Cal/OSHA was here, managers staffed up crews to give us more heat breaks and kept the water coolers practically overflowing,” said employee and IEAWU member Rex Evans. “That lasted all of 24 hours before it was mostly back to business as usual. It shows Amazon can do better when they want to and it’s shameful that they don’t. We should have those extra heat breaks and relief crews every day when it’s this hot.”

###

Contact: media@warehouseworkers.org

About the WWRC

The Warehouse Worker Resource Center is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), organization founded in 2011 dedicated to improving working conditions in the warehouse industry in Southern California. We focus on education, advocacy and action to change poor working conditions in the largest warehousing hub in the country.

View the WWRC Press Conference, July 18, 2023.

Employers, State must worker protections for a changing climate. 

ONTARIO, Calif. – As San Bernardino braces for 10 consecutive days over 100 degrees following an already hot July, workers and health experts warned that without regular access to rest, water and shade workers are put in unnecessary danger during excessive heat.  

“Workers are feeling the impact of excessive heat on their bodies and in their neighborhoods,” said Deogracia Cornelio, education director at the Warehouse Worker Resource Center. “We know the names of workers who have succumbed to heat throughout the years. We have spoken out and held those responsible accountable. It is these stories that motivate us and it is why we have consistently advocated for additional legislation, including the development of an indoor heat standard in California.”

People who labor in physical jobs, both inside and outside, are most susceptible to heat illness, which can include dehydration, dizziness, fainting and even death, and as the climate warms these dangers are more acute. 

“Our internal body temperature rises and outstrips our capacity to shed heat. This especially happens when we don’t have time to rest or cool down. This can happen more quickly when it’s humid,” said Dr. Robert Harrison, occupational medicine specialist and Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. “It can take less than an hour to go from mild to severe heat illness. Heat illness can be more severe in people with medical problems such as diabetes or heart conditions. It is also dangerous if there isn’t anywhere to cool down after work.”

Warehouse workers in the Inland Empire, the national warehousing and logistics hub just east of Los Angeles, are on the frontlines of the nexus of a warming planet and the impact higher temperatures have on workers. Workers at the Amazon air hub in San Bernardino last year took their own thermometers to work and documented extremely high temperatures at the warehouse and grave inconsistencies with Amazon’s own temperature monitors. Last week, workers at that same facility launched a campaign to ensure working conditions are safe and this weekend at least one person was taken to the hospital following heat exposure. 

“Just this weekend one of our coworkers was rushed to the hospital because of heat exposure. Not only were we all worried about his health, but it’s hard to keep working knowing you could be next,” said Mel Batz, an Amazon warehouse worker. “By speaking out and advocating for ourselves, we have won more access to ice water, working fans and breaks from the heat, but it’s not consistent and it’s because we have stood together to demand these protections. What is happening at other warehouses in the Inland Empire where the employer is not being held accountable?”

In 2016 the California Legislature passed SB1167 which called on the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) to draft new standards by January 2019. Nearly, four and a half years later the Cal/OSHA Standard Board held its first hearing on the proposal. 

Several warehouse workers traveled to a hearing in May to advocate for these critical indoor standards, but California has yet to enact them. 

Media Contact: media@warehouseworkers.org

###

About the WWRC

The Warehouse Worker Resource Center is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), organization founded in 2011 dedicated to improving working conditions in the warehouse industry in Southern California. We focus on education, advocacy and action to change poor working conditions in the largest warehousing hub in the country.

Inland Empire Amazon workers release new survey data showing major concerns among workers about heat and poor response to injuries from managers. 

SAN DIEGO – Warehouse workers from the Inland Empire testified before the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board about the urgent need for indoor heat protections for workers in physical occupations and workers released new data that shows heat illness is a top concern for warehouse workers.

“Heat illness often goes undetected until it’s too late,” said Anna Ortega, who works at an Amazon warehouse in San Bernardino. “And it can impact everyone, it doesn’t matter how healthy you are. The solution is simple – it’s rest, breaks from physical work and access to water, but even that is a struggle to get sometimes. California can protect workers like me, especially as our state gets hotter.”

In 2016 the California Legislature passed SB1167 which called on the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) to draft new standards by January 2019. Nearly, four and a half years later the Cal/OSHA Standard Board held its first hearing on the proposal. 

“In a warming climate, the hazards posed by heat in the workplace are only growing. Every year, workers in warehouses and many other indoor workplaces face serious heat illness risks without adequate protection,” said Tim Shadix, legal director for the Warehouse Worker Resource Center. “California needs a clear standard for training, rest, cooling periods, access to water and maximum temperatures so that employers have clear guidance and expectations for protecting workers.”

In a survey released today conducted by Inland Empire Amazon Workers United of workers at the Amazon air hub in San Bernardino, about 84% (strongly agree, 74%; slightly agree, 10%) of workers indicated needing water, a cool place to rest, and recovery time during the summer heat. Workers who testified at the hearing, delivered a copy of the report to the members of the Board. 

Over half (52%) of the survey participants have been injured at the Amazon facility. Of the survey respondents who reported an on-the-job injury, over half reported the injuries to their supervisors. Of the workers who reported an injury to their supervisor, only 34% were satisfied with the employer’s response to their injury.

Amazon workers at KSBD who did not report injuries to their supervisors shared in their responses a fear of retaliation, and instances of being questioned, or not being believed by their employer if they reported their injury.  

“When you are working in a physical job, it is easy to get overheated,” said Sara Fee, who works at the Amazon air hub. “Without clear guidelines for protecting workers from heat illness, we are not safe. These companies aren’t protecting workers on their own.”

###

Contact: media@warehouseworkers.org

About the WWRC

The Warehouse Worker Resource Center is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), organization founded in 2011 dedicated to improving working conditions in the warehouse industry in Southern California. We focus on education, advocacy and action to change poor working conditions in the largest warehousing hub in the country.