New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that he has ordered the city’s human rights commissioner to investigate Amazon’s (NYSE:AMZN) decision to fire a warehouse worker who organized a strike at its Staten Island warehouse.
Chris Smalls, who worked at the facility, known as JFK8, organized the job action on Monday to call attention to the lack of protective measures for workers who continue to be on the job amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Smalls claims he was fired by Amazon in retaliation for his decision to organize the strike. Amazon said it dismissed Smalls after he “received multiple warnings for violating social distancing guidelines.”
"I’ve ordered the city’s commission on human rights to investigate Amazon immediately to determine if that’s true," de Blasio said at a news conference Tuesday. "If so, that would be a violation of our city’s human rights law and we would act on it immediately."
De Blasio added that the New York City Sheriff’s Office has inspected JFK8 to make sure it’s following social distancing precautions and said that it will "continue to inspect as needed."
Smalls and other employees walked out to call attention to the lack of protections for warehouse workers. The workers are also urging Amazon to close the facility after a worker tested positive for the coronavirus last week. Accounts of the strength of the job action differ; the organizers said at least 50 people joined the walkout. Amazon said only 15 people took part.
Shares in Amazon started Wednesday down $18.43, or 1%, to $1,931.29
