On March 28, George Leigh, a worker at Amazon’s DNY4 distribution center in Bethpage, New York stopped working due to illness. On April 9 he died as a result of COVID-19. Leigh was 59 years old, leaving behind a daughter and grandchildren. At the warehouse he was a package sorter and trainer for new employees.
George is the sixth Amazon worker to die from COVID-19, but we don’t know that from Amazon itself. The company has refused to reveal the number of workers who have contracted or died from the virus. Workers have protested and gone on strike at Amazon in recent months to demand cleaning, paid sick leave, and greater safety protections.
This is the least the company can do. This is a company that paid $0 in income taxes from 2016 to 2019. Amazon’s sales increased 25% to $75.5 billion in the first quarter this year. Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos is set to become the world’s first trillionaire due to the profits they are raking in. Amazon can’t afford to protect its workers? That might be a funny joke if no one was getting hurt.
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