Amazon workers record dangerous temperatures in Will County warehouse, advocates warn that the issue is not isolated

With the local heat index soaring to record highs this week, workers at a Joliet area Amazon facility have recorded temperatures reaching nearly 90 degrees, presenting a real risk to the health and safety of workers.

Workers recorded temperatures reaching 89.8 degrees Fahrenheit at the MDW2 Amazon cross-dock facility on Thursday, placing workers at risk and contradicting earlier company claims of their facilities being temperature controlled to 77 degrees.

Marcos Ceniceros, Executive Director of Warehouse Workers for Justice issued the following statement:

“During the last heat wave when one worker died and another was hospitalized, Amazon maintained there was no reason to believe that heat was a factor and insisted that warehouse temperatures never rose above 77 degrees, despite complaints from workers of sweltering heat inside the warehouse.

“The demands of workers at the time were clear. Improve heat safety protocols before temperatures climbed even higher and the facilities became even more dangerous. Amazon had a chance to meet the moment and become an industry leader with regard to heat safety. Instead, they denied there was a problem. Now, two months later, temperatures are higher than ever.

“This time, workers are equipped with mobile thermometers that officially disprove Amazon’s claims of the warehouses being cooled to 77 degrees across the facility, with recorded temperatures reaching 89.8 degrees. This new information casts doubt on Amazon’s entire narrative around the tragic and preventable worker death in June while also constituting an ongoing and immediate threat to the safety of the workers in area facilities.

“We call on local officials to establish a task force to review the issue of heat in the warehousing and manufacturing industry to ensure that all workers are kept safe, especially as climate change makes each new year the hottest year on record.”