Rep. Norcross Reacts to Tragic Death of New Jersey Amazon Warehouse Worker

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) released the below statement following reports of the death of an unidentified warehouse worker at Amazon’s EWR9 facility in Carteret, New Jersey, during the Prime Day rush.

“This is exactly what I warned could happen last month, and now our worst nightmares have come true. I am heartbroken to learn of the death of a New Jersey warehouse worker at Amazon’s EWR9 facility. There is absolutely no excuse for a tragedy like this. Amazon is a multi-billion-dollar company with state-of-the-art facilities. They brag about being ‘Earth’s Safets Place to Work.’ So, why did this happen? I have been ringing the alarm on this issue for months because I take workplace safety seriously. People should feel confident that when they go to work they’ll  be safe and come home the way they went in. Amazon is failing to fulfill that basic promise. I renew my call for OSHA to investigate Amazon fully and am now calling on the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General to turn its attention to warehouse workers in Amazon’s New Jersey facilities. Lives depend on it.”

This preventable death follows reports of skyrocketing injury rates at Amazon’s facilities in New Jersey and nationwide.

Timeline of Congressman Norcross’s Advocacy on Behalf of Amazon warehouse workers

• April 2022: He called for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to investigate the serious injury rates at Amazon’s warehouses, which far exceed the industrial average.
• May 2022: He questioned the Assistant Secretary of Labor at a Workforce Protections Subcommittee hearing over the agency’s approach to investigations due to workplace injuries and alluded to Amazon worth of investigation.
• May 2022: He led members of the New Jersey congressional delegation in a letter to the Department of Labor, asking OSHA to investigate Amazon warehouse injury rates.
• June 2022: He held a press conference in front of an Amazon facility in Logan Township, New Jersey, with labor advocates and former Amazon workers who had been injured on the job, demanding the company do right on behalf of its workers and improve workplace safety.

Congressman Norcross is a lifelong union member and labor leader who sits on the House Education and Labor Committee’s Workforce Protections Subcommittee, serves as Vice Chair for Labor for the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and co-founded the Labor Caucus – all with an eye toward improving wages, benefits, and conditions for workers.