Bipartisan Teamsters-Backed Legislation Gains Momentum in Congress

(WASHINGTON) – The Teamsters commend Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Bob Casey (D-PA) for reintroducing the Warehouse Worker Protection Act in the U.S. Senate. This crucial legislation aims to hold corporations like Amazon accountable for unsafe working conditions and abusive production quotas.

First introduced in the Senate in May, this reintroduction includes Senator Hawley as a new cosponsor, highlighting growing bipartisan support for the bill.

“Warehouse workers, particularly those at Amazon, have been subjected to grueling production quotas, resulting in some of the highest injury rates in the industry, all while struggling with low pay,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “Thankfully, putting a stop to these exploitative practices has begun to gain bipartisan momentum in both chambers of Congress. We are grateful to lawmakers from both sides of the aisle for their leadership in supporting this critical piece of legislation. It’s time to pass the Warehouse Worker Protection Act and ensure workers’ safety comes before corporate greed.”

The bill has also garnered bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, where it was introduced in June by Representatives Haley Stevens (D-MI), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Chris Smith (R-NJ), and Mike Lawler (R-NY).

This federal legislation follows years of action by the Teamsters to advance the Warehouse Worker Protection Act in state legislatures. It is now law in California, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Minnesota, and has been introduced in more than a dozen states.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters. 

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