Posted on Oct 15, 2023
Workers across St. Louis sectors want to feel safer while at their jobs
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Workers in different sectors in the St. Louis region want their respective employers to change the way they respond to injuries employees have while working.
Amazon employees, nurses and workers rights advocates gathered outside Amazon’s fulfillment center in St. Peters on Wednesday to call out working conditions they say don’t help employees stay healthy.
“It’s just the stress of trying to make your rate and move so fast,” said Amazon packer Wendy Taylor. “Whatever algorithm they used to design that, they didn’t take safety into account. People are just overextending themselves.”
This past March, Taylor said she tore her meniscus after tripping over an empty pallet behind her station. After this instance, which is detailed in a complaint to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Taylor went to Amazon’s in-house medical team, AmCare, where she received ice treatment and ibuprofen before being sent back to work.
Amazon in a statement said that AmCare provides first aid and that “onsite medical representatives should immediately refer an employee outside for treatment if they need care beyond basic first aid, or if an employee requests it.”
But Taylor said this wasn’t her experience.
“I requested a doctor several times, and they just ignored it and tried to minimize my injuries and basically wouldn’t allow me to see a doctor,” she said. “When you come in (to AmCare) their whole objective is to get you back on the work floor ASAP.”
Amazon employees, nurses and workers rights advocates gathered outside Amazon’s fulfillment center in St. Peters on Wednesday to call out working conditions they say don’t help employees stay healthy.
“It’s just the stress of trying to make your rate and move so fast,” said Amazon packer Wendy Taylor. “Whatever algorithm they used to design that, they didn’t take safety into account. People are just overextending themselves.”
This past March, Taylor said she tore her meniscus after tripping over an empty pallet behind her station. After this instance, which is detailed in a complaint to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Taylor went to Amazon’s in-house medical team, AmCare, where she received ice treatment and ibuprofen before being sent back to work.
Amazon in a statement said that AmCare provides first aid and that “onsite medical representatives should immediately refer an employee outside for treatment if they need care beyond basic first aid, or if an employee requests it.”
But Taylor said this wasn’t her experience.
“I requested a doctor several times, and they just ignored it and tried to minimize my injuries and basically wouldn’t allow me to see a doctor,” she said. “When you come in (to AmCare) their whole objective is to get you back on the work floor ASAP.”
Workers across St. Louis sectors want to feel safer while at their jobs
Posted from stlpr.org
St. Louis
Safety
Jobs
Employment
Amazon
Posted 7 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Williams said this is a result of the hospital not having enough staff, something the hospital's nurses went on strike over in September. It’s created an environment where nurses overextend themselves, she said.
“We’re kind of expected as nurses to go to work sick, to go to work injured,” she said. “We’re penalized for taking time off for taking care of ourselves, for taking care of our families.”
SSM Health disputes this and said in a statement that the well-being of its team members is a top priority. The hospital adds it has “a generous paid time off policy which encourages and supports individuals in taking necessary time away from work for an optimal work/life balance.”
But to fellow registered nurse Earline Shephard, the working environment doesn’t encourage time off.
“We love our job,” she said. “There is an issue if we call off because we’re sick and we don’t want to let our patients down, so we do come in and take care of our patients.”
Shephard added she wants to see SSM Health work with nurses to achieve a strong contract that will alleviate staffing issues and take better care of nurses and patients.
“We want better work protection and safe staffing,” she said. “Because if we’re not safe, the patients are not safe, the community is not safe.”
..."Williams said this is a result of the hospital not having enough staff, something the hospital's nurses went on strike over in September. It’s created an environment where nurses overextend themselves, she said.
“We’re kind of expected as nurses to go to work sick, to go to work injured,” she said. “We’re penalized for taking time off for taking care of ourselves, for taking care of our families.”
SSM Health disputes this and said in a statement that the well-being of its team members is a top priority. The hospital adds it has “a generous paid time off policy which encourages and supports individuals in taking necessary time away from work for an optimal work/life balance.”
But to fellow registered nurse Earline Shephard, the working environment doesn’t encourage time off.
“We love our job,” she said. “There is an issue if we call off because we’re sick and we don’t want to let our patients down, so we do come in and take care of our patients.”
Shephard added she wants to see SSM Health work with nurses to achieve a strong contract that will alleviate staffing issues and take better care of nurses and patients.
“We want better work protection and safe staffing,” she said. “Because if we’re not safe, the patients are not safe, the community is not safe.”
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