Utah officials would rightly shut down any company whose labor conditions are described by its own workers as “brutal,” “unsafe” and “demoralizing.” Yet despite the horror stories of the grueling conditions inside Amazon warehouses, local officials remain willing, if not downright excited, to roll out the red carpet each and every time the company announces an expansion in Utah.
Instead of complicity, lawmakers should be asking the hard questions, such as how long will these jobs last, as the facilities are designed to be full of robots? And Attorney General Sean Reyes should strongly consider installing an oversight team to monitor conditions the state’s warehouses — especially with a new fulfillment center now coming to West Jordan.