It’s a familiar feeling this time of year. The last-minute gift panic. Whether it’s the work gift swap you forgot about or an unexpected gift from an acquaintance… in times like these, it seems more and more people are turning toward the online retail giant Amazon for their holiday needs.

With its promise of fast and so-called free shipping, and its giant selection, it can be a godsend for the consumer.

But what’s behind those low prices and quick delivery?

A record of injuries, traffic and parking violations and in a few cases, death.

In response to recent reporting by Reveal and The Atlantic, Amazon said, in part, “injury rates are high because it's aggressive about recording worker injuries and cautious about allowing injured workers to return to work before they're ready.”

With Amazon raising the bar on delivery speeds for companies around the country, we dig into working conditions for drivers and warehouse workers behind the world’s largest online retailer.

Produced by Arfie Ghedi and Stacia Brown.

GUESTS

Ken Bensinger, Investigative reporter, Buzzfeed; @kenbensinger

Melissa Lewis, Data reporter for Reveal; @iff_or

Hafsa Hassan, Amazon fulfillment center employee and workers’ rights advocate

For more, visit https://the1a.org.

© 2019 WAMU 88.5 – American University Radio.

Copyright 2019 WAMU 88.5. To see more, visit WAMU 88.5.

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