June 01, 2022
Amazon will face the heat from two demonstrations in South Jersey on Wednesday.
Workers at an Amazon delivery station in Camden County walked off the job Wednesday morning in protest of transfers that will result from its impending closure. At 10:30 a.m., U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross is expected to call for OSHA to investigate an increase in injuries at Amazon facilities in New Jersey.
The Amazon delivery station in Bellmawr, known as DEW8, is expected to close at the end of the month. Workers were told they would be transferred to a nearby facility, Kenneth Burns from WHYY tweeted. But some employees say they are being sent to work shifts at other Amazon facilities located further away.
Nine workers from the Bellmawr delivery station walked out, joining about two dozen workers who came from as far as Elizabeth, Union County. The workers want the option to transfer to a closer facility and maintain their current schedules. If they work at the locations farther away, they want preferential work days and an additional dollar per hour to account for the cost of a longer commute, Burns reported.
Good morning! 🧵RIGHT NOW in Bellmawr, Amazon workers at the DEW8 delivery station are reportedly staging a walkout. @WHYYNews #NewJersey (1/3) pic.twitter.com/a6yGWlPaKF
— P. Kenneth Burns (@PKBNews) June 1, 2022
The Bellmawr location isn't the only Amazon facility in South Jersey that will become a public spectacle today.
Norcross, a Democrat who represents the state's first congressional district, will hold a press conference in front of the Amazon fulfillment center in Logan Township, Salem County, to urge OSHA to investigate working conditions at Amazon's warehouses in New Jersey.
Worker injuries at Amazon facilities in New Jersey grew by 54% between 2020 and 2021, a study from Rutgers University found. The study also found Amazon employees made up 55% of serious worker injuries reported in New Jersey last year.
Late last month, Bloomberg reported that Amazon plans to sublease 10 million square feet of warehouse space nationwide, including some facilities in New Jersey. Amazon said this move will not include any layoffs.
The company reportedly is shrinking its footprint because executives believe it expanded too much during the pandemic, when demand for online shopping was particularly high.
Amazon had 58,000 employees in the state last year, NJ.com reported, which made it the state's largest private employer and its second-largest employer overall.
Disclosure: U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross is the uncle of PhillyVoice Founder and Chairwoman Lexie Norcross.
This article was updated after it was originally published.
