Amazon is taking workplace surveillance to a dangerous new level. Just in time for an El Niño summer that’s projected to be one of the hottest on record, Amazon’s fleet of electric delivery vans got a software update that tracks times when drivers are out of their seats for 30 seconds, and turns off the air conditioning to save battery life.
Here’s what workers are saying about the van update:
Amazon drivers are reporting that after a new update to Amazon’s custom EDVs (electronic delivery vehicles), the van’s air conditioning system now automatically turns off if the driver exits the vehicle and the van door is open for just 30 seconds or more. The vans are designed by Rivian, the EV company whose largest owner is… Amazon.
Amazon is framing this as an energy saving measure, but due to the practical reality of Amazon delivery work, drivers are constantly in and out of their vans–leading AC to turn off and making those vans dangerously hot.
With this update, instead of finding some relief from the heat, drivers are now at higher risk of excessive heat exposure and its health effects, which include dehydration, kidney problems, and heatstroke.
Amazon’s VP of Transportation made a career out of pushing premature software updates. The Wall Street Journal reported that early in her career she made a “software code change for Amazon’s order-confirmation page that caused it to appear blank for customers for over an hour. Later on, she made a change to the database of the Kindle e-reader that prevented users from signing in or downloading anything.”
The good news is, she reversed those disastrous updates. It’s time to reverse this one too.
In Solidarity,
The Labor Force
Sources:
https://www.wsj.com/tech/beryl-tomay-amazon-last-mile-2dba483b?eafs_enabled=false