WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) today released the following statement in response to the announcement by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) about its investigations into numerous unsafe Amazon warehouses.

“I applaud the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for their thorough investigations into Amazon warehouses over workplace safety concerns. The recent announcement by OSHA indicates that my concern over workplace safety is well-founded: Amazon is prioritizing speed and productivity over worker safety.

“While OSHA continues to investigate Amazon warehouses for safety violations, we must do more. A thousand-dollar slap on the wrist of a multi-billion-dollar corporation will not lead to meaningful change.

“I will continue to fight for accountability and workers’ safety in Congress, and I will continue to work with the Department of Labor and other relevant parties to ensure Amazon prioritizes the wellbeing of the people who work there.”

Congressman Norcross has been an outspoken critic of dangerous workplaces, including Amazon warehouses. As an electrician by trade who spent years working in the construction industry, he has seen the human cost of unsafe workplaces firsthand.

Timeline of Congressman Norcross’s Leadership on Amazon Warehouse Safety:

• April 29, 2022: Congressman Norcross called for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to investigate the serious injury rates at Amazon’s warehouses, which far exceed the industrial average.
• May 25, 2022: Congressman Norcross questioned the Assistant Secretary of Labor at a Workforce Protections Subcommittee hearing over the agency’s approach to investigations due to workplace injuries and alluded to Amazon being worthy of investigation.
• May 25, 2022: Congressman Norcross led members of the New Jersey congressional delegation in a letter to the Department of Labor, asking OSHA to investigate Amazon warehouse injury rates.
• June 1, 2022: Congressman Norcross held a press conference in front of an Amazon facility in Logan Township, New Jersey, with labor advocates and former Amazon workers who had been injured on the job, demanding the company do right on behalf of its workers and improve workplace safety.
• July 20, 2022: Congressman Norcross released a statement in reaction to the death of an Amazon warehouse worker at its facility in Carteret, NJ.
• July 24, 2022: Amazon warehouse worker dies at the Amazon facility in Robbinsville, NJ.
• July 26, 2022:  Congressman Norcross called for an expanded OSHA investigation and draws attention to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s investigation.
• July 27, 2022: Congressmen Norcross and Frank Pallone, who represents Carteret, sent a letter to OSHA asking them to look into fraudulent reporting of injury rates.
• August 4, 2022: Amazon warehouse worker dies at the Amazon facility in Monroe, NJ.
• October 14, 2022: Congressman Norcross led a letter to Education and Labor Committee Chair Bobby Scott (VA-03) requesting a warehouse worker safety hearing before the Workforce Protections Subcommittee.
• November 17, 2022: Congressman Norcross attends Workforce Protections Subcommittee hearing, “Unsafe and Untenable: Examining Workplace Protections for Warehouse Workers,” levying harsh criticism toward Amazon.