“I lost my twin babies due to lifting heavy items as a stower at Amazon,” is the tragic testimony of Marissa, a former Amazon worker in Ohio. Marissa is one of over 400 warehouse workers to speak out against discriminatory and life-threatening conditions they faced while pregnant. The workers, including many African Americans, were denied accommodations such as being allowed a chair, bathroom breaks, alternative schedules for medical visits, and modified weight-lifting limits. Some, after requesting adjustments, faced retaliation with forced unpaid leave or layoffs, imposing additional hardship and loss of housing on pregnant or post-partum people. The devastating impacts of these sweatshop practices range from serious health issues to premature labor and miscarriages.
The Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibit pregnancy discrimination. And the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers across the nation to provide accommodations. Even still, Amazon continues to put women’s health and lives at risk.
Fed up and fired up
Injured Amazon workers came together in Warehouse Life, a project of Jobs with Justice. In mid-2025, they formed the Pregnancy Justice Committee, and began collecting stories from current and former Amazon workers. They went public to demand a strong, new pregnancy accommodation policy.
In mid-October, Warehouse Life picketed Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, a renowned maternity facility. Workers and campaign organizers demanded the removal of hospital board member Edith Cooper, who also chairs the committee that oversees Amazon warehouse working conditions. The group initiated a letter campaign to demand Cooper stop covering up for Amazon’s treatment of expectant workers
Join the effort at #ExposeAmazon
Pregnancy Justice leader Olivia Bradley, speaking at a meeting of the National Mobilization for Reproductive Justice, urged labor and reproductive rights activists to get involved. Add your name to the Workplace Life letter at exposeamazon.org/pregnancy. The page also has a link for organizations to sign on. Spread the word by sharing Warehouse Life social media posts and supporting local organizing efforts by Amazon workers. Unionists can mobilize for actions and pass resolutions condemning Amazon’s sweatshop conditions.
No one should have to choose between a job and their pregnancy.
