Some Amazon employees bought a paid time off after reporting a doable mattress bug in a supply van

• Some Amazon employees bought a full paid time off after they stated they discovered a mattress bug in a supply van.
• An Amazon spokesperson stated employees have been excused, however the firm discovered no proof of mattress bugs.

Some Amazon employees acquired a full paid time off on Monday after they claimed to have found a mattress bug in one of many firm’s supply vans at its largest air hub in Kentucky.

In a TikTok from organizers with Unionize Amazon Northern Kentucky KCVG that has generated over 460,000 views, an Amazon employee stated the employees “rallied collectively within the HR workplace and refused to depart till they despatched us dwelling with pay” after one of many employees discovered an insect that they have been involved was a mattress bug in a supply van. Because of this, the employees have been capable of safe vacation pay, which is time and a half, for Memorial Day, the employee stated.

It’s unclear what number of employees got the time off. Final yr, Steven Kelley, an Amazon employee on the web site, informed The Guardian that almost all employees on the air hub obtain pay beneath $20 per hour.

An Amazon spokesperson informed Insider that the corporate doesn’t have any points with bugs on the air hub and staff have been excused for the day although the corporate had not confirmed the presence of mattress bugs.

“The services and automobiles on the KCVG air hub are frequently inspected by pest management professionals as a part of our customary well being and security protocols, and claims on the contrary are incorrect,” stated Amazon spokesperson Mary Kate Paradis. “On this occasion, an worker informed us a couple of potential difficulty and we instantly took the van out of service and had it handled. Specialists have since confirmed the insect in query was not a mattress bug.”

A spokesperson for Unionize Amazon Northern Kentucky KCVG didn’t reply to a request for remark from Insider forward of publication.

Native organizers with Unionize Amazon Northern Kentucky KCVG introduced earlier this yr that they’ve begun working with the nationwide Amazon Labor Union after the group efficiently unionized a Staten Island web site final yr. The union is aiming to safe a $30 per hour beginning pay and 180 hours of paid break day every year. The group is already beginning to collect signatures from staff who wish to authorize a union vote, in line with native information.

It is not the primary time Amazon employees have reported mattress bug considerations. Final yr, the corporate closed down a warehouse in Texas on account of studies of a doable mattress bug infestation and complaints from staff who stated that they had been bitten by the bugs. On the time, all of the roughly 500 employees who have been employed on the facility continued to obtain pay whereas the achievement heart was shut down. The corporate later stated that that they had discovered “no proof of mattress bugs.”