New York close to cracking down on Amazon's warehouse production quotas

New York's State Assembly on Friday passed the Warehouse Worker Protection Act (WWPA), a bill that would require Amazon and other companies to disclose production quotas to workers, as first reported by CNBC. If New York Governor Cathy Hochul (D) signs it into law, it would also prevent employees from meeting quotas that require them to skip lunch or bathroom breaks.

Like a similar bill passed in California last September, the WWPA states that employers will be required to provide each warehouse employee with "a written statement of each quota to which the employee is subject" (or within 30 days). being formed). It also prevents employers from penalizing workers for failing to meet quotas that were not disclosed, or for skipping breaks to meet. In a CNBC note, Governor Hochul has not indicated whether she plans to approve the bill. The Verge reached out to Amazon with a request for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

While the text of the bill does not mention Amazon directly, New York Senator Jessica Ramos (D) acknowledged that it is designed to address Amazon's management practices, which Ramos claims "dehumanize workers". . And punishing the very human need for comfort. Previous reports have shown that Amazon uses an automated tracking system to evaluate workers' productivity, with some workers reportedly urinating in bottles and bathroom breaks to meet the e-commerce giant's production standards. did. resorted to quitting.

Organization efforts are ramping up at Amazon's warehouses in New York and across the country. In April, warehouse workers in Staten Island, New York, became the first Amazon warehouse workers to unionize. So far, it is the only warehouse to vote in favor of the union – a neighboring Staten Island warehouse voted against unionization last month, while the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) is disputing the results of the union election in Bessemer. Is. There is an Alabama warehouse, which claims Amazon has once again interfered with the results.