According to union organizers, Amazon (AMZN stock) has terminated the employment of at least fifty warehouse workers who refused to perform their shifts after a garbage compactor caught fire at one of the company’s sites in New York.

Amazon (AMZN stock) Fire Incident

A day after the fire caused disruptions in operations at the Staten Island warehouse that voted to unionize earlier this year, the firm suspended the workers on Tuesday while continuing to pay them for their time.

As a result of the incident, which started in the late afternoon on Monday, workers on the day shift were given pay and sent home, according to Derrick Palmer, the vice president of the Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) Labor Union. But he added that the staff on the night shift who had just started their duty were advised to wait in the break room while management sorted out what was going on. These employees had just arrived at work.

Dozens of employees voiced concerns regarding workers well-being. Some people were concerned that the fire’s smoke would make the building’s air unhealthy to breathe. In the end, around one hundred workers staged a sit-down protest outside the facility’s main office, asking that they be allowed to go home and be paid for their time.

Palmer said that the individuals had communicated their unease by stating, “we do not feel comfortable, and we do not feel safe to work.”

Paul Flaningan, a spokesperson for Amazon (AMZN stock), -0.12%, said in a statement that the company had asked all employees were working the night shift to report to their shifts on Monday after the New York City Fire Department certified the building as safe. Flaningan’s comments came in the form of a prepared statement.

“While the vast majority of workers reported to their workstations, a small group refused to return to work and stayed in the building without authorization,” Flaningan said. “While most employees reported to their workstations, a small group refused to return to work.” According to the organizers, some workers had also walked out while others remained participating in the demonstration.

According to Palmer, the suspended employees were informed by email and phone that their security badges would be deactivated for the investigation’s length, which was communicated to them as a result. The suspensions will remain in force indefinitely as the business continues its investigation. There is a possibility that more workers will be suspended. An attorney for the union named Seth Goldstein stated that the workers want to bring allegations of unfair labor practices against Amazon to the National Labor Relations Board.

Amazon (AMZN stock) has submitted more than two dozen complaints to the agency to get the union’s victory in April overturned. In the meantime, warehouse employees at a different location close to Albany, New York, will be holding their union election the following week. Voting will take place next week.

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