‘Locked out by a robot’: Amazon Fresh accused of retaliation to union drive

theguardian.com:

Las week, 26-year-old Kaylyn Richards received an automated email informing her that she was terminated from her job at an Amazon Fresh grocery retail store in Seattle.

Earlier that week, Richards had spoken with one of her managers about clerical problems she was having with the attendance time clock, as she was erroneously docked attendance points, though she noted she had never missed shifts or used paid time off if doing so. A manager reassured her the clerical errors made clocking in and out through the app would be resolved.

Later in the week, Richards continued working as usual without any problems, and even noted she discovered glass in a tray of fish after a portion of the glass window in the deli had broken. Then, the day after her last shift, on a Wednesday night, Richards realized she had been locked out of the A to Z Amazon system.

“I have not missed any of my shifts here, or I use my PTO to cover it. And to have an app, lock me out of it, and to not even receive any communication from Amazon Fresh is kind of mind-boggling,” Richards said. “To talk to a manager about accruing those points, and have him reassure me that it was already taken care of, then to proceed with my shift and then to be locked out by a robot is kind of crazy.”

Richards has argued her firing is in retaliation for her supporting union efforts at her Amazon Fresh store. Her firing has also jeopardized her housing security, as she has been living in a youth home program and needs paystubs to prove steady employment in order to be placed into an apartment.

Workers at Richards’ Amazon Fresh grocery store in Seattle with 150 employees, are currently seeking union recognition from Amazon while organizing support among co-workers to form Amazon