61-Year-Old Amazon Worker Dies On Job; Co-Workers Outraged

The cover image of this article is from databank.com.

On the mournful day of 27 December 2022 came news of a tragedy in Colorado Springs’ Amazon DEN4 warehouse. 61-year-old Rick Jacobs, an Amazon employee, suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away just before the shift change. This incident, however, was far from the end of the matter.

Unsettling Discovery

Workers at the facility were outraged as they discovered the way that the authorities had dealt with the situation. Witnesses claim that, despite Amazon's denial, cardboard boxes were used as a form of partition to block the area where the tragedy occurred, while managers stood guard to make sure no one approached the deceased’s body.

Describing the eerie atmosphere, one employee who shifts during the day said:

“Finding out what had happened after walking through there had made me feel very uncomfortable, as there is a blatant disregard of human emotions at this facility. Management could have released those employees affected by offering voluntary time off, so that they did not need to use their own time. But nope, that did not happen”

The day shift workers claim that they were not notified about the situation until they arrived at the warehouse, where the body of the deceased had been there for some time with emergency responders awaiting the arrival of the coroner. Adding to the feeling of indifference towards the tragedy, Amazon declined to offer any comment regarding the incident citing HIPAA laws and privacy concerns for the family of the deceased.

Lack of Transparency and Respect

The working environment also lacked any form of communication from management that could have provided workers with an understanding of what had happened. Such ignorance of the emotions of the workers has generated a sense of resentment and distrust for Amazon.

Subsequently, with no explanation about the disturbances that had occurred outside the warehouse, the day shift workers came in to start their shift as usual, with police and firetrucks crowding the doors. It was not until they heard of the tragedy from their colleagues that they grasped the gravity of the situation.

“Instantly I was pissed that we’re all business as usual and there’s a human being lying dead in the outbound area and I have to hear about it in the break room,” said an anonymous worker. “Why is it that we are still working as usual when someone is dead downstairs? I was angry that they think that our lives don’t matter, that they’re going to sweep me out of the way to get a package out.”

The lack of transparency and compassion was further highlighted when Amazon made available a ‘flyer’ informing workers on how to seek mental health counseling a week after the incident had taken place.

Disturbing Precedents

Unfortunately, this was not the first time that a worker had passed away at an Amazon warehouse. In the summer of 2022, three workers died in New Jersey and one in Pennsylvania, uncovering the harsh realities of working in Amazon warehouses.

The employee who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retribution says that it is about time that Amazon created protocols for such tragedies.

“It’s not the first death at an Amazon facility. Amazon is a huge corporation. There should be protocols. It doesn’t matter if this is the first death or the 10th death. There should be protocols on how you handle that. Maybe while the investigation is going on, you don’t let the day shift in, you postpone it until at least until the body’s gone.”

Added to this, another worker described how they had to take personal time off in order to maintain respect and decency towards the deceased.

“I refused to work due to circumstances and out of respect for the gentleman that had passed,” amzn.to/2Lb7Hv4 said in a statement. “It wasn’t handled fairly at all.”

Reckoning

The death of Rick Jacobs is yet another reminder of the shortcomings of a corporate giant that, despite their immense wealth, cannot and will not deliver justice to those they employ. The constant stream of worker deaths, the lack of response and protocol, and the seemingly careless attitude that Amazon displays towards the bereaved families are all symptoms of the same ailment: the lack of respect for human life, and the value and dignity that comes with it.