Frontline and essential workers’ concerns over safety and working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic have been steadily boiling over into organized protests across the country.
At Amazon’s Fulfillment Center in Shakopee—referred to by the company as MSP1—workers staged a walkout on April 26 following the firing of Faiza Osman, the third employee termination in as many weeks.
“We have been asking for weeks for meaningful paid leave and a clear plan for how Amazon would keep us safe if a positive case was found in our facility,” said Hafsa Hassan, a worker at MSP1 and one of the leaders of the walkout.
On the heels of the Shakopee Amazon protest, Caribou Coffee workers staged a Monday morning rally on April 27 of around 50 people in their cars at a Roseville Caribou Coffee, effectively blocking the drive-through and shutting down business for about an hour.
He explained that while Pilgrim’s Pride was checking employee temperatures at the plant, workers conveyed to him that management continued to let people return to work who had high temperatures and COVID-19 symptoms, and even threatening penalties if they did not return.
