Amazon Workers Shock Claim: Management Didn't Alert Them as Smoke Filled Warehouse

Lucas NolanMarch 29, 2022

Workers at Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse where the staff is fighting to unionize are alleging that many were not alerted by management as smoke appeared to fill the warehouse.

The Verge reports that Amazon workers at the company’s Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse claim that they were not all properly alerted as smoke filled the third floor of the facility last Friday. A report from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) claims that while warehouse workers on the third floor were instructed to evacuate, clock out, and go on unpaid voluntary time off, but employees in other parts of the facility were left to continue working.

In this March 30, 2021 file photo, a banner encouraging workers to vote in labor balloting is shown at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala. t (AP Photo/Jay Reeves, File)

The “smoke” that filled the plant was later discovered to be vaporized oil from a faulty compressor. The RWDSU alleges that workers on the third floor evacuated the facility around 1:30 p.m., hours later workers on the first floor began to see the smoke and didn’t evacuate until 5:45 p.m. The workers received no notification of a potential work hazard or fire alarm.

When the workers got outside, the RWDSU says there was “limited” police and fire presence. As shift workers arrived around 7:00 p.m. to begin work, they were reportedly told to go inside and begin working despite the “cloudiness” throughout the building.

Isaiah Thomas, an Amazon warehouse worker at the Bessemer location told the RWDSU:

At first, I thought my glasses were just smudged, but then the air got thicker, and my co-worker said he thought it was smoke and we should leave. Everyone was very confused, and the lack of information made us feel very unsafe… I don’t know what I was breathing in for that long, and I don’t know if it’s still in the air at work today either.

The RWDSU states that workers have reported the situation to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and are “awaiting further investigation.” OSHA began an investigation into Amazon in December after the collapse of a company warehouse in Illinois that killed six workers.

An Amazon spokesperson disputed the RWDSU’s claims about the worker evacuation, stating:

An air compressor malfunction resulted in smoke emitting from the equipment. Out of an abundance of caution, we evacuated the facility and called the local fire department who responded and quickly evaluated and cleared the site. We’re thankful no one was injured and we appreciate the swift actions of the Bessemer Fire Department.