A former Amazon employee is trying to manage his lupus nephritis without insurance. He doesn't miss his long shifts.

• Jordan Flowers was terminated while pushing for accommodations from his employer, Amazon.
• Flowers lives with lupus nephritis, a type of lupus affecting his kidneys.

As a cofounder of the Amazon Labor Union and its active predecessor, the Congress of Essential Workers, Jordan Flowers has been fighting for workers' rights at the retail giant. At the same time, Flowers, 24, is trying to control his body as it attacks itself — he has lupus nephritis. He was diagnosed with lupus when he was 12 years old.

Lupus is an autoimmune disorder, and lupus nephritis, specifically, "is a type of kidney disease caused by systemic lupus," the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases says on its website.

On a day-to-day basis, Flowers experiences fatigue, joint pain, and headaches. A normal week for Flowers includes organizing outside, taking calls in the union's office, filing complaints for Amazon workers, and even teaching some classes on organizing tactics.

"I do get a lot of pains being on my feet, but at the same time — organizing, it's what I do," he told Insider.

Still, the physical aspects of organizing are easier on his health than when he worked at Amazon.

Flowers was terminated from the company on September 27. Amazon characterized his departure as voluntary, which Flowers disputes. In a statement, Eileen Hards, an Amazon spokesperson, said Flowers was "terminated" because he "failed to show up to work and did not provide the required documentation for his absence," a "type of situation is considered a voluntary resignation."

While some parts of organizing are challenging for Flowers, as someone who is chronically ill, he does not miss some aspects of his 10- to 12-hour shifts at Amazon, where he would be on his feet most of the time.

"We make a joke about it that we walk like penguins because that's how your feet hurt," Flowers said.

Flowers wants more people like him to be open about their health conditions

People with disabilities and chronic illnesses have been a part of workers' rights causes throughout history.

Flowers finds it essential for people like him to be open about their health conditions and struggles, and workers with disabilities and chronic illnesses may need to win certain measures from their employers that workers without disabilities don't, such as comprehensive healthcare benefits and workplace accommodations. Flowers said he was fired as he was pushing for workplace accommodations, which he said he did not receive.

"People think that because we're ill, we're not going to fight back," Flowers said. "We need to be accommodated, and not even just better wages but better health benefits, too."

Flowers recognizes that it can be scary for people relying on a company's health insurance to stand up to it and demand better.

He used to see a doctor once a month to help manage his lupus. But Flowers has not seen a doctor since August, as his insurance was terminated a few days before his then upcoming doctor's appointment in September. Having regular medical care is important for Flowers, who needs a kidney transplant.

"I'm not even making an income, nor do I have insurance to help me to duck some of that," Flowers said, adding that he did not have the money to pay for kidney-transplant surgery if he were matched right now.

Flowers is spending his time helping organize for current Amazon workers, including a recent victory where a judge ruled Amazon engaged in anti-union tactics.

The work of the Amazon Labor Union and workers' health have been intertwined since the union's founding. In March 2020, Chris Smalls, a cofounder of the Amazon Labor Union and Flowers' former coworker at Amazon, led a strike at a Staten Island, New York, facility over what he said was a lack of COVID-19 safety precautions. This led to Smalls being fired. But the COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for people with chronic illnesses to speak more about the challenges they face with their health.

"People with medical issues need to really be speaking up, especially during COVID," Flowers, who was recently sick for about a week after he got a cold, said.

Still, Flowers is doing what he can to take care of his lupus and associated symptoms, which have recently included some issues with his eyesight. He's taking a long list of medications, including hydroxychloroquine, lisinopril, nifedipine, labetalol, and sodium bicarbonate.

"It's a balance of also drinking water every day and not too much sugar intake to keep the kidneys flushed and clean," he said.

The Amazon Labor Union has demanded that Flowers be reinstated by his former employer. In the meantime, he's doing what he can to support current Amazon employees — and trying to take steps to manage his health.