Activists protestingAmazon 's treatment ofwarehouse workers during the pandemic painted a giantmural outside CEOJeff Bezos ' home in Washington, DC.- "We're calling him and Amazon out for leaving their workers out here without the proper personal protective equipment," one of the activists told The Washington Post.
- Amazon has faced criticisms that it is neglecting worker safety during the coronavirus pandemic amid spiking demand.
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Activists gathered outside Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' $23 billion mansion in Washington DC to paint a huge street mural to protest his firm's treatment of warehouse workers.
The activists were from climate change charity Shut Down DC, and their mural read: "PROTECT AMAZON WORKERS."
Washington Post reporter Marissa Lang was on the scene, and said no movement was seen inside the house.
Lang also added that police were present to ensure the activists remained socially-distanced during their work, which they performed wearing masks, although Lang noted that they did occasionally move closer than 6 feet apart. The mural took them about an hour to complete.
"We're calling him and Amazon out for leaving their workers out here without the proper personal protective equipment," Laura Beth Pelner, the activist who designed the mural, told The Post.
"We're calling all these essential workers heroes — grocery store workers and delivery drivers and everyone working at these Amazon warehouses filling people's orders — but corporations aren't doing enough to protect them. Essential workers are not expendable."
Lang reports that two hours after the mural was completed, a worker wearing a mask hosed it away.
As demand for Amazon deliveries has surged with people staying inside, warehouse and delivery workers have found themselves on the frontline of the pandemic. Amazon has had to counterbalance spike in demand with the health and safety of its own workers. The company has announced new policies around sick pay and time off, and introduced measures like temperature checks, handing out masks, and increased cleaning.
Workers, including ones which have spoken to Business Insider, have said the company's safety measures are either missing, inadequate, or unenforceable.
In France, Amazon has shut down all its warehouses after a court ruled its worker protections were lacking.
Meanwhile, Bezos' personal net wealth has swollen thanks to the unprecedented demand for Amazon's services. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos' net worth is $143 billion, more than double the wealth of Warren Buffet or Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
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