Democrat Reps. Demand Amazon Comply With House Oversight Probe Into Labor Practices

A tow truck removes destroyed cars from an Amazon Fulfillment Center in Edwardsville, IL on Dec. 11, 2021, after it was hit by a tornado. (Tim Vizer / AFP via Getty Images)

The House Oversight Committee has demanded Amazon.com, Inc. comply with its probe into the company’s labor practices during severe weather events, claiming it has obstructed their investigation by failing to produce documents seven weeks after the deadline.

The committee launched its probe into Amazon’s corporate labor practices following the deaths of six workers during a December 2021 Category 3 tornado in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the committee’s chair; Cori Bush (D-Mo.); and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to Amazon on June 1 demanding the company comply with the committee’s March 31 request for documents and information.

The lawmakers said their investigation into Amazon was of “crucial importance” given the size of the company and the vast number of Americans it employs.

“Employers like Amazon must prioritize worker safety over the corporate bottom line. Our investigation into Amazon’s response to the events in Edwardsville and other extreme weather events seeks to determine whether Amazon’s corporate practices put employee safety first, or whether your company, which now employs nearly one million people in the United States, is merely paying lip service to this principle,” the lawmakers wrote (pdf).

Amazon has withheld key documents the House committee wants, which the company’s lawyers say fall under work–product and attorney–client privileges, according to the House committee. But the lawmakers told Amazon’s CEO they don’t “recognize common-law privileges as valid reasons to withhold documents from Congress.”

The sought-after documents relate to internal investigations and reviews of the Edwardsville tornado and “relevant policies and procedure documents.”

The site of a roof collapse at an Amazon distribution center a day after a series of tornadoes struck multiple states, in Edwardsville, Ill., on Dec. 11, 2021. (Drone Base/Reuters)

On Dec. 10, 2021, a tornado struck the Amazon DLI4 facility in Edwardsville killing six delivery contractors. The walls of the facility on both sides collapsed inward and the roof collapsed downward, said Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford on Dec. 11.

The tornado was part of a larger weather system across the central United States which left dozens of people dead and injured in Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened a probe into the partial collapse of the Amazon facility after the incident.

The Epoch Times understands that OSHA’s official investigation did not find any violations or causes for citations, and that the government department informed Amazon that they responded “like any responsible company.”

However, the House committee members said OSHA’s inspection on April 26 revealed “concerns about the potential risk to employees during severe weather emergencies,” and recommended that Amazon “voluntarily take the necessary steps to eliminate or materially reduce your employees’ exposure” to the risk factors OSHA identified.

“Amazon’s failure to provide key documents has obstructed the Committee’s investigation,” they wrote. “As an additional accommodation, the Committee will grant an extension until June 8, 2022, for Amazon to complete its document production. If Amazon fails to do so, the Committee will have no choice but to consider alternative measures to obtain full compliance.”

The committee members said in their letter that their concerns about safety practices at Amazon “have only increased” since their March 31 request for documents.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the company has been cooperating with the House Oversight committee.

“We were surprised to receive this letter because we began producing materials to the Committee just two weeks after receiving its initial request and have produced more than 1,500 pages of responsive information," Nantel said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

“As we have done from the start, we will continue to work with Committee staff on further document production—which includes the most recent materials we shared on June 1.”

This report was updated to include the Amazon spokesperson’s response.