The government is finally going after Amazon for
its egregious workplace violations and
horrible treatment of employees by issuing a massive fine.
A fine that's really gonna bring Amazon to its knees.
The fine is for $60,000, $60,000.
Let that sink in, $60,000.
So the US Department of Labor plans to fine Amazon over $60,000 for safety
violations regarding warehouse workers according to an announcement on Wednesday.
Departmental investigators cited the company for failing to keep workers safe,
which it said was a violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
So, if you're wondering why companies keep committing
violations pertaining to things like let's say child labor laws.
Or why companies continue to have unsafe working conditions in their warehouses,
might have to do with the fact that they barely even get a slap on the wrist,
because $60,000 for Amazon is nothing, absolutely nothing.
When you consider the profits they're able to make by mistreating their workers and
having them produce, produce, produce, produce,
under just unreasonable conditions.
I mean that is a lot more money compared to the $60,000 fine that
they were just slapped with by the Labour Department.
>> So look, I think that there's gonna be a certain number of injuries in any job
that's physical, right.
And you have to try to mitigate that the best that you can.
Amazon says, no we try really hard and
they explain all the different ways that they try to mitigate it.
It sounded pretty good.
On the other hand, the government went in and said no,
you're not doing a good enough job and people are getting hurt.
And look guys at every one of those stories, and since I run this company and
I'm a progressive host, I see both sides of it, right.
So one of the workers, is I got attacked by a dog.
Mail men get attacked by dogs, Amazon can't do anything about other people's
dogs, right, and you're doing delivery.
So, I see those cases too.
But overall it was adjudicated that no,
you don't have enough precautions here and people are getting hurt.
Amazon, I think it's about a trillion dollar company.
So if you say that they're guilty, don't come in here with a $60,000 fine.
I mean that's basically saying, just kidding.
>> It's insulting to the workers that you purport to wanna protect honestly, right?
>> No, I can guarantee you this too, right.
Amazon executives laugh their asses off of at that.
>> 1000%, I mean how, come on.
>> They thought, good, we apparently gave enough campaign contributions or
whatever so that- >> I wouldn't be surprised if they put
out a press release, we were very naughty and we were punished and you know what?
We accept our punishment, we'll do better.
>> 60,000 isn't even a rounding error for Amazon.
>> My God, we live in such a corrupt country, it's so depressing.
Okay, so let's talk about the injuries and the actual investigation that was
conducted and the findings of that investigation.
So, OSHA investigators found Amazon warehouse workers at high risk for
lower back injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders related to
the high frequency with which workers are required to lift packages and other items.
The heavy weight of the items, awkward postures such as twisting, bending and
long reaches while lifting and long hours required to complete assigned tasks.
So they also reviewed on-site injury logs, required by OSHA and discovered
that Amazon warehouse workers experienced high rates of all sorts of issues,
including sprains, strains, tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome.
But those injuries could have been undercounted, so
it's a bit of an underestimate.
OSHA has previously cited Amazon for 14 instances of failing to properly record or
report worker injuries in December of 2022.
So there are definitely some injuries that weren't reported at all,
and that OSHA is unaware of.
>> Yeah, guys, look, am I outraged that the people who work there physical job
picking up things might hurt their back?
No, I get it, it happens, right.
Carpal tunnel, okay it happens.
But they went and did an investigation.
They said they're wrong, Amazon is wrong, Amazon is guilty.
They were not taking the right precautions.
Don't do that and then fine them two cents.
I mean, literally given how much their profit is, it's not even two cents.
What it's doing is, $60,000 is not a fine, is a cover up.
It's the government helping them cover up their problems.
>> So we're going to give you the profits of Amazon versus this fine,
so you can really comprehend how ridiculous this is.
But first a quote from Doug Parker, the Assistant Secretary for
Occupational Safety and Health.
Each of these inspections found work processes that were designed for
speed but not safety and they resulted in serious worker injuries.
While Amazon has developed impressive systems to make sure its customers orders
are shipped efficiently and quickly, the company has failed to show the same level
of commitment to protecting the safety and well being of its workers.
Which is why we decided to fine them $60,000.
>> [LAUGH] >> So,
let's compare that to the revenue that Amazon generates.
In 2021 alone,
Amazon's yearly revenue was
$469.8 billion, with a B.
So- >> [LAUGH]
>> $469.8 billion versus 60, not billion,
not million, but thousand, $60,000 in fines.
>> Yeah, so do I think the guy at OSHA that made this decision is somehow
corrupt- >> Maybe
>> And he's taking money from Amazon?
[LAUGH] Okay, you got that at maybe, I got it at unlikely, okay.
So, why do they make this decision?
Because of groupthink.
In Washington corporations are always right and
they are the beloved corporations.
And by the way, there's a revolving door, a lot of folks that then get hired by
those corporations after they work in government, etc.
But overall, look at Buttigieg, right.
And Buttigieg is the best example.
The transportation secretary, Southwest screws over everybody.
David Sirota's Lever did great reporting on this, and
it showed Buttigieg can actually fine the hell out of Southwest for
canceling your flight and all the different things that they did.
He has all the authority in the world, but he doesn't even consider it.
He's well, we're being very tough with them, how?
Well, we have had stern conversations with them, shut up.
>> Mm-hm, very stern.
>> Shut up, cuz Buttigieg was a guy who was a business consultant and
comes from the business world.
And all of his donations, not all, but
a giant percentage of his donations when he was running for
president came from the corporate world and from incredibly rich people.
And so, when he goes to work in government his assumption is, corporations are right,
rich people are right.
These pesky travelers are bothering them by demanding things, just because
some of their lives were ruined and certainly their holidays were ruined, etc.
And the same thing here.
OSHA probably thought they were we got Bezos with this $60,000 fine.
>> I think it's really important to understand that under a neoliberal system,
there is a role for the government.
The role for the government though, isn't to protect the workers,
it's to protect the corporate interests.
And that is what we see playing out time and time again.
This story is just one example of it, which is why it is important for workers
to have a seat at the table, take a little bit of that power back by organizing.
And that's why it is good to see at least some Amazon warehouses unionizing,
because that is where you can actually fight back pretty aggressively, right.
Have some leverage to fight back, have some protection to fight back.
Because if you're waiting for this government to come protect you and save
you from the terrible working conditions that you're dealing with, unfortunately,
thanks to what Cenk mentioned, I think groupthink is a problem.
But the groupthink is the neoliberal groupthink that they've all accepted.
>> Yeah. >> They're part of this system for
a reason and it isn't to protect the workers.
You look at Scandinavian countries, they do not have a federal minimum wage.
You wanna know why?
Because they have labor unions negotiating wages on behalf of their workers.
And I think that's a better model because clearly, I mean,
the federal government has failed us when it comes to raising the minimum wage.
>> Yeah, the question isn't the minimum wage, the question is,
is the government representing you or
are they representing, in our case, the donors which is giant corporations?
Look, most of my upcoming book is about this, and
you took the words right out of my mouth, Anna.
Both the Scandinavian countries, and by the way,
the United States of America from about 1930 to about 1980, for 50 solid years,
had a government that was what I call Democratic capitalism.
Where the government protects you from corporations, the government looks out for
you, the citizens, that's what it's supposed to.
And when they do do that,
the Scandinavian countries all rank in the top happiness in the world.
And between 1938 and 1978, we built the biggest,
greatest middle class the world has ever seen in America, why?
Cuz the government protected its citizens, protected its workers.
And since 1978, when supreme court allowed bribery, I don't know, but
legalized bribery, corporations have bought our entire government.
And now, not only do they not represent us,
they actively represent these corporations and do cover ups like this Amazon story.