CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Amazon workers are demanding the corporation close the Pilsen warehouse and thoroughly sanitize it after two employees tested positive for coronavirus.
At an early Saturday morning protest in front of the Amazon warehouse at 2804 S. Western Ave., dozens of warehouse and delivery drivers took to the streets, picketing the area with signs, chants and demands that the company take more safety precautions to protect employees, cover medical bills for those who get the virus, give them access to cleaning supplies, pay employees who must self-isolate and be transparent on new company protocols in the face of the pandemic.
Amazon employees who organized as the group DCH1 Amazonians United said that last Tuesday a worker tested positive for COVID-19 but management didn't tell the others until the end of the shift on Friday.
The strike, which was the fourth one this week and the second one in a row, was met with cars circling the street in support of the workers, which were sent by members of the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
"The atrocities here with corporations like Amazon expose the workers to the [coronavirus pandemic," Sigcho-Lopez told Patch Illinois. "Two positive cases; last week we were here too, and the workers demanded Amazon to clean the facility. They haven't done it."
The strike joins nationwide movements of employees who say they have been dismissed from the giant tech company. Amazon has not responded to the demands of Chicago workers specifically but on April 2, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations at Amazon Dave Clark responded to the backlash and announced it will provide masks and temperature checks to all U.S. and European employees.
Clark also said the company is looking into better adhering to social distancing rules that can be difficult in warehouses were employees were in close quarters.
"We also assigned some of our top machine learning technologists to capture opportunities to improve social distancing in our buildings using our internal camera systems," Clark wrote on the Amazon blog.
He also addressed paid sick time, an issue many employees in Chicago have asked for as more employees contract the virus.
"If someone would rather not come to work, we are supporting them in their time off. If someone is diagnosed or comes to us who is presumptively diagnosed (but unable to get a test), we are giving them extra paid time off," he said. "In addition, we are also contacting people who have been in close contact with a diagnosed individual and giving them time off as well, for 14 days, to stay home with pay. We continue to evaluate all options to ensure the support of our teams during this unprecedented time."