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Amazon employees are now banned from buildings and work areas if they are not scheduled to work that day, the company announced.
The policy change comes amid a feud with unions, which have criticized the policy as potentially hindering their ability to hold union campaigns and meetings.
Under the new policy, employees are also prohibited from entering the buildings before or after their shift.
Amazon.com, Inc.’s BHM1 Fulfillment Center. seen before sunrise on March 29, 2021 in Bessemer, Alabama. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP via Getty Images) (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our employees and the physical security of our buildings,” Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said. “This building access policy applies to the interior of the building and work areas.”
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The spokesman said off-duty employees are not prohibited from meeting with colleagues in “non-work zones” away from company facilities.
Amazon said the new furlough policy “will not be applied discriminatoryly” to punish union efforts.
EASTVALE, CA – AUGUST 31: A worker sorts packages at the outbound dock at the Amazon fulfillment center in Eastvale on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda/MediaNews Group/The Press-Enterprise via Getty Images) (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda/MediaNews Group/The Press-Enterprise via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The move comes as Amazon workers at a Staten Island, New York, warehouse voted to unionize in April.
The new policy, passed Thursday, could hinder union organizers’ efforts to meet with colleagues, they said.
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The Rev. Ryan Brown, an Amazon warehouse worker in Garner, North Carolina, who is trying to get his warehouse to follow the Staten Island vote, called the new policy a “direct response” to the unions.
“On our days off, we come to work and engage our colleagues in the break rooms. It was a direct response to that, to try to stop organizing by any means necessary,” Brown said.
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Amazon explained the new policy as a safety concern.
FILE – A truck arrives at an Amazon warehouse in the Staten Island neighborhood of New York, April 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File) (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File/Associated Press)
“One part of this is knowing who is in our buildings at any given time, so we can quickly locate and account for everyone in the event of an emergency,” a statement to employees said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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