A Reckoning at Amazon [Reveal podcast]

After years of growth, Amazon is now laying off thousands of employees. But with the holiday season underway, the company’s warehouse workers still have to race to fill gift orders. On the Reveal podcast, we revisit Amazon’s safety record.

Host Al Letson speaks with Reveal’s Will Evans, who’s been reporting on injuries at Amazon for years. By gathering injury data and speaking with workers and whistleblowers, he has shown that Amazon warehouse employees are injured on the job at a higher rate than at other companies. Evans’ reporting has focused national attention on the company’s safety record, prompting regulators, lawmakers and the company itself to address the issue more closely. Members of Congress have scrutinized Amazon’s working conditions – and at the state level, lawmakers and safety regulators are taking action against Amazon in ways they never have before.

In our second segment, we bring back a story by reporter Jennifer Gollan that looks at the most common type of injury at Amazon and other workplaces: repetitive motion injuries. Gollan reports that decades ago, the federal government decided to impose safety regulations to try to prevent these injuries, then abruptly changed its mind.

We end with a reprise of a story from reporter Laura Sydell about online reviews of products and businesses and how many of them are not what they seem.

Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
0:07-17:32 - Amazon’s safety record
17:33-32:47 - Ergonomic injuries and OSHA
32:48-49:05 - Misleading online reviews
49:06-50:35 - Credits

ABOUT REVEAL
Reveal, co-produced with PRX, is the United States’ first weekly investigative public radio show and podcast. Peabody Award-winning host Al Letson takes listeners across the country and the world, exposing wrongs and holding the powerful accountable. Whether it’s Amazon’s poor workplace safety record, inequity in the juvenile justice system or exploitation at drug rehabs, Reveal connects with listeners through gripping and compassionate storytelling.

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