The International Amazon Workers Voice (IAWV) recently spoke with a young AmazonFresh worker in Virginia. Launched in 2007, AmazonFresh, the company’s online grocery business, delivers groceries to its Prime members in select cities. AmazonFresh represents an effort to directly challenge brick-and-mortar stores in the $800 billion grocery market. According to Business Insider, Amazon plans to open 20 physical AmazonFresh locations over the next two years.
Food and other perishable items in AmazonFresh facilities are stored in refrigerators and freezers with temperatures ranging from 30 to -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-1 to -30 degrees Celsius). “You have no idea where you will be placed that day or what you should wear. I have one co-worker that wears three different layers of clothes that he takes on and off throughout the day,” the worker said.
Even though employees are only legally allowed to stay in the freezer for one hour, the worker says management frequently breaks the law. “There are no clocks in the freezer. There is no way you can track time in there. No manager comes to let you know you can get out of the freezer at the end of the hour. You can set an alarm on your phone, but then you have to take off your freezer equipment in -22 degree weather to turn off the alarm. Stopping to check for the time also slows you down—they never stop monitoring your pick rate. If you are assigned to freezer duty after lunch, you’ll be in the freezer from 12:25 pm to 3pm.”
Amazon recently announced plans to acquire Whole Foods for $13.7 billion to further strengthen its grip in the food industry.
