Amazon Is Forcing Its Warehouse Workers Into Brutal ‘Megacycle’ Shifts

If your employer came to you and said: ‘you need to start working a 10 and a half hour graveyard shift or you will lose your job. What would you do? I’d walk away, but hey, that’s just me. However, hundreds of Amazon warehouse workers faced this very question on January 25 and are being told to take what are called megacycle shifts or lose their jobs.

Take the ‘megacycle shift’ or lose your job

Amazon’s management told their employees in a warehouse called DCH1 that the entire warehouse is shutting down. Consequently, the workers were offered shifts at a new Chicago warehouse. However, they will need to work a ‘megacycle’ shift, running from 1:20 to 11:50 am [1]. 

In other words, 10-and-a-half-hours starting in the middle of the night all the way until mid-day. And you thought working extra hours at your job sucked. Imagine this! 

No Warning 

Not only did Amazon give these workers the ultimate ultimatum, but they also gave the workers at this Amazon facility absolutely no warning that this change was in the works.

“Amazons shutting DCH1 down and transferring us to facilities with the shift 1:20 am-11:50 am. These facilities are supposedly overstaffed, still, HR won’t provide accommodations to people with 2nd jobs for mothers who need to be home in the AM to care for their children/e-learning,” the warehouse Twitter page tweeted [2]. 

“Can you imagine working 1 am-noon, 4 days a week? What time will we sleep and live life?! How do we adjust during our weekends? This change will be nationwide at Delivery Stations—Amazon is setting an example for how other companies can exploit workers with this inhumane shift” [2].

DCH1 Amazonians United

This isn’t the first time workers at the DCH1 warehouse have come head-to-head with their employer. In fact, in the past year, there have been many instances where Amazon was urged to reconsider their workers’ safety during the pandemic. Some examples include:

• DCH1 Amazonians United held a walkout to protest unsafe working conditions due to the pandemic 
• Over 200 workers petitioned for paid time off.
• Workers created a petition for higher pay, air conditioning, and health insurance for their part-time workers [1].

This isn’t the only facility 

Unfortunately, what happened at this warehouse seems to be a part of Amazon’s strategy that’s been in the works for quite some time. They’ve been shifting warehouse workers across the country into this new mega shift model [1]. 

An Amazon spokeswoman has revealed that over 50 percent of its ‘last-mile’ delivery network is already in this model [1].  

“We asked for months but Amazon kept us in the dark till suddenly we have a week to mold our lives around zombie shift or we’re out of a job. All so customers have till 12 am to place their orders for immediate processing. The least they could do is offer schedule accommodations,” states the DCH1 warehouse Twitter page [2].

An age-old model 

Amazon’s scheme to consolidate multiple shifts into one graveyard shift is shocking, but it isn’t new. 

In fact, this is an old tactic that employers have used when they want to cut back on labor costs.

Fewer employees who work longer shifts equals paying less people and less benefits [1]. 

Fighting back against Megacycle Shifts

Regardless of this announcement, the DCH1 warehouse workers won’t switch without a fight. The group created a petition that demands an extra 2 dollars an hour for each worker. After all, there can be additional implications with working in the middle of the night—for example, childcare or getting home safely [1]. 

“We asked Amazon during a meeting, will you be providing accommodations for moms? Will you be providing basic accommodations?” a DCH1 shared  [1].  

The workers at this facility say that Amazon offered them no accommodations. For those who can’t adjust their personal schedules, this will cost them their jobs. 

Brutal warehouse conditions

Even more shocking is the conditions inside of an Amazon warehouse. 

A 2020 report found that workplace injuries are two times the US warehouse average [3].

“Workers labor at a relentless pace, with constant monitoring of their activities. This high-stress environment leads to physical and emotional ailments – but reports indicate that the company does not provide adequate support to those suffering on-the-job injuries,” National Center for Occupational Safety and Health reveals [3].

As a consequence of Amazon’s pure lack of empathy for their employees, employees across the country are starting to band together and fight back. Nonetheless, warehouse conditions, Covid-19 prevention, and surprise shift changes seem to be just the start of this conversation.

Keep Reading: Prepare for the next pandemic like a ‘war,’ says Bill Gates

References

1. “Amazon Is Forcing Its Warehouse Workers Into Brutal ‘Megacycle’ Shifts.” Vice. Lauren Kaori Gurley. February 2, 2021.
2. Twitter
3. “PACKAGING PAIN: WORKPLACE INJURIES IN AMAZON’S EMPIRE.” Nelp. Deborah Berkowitz. January 10, 2020.