Fires broke out in three Amazon warehouses in succession, triggering work stoppages and protests!

During the National Day holiday, fires broke out in three Amazon warehouses in the United States, resulting in the suspension of warehouse operations, employees refusing to return to work, and employees being suspended.

According to foreign media reports, on October 3, a fire broke out at Amazon's JFK8 warehouse on Staten Island, New York, interrupting warehouse operations. On the day of the fire, day shift workers went home with pay, while night shift workers were told to stay in the rest area and wait until management figured out the situation. Among them, about 100 night shift warehouse workers held a sit-in protest at the factory headquarters, refusing to work for several hours because of the smell of smoke in the warehouse and difficulty breathing. The workers demanded to go home with pay.

Two days later, in a statement, Amazon spokesman Paul Flaningen confirmed the fire and that about 50 workers had been suspended, including 10 union leaders who led the action and 40 warehouse workers who refused to return to work.

Amazon also said that all warehouse employees had been safely evacuated. After the New York Fire Department confirmed that the warehouse was safe, Amazon required all night shift employees to report to their shifts regularly. Flaningen said that although the vast majority of employees reported to their workstations, a small number of people refused to return to work and stayed in the building without permission.

On the same night ( October 3), a fire also broke out at Amazon's HSV1 warehouse in Alabama. It is reported that this is the second fire in the warehouse in the past two weeks, and it also occurred in the same location. Some employees reported that after the last fire, the warehouse was reopened after being closed for nearly a week, and smoke could still be smelled inside, and half of the warehouse was a restricted area.

Additionally, on the evening of Oct. 5, a fire broke out at another Amazon warehouse, ALB1, outside of Albany, New York, which began around 10:50 p.m. and lasted until shortly after midnight, according to the Schodack Police Department. Flaningen said the incident was a "small fire" and out of an abundance of caution, sent night shift employees home with pay and canceled the next day's day shift, which was also paid.

It is reported that the JFK8 warehouse is the only union warehouse of Amazon. Coincidentally, on the evening of October 5, workers at the ALB1 warehouse outside Albany, New York, will vote in a few days to decide whether to become the second Amazon employee to join the Amazon union.

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