Lawmakers demand answers from Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy over the deaths of six Amazon workers in warehouse collapse

• 23 US lawmakers sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and chair Jeff Bezos Monday.
• The letter addressed the collapse of an Amazon warehouse after it was hit by a tornado last week, killing six workers.

A group of 23 US lawmakers sent a scorching letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Founder Jeff Bezos on Monday demanding answers about the collapse of an Amazon warehouse after it was hit by a tornado last week, killing six workers.

Signatories on the letter included Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.

"We are writing to express our grave concern regarding Amazon's anti-worker policies that prioritize profits over worker safety, and appear to have contributed to the tragic deaths of six workers at your Edwardsville, Illinois, warehouse on December 10, 2021," the lawmakers wrote.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration opened an investigation into the collapse of the facility's roof on December 13.

In their letter, the Democratic lawmakers expressed concerns over various news reports linked to the Edwardsville warehouse, including one report that a driver was instructed to keep driving through the high winds or else face termination. Amazon had said in reponse to the report that the dispatcher — the third-party company through which it contracted the driver — should not have instructed her to keep driving.

The lawmakers did not accept this as an excuse. "This incident calls into question Amazon's reliance on contractors and its formal and informal policies that pressure continuous work, no matter the cost," they wrote.

The letter also said the building's collapse raises questions about whether it was built to code, and cited reports from Amazon workers across the US expressing worries about a lack of safety drills.

As well as focusing on the collapse at Edwardsville, the lawmakers said Amazon's overarching working conditions were cause for concern.

"These reports of Amazon's workplace safety failures at the Edwardsville facility are disturbing when considered alone," the lawmakers wrote. "But they fit all too well with an ongoing, company-wide pattern of worker mistreatment, including neglecting worker safety, shortchanging workers on proper pay and benefits, and employing union-busting tactics towards workers when they have tried to organize for better working conditions."

The letter concludes with a list of 26 questions specifically about the Edwardsville warehouse, including what internal communication took place ahead of and during the storm, what the warehouse's safety policies are, and whether workers are allowed to have their phones on them.

The lawmakers asked Amazon to provide answers by January 3.

An Amazon spokesperson told Insider: "We're reviewing the letter and will respond directly, but right now our focus remains on taking care of our employees and partners, the family members of those killed by the tornado, and the communities affected by this tragedy."

In a statement last week, Amazon described the collapse as "a devastating tragedy for our Amazon family."