John Oliver targets Amazon in coronavirus segment on workers' rights

The topic at hand for John Oliver this weekend was workers' rights, and the catalyst was Amazon.

On HBO's Last Week Tonight, which aired Sunday, Oliver continued his show's comedically tinged coronavirus coverage by highlighting the story of Chris Smalls, a now-former Amazon employee at a Staten Island facility who organized a walk-out over poor working conditions and was subsequently fired. Though Oliver considers this story to be particularly "racist" in how it unfolded, he noted that it's not just about Amazon. "Many companies have chosen not to offer paid sick leave," the host said.

Amazon stated the company would provide masks and hand sanitizer in order to keep their essential workers safe during the coronavirus pandemic. Numerous workers in New York, however, went on strike to demand more protective gear, hazard pay, and that their Staten Island facility be closed down for cleaning after reports emerged of multiple employees contracting COVID-19. Smalls, one of the more outspoken workers, was a casualty of these efforts.

A statement from an Amazon spokesperson to EW reads, "We did not terminate Mr. Smalls employment for organizing a 15-person protest. We terminated his employment for putting the health and safety of others at risk and violations of his terms of his employment. Mr. Smalls received multiple warnings for violating social distancing guidelines. He was also found to have had close contact with a diagnosed associate with a confirmed case of COVID-19 and was asked to remain home with pay for 14-days, which is a measure we’re taking at sites around the world. Despite that instruction to stay home with pay, he came onsite further putting the teams at risk."

"According to Amazon, he was let go for ‘putting the health and safety of others at risk’ by ‘violating social distancing guidelines’ and ‘orders of quarantine,'" Oliver said on Last Week Tonight. "But leaked notes [as reported by Vice News] from an internal meeting days later, in which [Amazon CEO Jeff] Bezos himself was present, showed the company’s leadership discussing plans to make Smalls the ‘face of the entire union/organizing movement’ since ‘he’s not smart or articulate.'"

"Which, holy s---!" Oliver exclaimed. "That is so racist I can’t even point out how smart and articulate Smalls is without also sounding racist."

The host added that Amazon has "now made their sick leave policy more lenient for their heroes," but "that only gave after they got letters from 14 state attorneys general saying their initial policy was 'inadequate to protect the public health.'"

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For the latest information on coronavirus (COVID-19), including how to protect yourself and what to do if you think you are sick, please visit coronavirus.gov.

Correction: An earlier version of this article suggested Chris Smalls was fired because he organized a strike against Amazon. The story has since been updated with a statement from an Amazon spokesperson, who says Smalls was fired for "putting the health and safety of others at risk" in "violating social distancing guidelines."

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