Dear Jeff Bezos, instead of firing me, protect your workers from coronavirus
PPE is very hard to get right now and obviously it is not possible to protect everyone perfectly. Demanding change without a solution is not reasonable. Nor is it reasonable to expect things to be perfect in a difficult&#x2F;fast-moving situation, with various constraints like limited supply chains and inability to alter physical spaces significantly in warehouses. I for one am very happy that online shopping is available, since it enables social distancing more broadly. Amazon also seems to have made a large number of changes, and the evidence is that they&#x27;ve been doing so for weeks, well before recent news media focus on them.<p>See <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;techcrunch.com&#x2F;2020&#x2F;04&#x2F;02&#x2F;amazon-begins-running-temperature-checks-and-will-provide-surgical-masks-at-warehouses&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;techcrunch.com&#x2F;2020&#x2F;04&#x2F;02&#x2F;amazon-begins-running-temp...</a><p>&gt; Employees will also be provided with surgical masks starting next week, the company says, once it receives shipments of orders of “millions” placed a few weeks ago.<p>From <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.vice.com&#x2F;en_us&#x2F;article&#x2F;5dm8bx&#x2F;leaked-amazon-memo-details-plan-to-smear-fired-warehouse-organizer-hes-not-smart-or-articulate" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.vice.com&#x2F;en_us&#x2F;article&#x2F;5dm8bx&#x2F;leaked-amazon-memo...</a><p>&gt; Zapolsky’s notes imply the company’s attempts to purchase N95 masks from China fell through. “China has deemed N95 masks as ‘strategic,’” Zapolsky wrote. “They’re keeping them for optionality. They also want to use them for ‘diplomacy.’ The masks in China that we thought we had probably got redirected by profiteers.”<p>And <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wired.com&#x2F;story&#x2F;amazon-warehouse-essential-goods-only&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wired.com&#x2F;story&#x2F;amazon-warehouse-essential-goods...</a> for changes to stock essential goods.<p>&gt; “We are seeing increased online shopping, and as a result some products such as household staples and medical supplies are out of stock,” reads an announcement on Amazon’s official forum for sellers. “With this in mind, we are temporarily prioritizing household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products coming into our fulfillment centers so that we can more quickly receive, restock, and deliver these products to customers.”<p>And <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;blog.aboutamazon.com&#x2F;company-news&#x2F;update-from-amazons-operations-network" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;blog.aboutamazon.com&#x2F;company-news&#x2F;update-from-amazon...</a><p>&gt; To date, we’ve made over 150 significant process changes to ensure the health and safety of our teams. We’ve shared details on the safety precautions we’ve taken to date on the Day One Blog, and today, I want to give an update.<p>&gt; Disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer are already standard across our network, and the procurement teams have worked tirelessly to create new sources of supply to keep these critical items flowing. The millions of masks we ordered weeks ago are now arriving, and we’re distributing them to our teams as quickly as possible. Masks will be available as soon as today in some locations and in all locations by early next week. Any N-95 masks we receive we are either donating to healthcare workers on the front lines or making them available through Amazon Business to healthcare and government organizations at cost.<p>&gt; We’re conducting daily audits of the new health and safety measures we’ve put into place. We’ve shared some of the photos of these measures here. 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. With over 1,000 sites around the world, and so many measures and precautions rapidly rolled out over the past several weeks, there may be instances where we don’t get it perfect, but I can assure you that’s just what they’ll be—exceptions.<p>&gt; Finally, I can’t stress enough how much I appreciate our teams for serving their communities. 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. 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.<p>There&#x27;s even more that Amazon has done in response to COVID-19 at <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;blog.aboutamazon.com&#x2F;company-news&#x2F;amazons-actions-to-help-employees-communities-and-customers-affected-by-covid-19" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;blog.aboutamazon.com&#x2F;company-news&#x2F;amazons-actions-to...</a>. I really don&#x27;t get what all the outrage is about. It seems like a manufactured crisis, amplified by a series of biased news outlets, in order to push a narrative against big corporations, presumably in favor of unionization.