
In December, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) settled 10 hazardous workplace cases alleging unsafe working conditions in Amazon warehouses. While Amazon touts the $145,000 settlement as proof of the company’s progress toward reducing its ghastly workplace safety record, OSHA made clear the settlement — which requires Amazon to take steps to mitigate ergonomic risks — does not impact an ongoing investigation into allegations the company intentionally under-reports injuries in its facilities.
It’s bad enough Amazon exposes its employees to harmful working conditions and pays them poorly – what makes it worse is that communities reward the retail giant with taxpayer subsidies. Let’s look at what’s been happening in the Chicago metropolitan area.
There, Amazon received more than $740 million in combined state and local subsidies between 2015 and 2020, including more than $112 million from the Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) Tax Credit program, a state subsidy meant to attract and retain jobs in Illinois. At the same time, the city of Aurora approved $400,000 in property tax breaks for Amazon to build two warehouses promising 1,300 new jobs and a $40 million annual payroll (by the way, it was only after approval that the public learned Amazon was behind these projects, which had been advanced under code names).
A recent filing shows that the jobs available at Amazon warehouses pay poverty wages – Amazon Aurora’s Tier 1 Associates, the most common classification in warehouses, made $26,500 on average in 2022, less than the federal poverty rate for a family of four.
Worker Injuries at Aurora’s Largest Amazon Warehouse Topped 12.5% in 2021

Meanwhile, Amazon workers in Aurora’s two warehouses are suffering hundreds of preventable injuries, according to newly released OSHA data. There were 81 individual reports of injury in 2023 at just one warehouse. With an average of 824 workers that year, the rate of injury topped out at nearly 10%. In 2021, the number of injuries was 109 – meaning over 12.5% of workers were hurt on the job. In total, 502 injury reports were made at this one facility between 2018 and 2023.
Aurora’s other Amazon warehouse, which employs a much smaller staff handling large, heavy items, has an even higher rate of injuries. In 2023, the facility reported an average of 183 workers and saw 30 individual injuries – an injury rate of over 16%.
Across all Amazon facilities, a recent Senate probe found that workers were 30% more likely to be injured than workers at non-Amazon warehouses, revealing that Amazon’s lackadaisical approach to safety puts workers at unnecessary risk.
Communities can demand better deals when Amazon comes knocking. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, for example, city council members refused to give Amazon a property tax break in 2021 to build a new warehouse. Amazon opened it anyway, and the council’s decision saved Fort Wayne taxpayers an estimated $7 million over 10 years.
Fort Wayne city council members’ actions show that tax revenues don’t have to pay for Amazon’s hazardous practices. When Amazon tries to strong-arm communities into giving them tax breaks, residents and officials can say no.
Our Violation Tracker database makes clear Amazon has a long track record of safety violations. Hopefully, OSHA’s investigation leads to fundamental changes at Amazon that leads to better, safer workplaces and communities stop subsidizing one of the world’s richest companies.