Amazon workers at ‘critical’ Joliet facility walk off the job: ‘Without MDW2, nothing moves’

Amazon warehouse
An Amazon truck is seen entering the LDJ5 Amazon Sort Center on April 25, 2022 in New York City. On Tuesday, workers at an Amazon warehouse in Joliet walked off the job. Photo credit Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Outside of Amazon’s MDW2 facility in Joliet, members of Warehouse Workers for Justice walked out and picketed with signs calling for “actions, not apologies.”

The walkout came as workers have demanded safer work conditions and a base pay rate of $25 per hour.

Close to 700 workers at the Joliet facility have signed a petition outlining their demands.

The Joliet facility has been plagued by complaints in recent months, including claims of death threats written in bathroom stalls, sexual harassment, the use of racial slurs in the workplace and employees donning Confederate attire on the job.

Union members said Amazon has done very little to address the issues.

“Amazon made $33.4 billion last year thanks to workers like us,” said one union’s statement. “Without MDW2, nothing moves.”

In the statement announcing the walkout, it read: “Even when we’re being threatened, Amazon is only worried about us stealing a few dollars’ worth of merchandise, not our lives. To them, the only thing that’s disposable in the warehouse is us.”

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images