Amazon Bars Off-Duty Warehouse Workers from Its Buildings

The Associated Press spoke to an Amazon warehouse worker in North Carolina who wants to unionize. 'On our days off, we come to work and we engage our co-workers in the break rooms,' he said.

But now the Associated Press reports 'Amazon is barring off-duty warehouse workers from the company's facilities, a move organizers say can hamper union drives.'
Under the policy shared with workers on Amazon's internal app, employees are barred from accessing buildings or other working areas on their scheduled days off, and before or after their shifts. An Amazon spokesperson said the policy does not prohibit off-duty employees from engaging their co-workers in 'non-working areas' outside the company's buildings.

'There's nothing more important than the safety of our employees and the physical security of our buildings,' Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said....

The notice of the new policy, dated Thursday, says the off-duty rule 'will not be enforced discriminatorily' against employees seeking to unionize. But organizers say the policy itself will hinder their efforts to garner support from co-workers during campaigns.
The article notes Amazon told employees their move was instead motivated partly by a need to, in an emergency situation, know exactly which employees were still in the building.

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