Amazon’s warehouse worker quotas targeted in new California law

One of the fastest growing employers in the City of San Bernardino is being targeted for harassment by the State of California. Claiming Amazon has a higher injury rate than other similar warehouse operators and then drawing a non-existent nexus to Amazon’s policies, has led California’s state senate to pass a law that seeks to clamp down on the use of productivity quotas.  These quotas are minimum standards that workers must meet to remain in good standing in their employment.   Repeated failure to meet the standards can lead to termination.  The law applies to all of the similar operations but it is common knowledge the main target is Amazon.

Amazon because of its massive workforce and the potential windfall for labor organizations if they could force the workers to unionize has been a key target for the left.  Amazon’s workers have resisted being organized and several high-profile efforts at unionization by the left have failed spectacularly.

The law mandates that all warehouse operators that use quotas must provide detailed descriptions of any targets that workers are expected to meet and the consequences for not meeting them. This information must be provided to employees and government agencies upon demand.

The bill was passed by the Senate on Wednesday along party lines. Pending final approval this week by the assembly, which is expected to be a formality, it will then be sent to Governor Newsom for his signature.

The bill was fiercely opposed by dozens of trade groups. A “No on AB 701” coalition had garnered 50 members, organizers said, from industries including manufacturing, agriculture and car parts.

Economist Jay Prag who will keynote a logistics event in the area in November said, “It is unclear how this law will benefit anyone who is currently employed in one of these jobs or raise employment, in particular the region – this will simply drive companies to replace humans faster with robotics or move out of state as many businesses have already done.”