Our Society is Imploding

[Eugene]

2. There's a lot more to that death at Amazon.

‘Everyone is Replaceable’: Death Rattles Oregon Amazon Facility (The Western Edge)

For more than an hour, several employees said, workers in the facility were instructed to continue fetching totes, picking items off shelves and loading them onto trucks for delivery as the man lay dead, and management figured out their next steps. News of the fatality quickly spread through the building, but workers say top managers did not call operations to an immediate halt. A week later, several workers said they still do not know what caused the man to die. Amazon said in a statement Tuesday that the man died from a “pre-existing medical condition.” Records indicate he was 46 years old.

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A coworker administering CPR asked for more help. Managers turned away a volunteer, insisting that they wait for the corporate response team to act.

Work at the warehouse continued for two hours after the death. Managers sent the workers home with the promise of pay for the rest of the work day. They haven't received that yet.

Amazon belatedly issued a public statement, stating that they are deeply saddened by the incident and that workers will be offered counseling.