We Need to Talk About Amazon Prime Day
Amazon Prime Day, which took place earlier this week, offers a flurry of deals for savvy consumers. But the two weeks leading up to the event and Prime Day itself result in double the industry average of recorded injuries.

A worker pulls a cart at an Amazon same-day delivery fulfillment center on Prime Day in the Bronx borough of New York on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (Stephanie Keith / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The lure of affordable goods and convenient delivery is strong. While the worst of the affordability crisis is beginning to ease, for some, the challenge of making ends meet never abates. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness writes that more than half of the country is living on the edge, paycheck to paycheck, and “one crisis away from homelessness.” So it’s hard to blame anyone for shopping for a deal at a big-box retailer, in-store or online, like Walmart or Amazon.
While we can understand the draw to these retailers, we must also recognize and reckon with the true cost of their business model. Walmart is a wretched, exploitative corporation that underpays its workers and fights tooth and nail against unionization attempts. But Amazon makes it look like the Paris Commune.
A new Senate report finds that nearly half of Amazon’s warehouse workers are injured during the company’s Prime Day event. The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP), chaired by Senator Bernie Sanders, states, “Prime Day is also a major cause of injuries for the warehouse workers who make it possible.”