The Daily - The Human Toll of Instant Delivery

Episode Date: November 26, 2018

With the rise of online retailers like Amazon, consumers’ expectations about the speed of delivery have been transformed. A New York Times investigation examines the cost of that transformation. Guests: Jessica Silver-Greenberg, a business reporter for The Times; Tasha Murrell, a warehouse employee who shared her experience. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.This episode includes disturbing language.

From The New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily News. Today. With the rise of online retailers like Amazon, consumers' expectations around the speed of delivery have been transformed. A Times investigation examines the cost of that transformation. It's Monday, November 26th.

October the 17th, 2017 was a horrible day for me. Come to work, started working and everything. And all of a sudden I started seeing co-workers running, screaming, crying. I rushed to one of my co-workers. I'm like, what's wrong? What's going on? And they were like, Ms. Linda just fell over there in big box. Ms. Linda just fell. They told me that Ms. Linda was talking to the supervisor, telling him that she wasn't feeling well that day and she needed to go home. The supervisor stated to her, you can go home with

a point, but I'm not going to authorize for you to go home. And two to three minutes later, Miss Linda fell. As she fell, she hit her head on the rail. When she hit her head on a rail, she collapsed. She was just laying there on the floor. And the other co-workers got down on their knees and wanted to give her CPR, the supervisor instructed them, no one better not touch her. Leave her alone. Let her be. Do not touch her. And they did not touch her, and she died on their floor. And the supervisor confirmed, yes, she's dead. And they were asking, is she still over there?

She was like, yeah, she's still over there on the floor, but people die. Oh, well, people die, but we still got to get this work out. The customer still wants their phones. We had to continue as normal, and Ms linda was still on that floor deceased our employees are the most important people in our business everybody else exists to make them as effective as they can be from our pit operators to our material handlers to our team leads, they all play an important role in the success of XPO. XPO is one of the biggest companies that most people have never heard of. Jessica Silver-Greenberg is a business reporter at The Times.

Silver Greenberg is a business reporter at The Times. They work behind the scenes with huge retailers like Nike, Disney, and Verizon to help those retailers get packages and orders that have been placed online to customer stores as quickly as possible. So XPO handles the messy business of shipping, packaging, and trucking. At every step in the life of an internet order, XPO is there. And how big is XPO? XPO is a very large company. XPO Logistics, one of the largest freight transportation and logistic providers in the United States. It is a $12 billion company. XPO Logistics. But this stock has been totally on fire of late. It employs about 98,000 people. Here's a company that

just started a few years ago, and now it's the fastest-growing company on the Fortune 500. It has warehouses and operations in dozens of countries. And it's all resulted in gangbusters growth. It's gotten bigger

in a very short amount of time. Why? Why has it gotten so much bigger? Who would have guessed that one of the hottest stocks of all time would be a bookstore? That's right, books. That's because we didn't predict the revolution led by 35-year-old Jeff Bezos, who almost overnight has become one of the richest men in the world. Starting around the early 2000s, out of nowhere, this behemoth

that no one really understood how much this company would change things. You have the rise of Amazon. He calls his company Amazon.com, Earth's biggest bookstore. Amazon has figured out the magic of getting a product that you order to your doorstep, sometimes within hours of you clicking on it, right? So retailers have to now compete.

If they want to retain their customers, they have to be able to get that phone or that Disney toy or that box of shoes to their customers as fast as Amazon can. But the challenge for them is they have no idea how to go about doing this. They're not set up as logistics companies. They don't know how to move goods from their stores to customers' doorsteps. That's just not something they have an expertise in. So those companies need to hire a company like XPO to be more like Amazon. Exactly. And because of the rise and the dominance of Amazon and other e-retailers, the landscape and the job opportunities for people without college degrees have vastly changed.

What do you mean? Well, so if you didn't have a college degree and you were looking for a job, you used to be able to find one at a retailer. That was a huge sector of the economy. Retailers, though, have closed a lot of their stores. You've seen it with Sears, you've seen it with Kmart, and you've seen it with Macy's. All of these iconic brands have been closing more and more of their brick and mortar stores, which means that if you don't have a college degree and you're looking for a good job, suddenly that whole avenue of the economy has been closed off to you. What it's been replaced with are warehouse jobs. So for someone like Tasha Morrell, a warehouse job is the best job in town.

That's the only thing that's really hiring. Warehouse is logistics. You know, if you really needed to pay your bills or you really need to take care of your family, you have no other option. It's the game in town. Yeah. Tasha Morrell was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. I'm 43 years old. She has two sons.

By the name of Darian Desirius. And a husband. My husband is Darren. One of her first jobs was at a grocery store. Yeah, supermarket, Kroger. I worked there a couple of years. Yeah, supermarket, Kroger. I worked there a couple of years. When she wanted more stability and better pay, Tasha decided to take a job at the Verizon warehouse in Memphis.

I had to do what I had to do because I had a family and I needed to take care of my responsibilities. For many of the women who work at XPO, the day starts by driving into the warehouse in Memphis, which is a pretty nondescript building, beige, windowless. You get screened by the security there. Enter the building and go through a metal detector. On a day-to-day basis, you will go in the restroom, you will see bras and panties in the trash because they can't pass the metal detector. Her bra often sets off the metal detector, which means she has to take it off. Once you pass security without a bra, instantly as you're walking through the warehouse, the men there already see that you have no bra on. You know, you might be big busted or whatever.

So you instantly start getting harassed as you come in through the warehouse. You will have a supervisor directing you to do something, but they're looking at your breasts instead of looking you in your face. They go to a break room where they drop off all their things, including their cell phones, which they're not allowed to have on the floor with them. And you go on and do your job and you work extremely hot. The temperatures inside the warehouse can rise above 100 degrees. I mean, if it's like 103 outside or 102 outside, it's like 120 inside their building. 130. It's like extremely, extremely hot. And then most of them spend their day working along a conveyor belt.

We have different departments. We have order prep that prints out the order and it shows you everything that the order needs. So then it goes directly to the picking department. The picker grabs the products. iPhones, Samsung, Galaxy. Google Pixel. And puts them on the conveyor belt. The people down that conveyor belt line, many of whom are working in the big box or the bulk package area, what they do is they're handling the biggest orders. And we will have to lift the boxes off the conveyor belt, take everything out the box, count everything, scan everything, you know, put the label on the box, lift the box back up and put it back on the conveyor belt. Sending them further down the line. We're just moving like ants. I was working 14, 15 hours a day.

You're doing that for 14 hours a day? All day. All day. How many products do you think you're handling in a day like that? Oh, my God. Over thousands and thousands of pieces. Are you meeting some kind of quota, some sort of number? They never tell us really what the quota is. They just tell us to, you know, get to work.

And once we make the quota, they're like, wow, they did this? So it's more the next day. It's more. It's more. It's more. The target keeps changing. Oh, yes. Kind of like a treadmill that just keeps speeding up.

Oh, yes. The more you do, the more they want. If you show them you can do more. They'll ask you to speeding up. Oh, yes. The more you do, the more they want. If you show them you can do more. They'll ask you to do more. Oh, yeah. Well, they tell you to do more because we never know what time we're getting off work. We'd be like kids in there raising our hands like, excuse me, you know what time? It's like 930, you know, 10 o'clock. It's like 11 o'clock. Do you know what time I'm getting off? No, no. Supervisor, floor supervisor. You would literally raise your hand up in the air? Yes. Like you just did? Yes. What happens if you just

you don't feel good? You want to go home and see your son. They point you. You know, we was on a point system. They dock you? Yes. Nine points, you're automatically fired. And if you're docked a point, it sits with you. It's like a parking ticket. Oh, yes. For a year.

I call it modern day slavery with a little pay. That's what I call it. Because literally, they stand over you. They want you. They holler at you. Get the workout. Get the workout. Now, now. If it's too hot in there, that prolongs the day. You know, if you're hot, you're exhausted, you're dehydrated, you can't push out as much work. So they still punish you. If you're not working as fast as they want you to work, then you still will be in there aisle night. So Tasha was already feeling the strain of the work. It was keeping her away from her two boys. She felt like she needed

to be home a lot more and she had very little control over her schedule. But then in 2014, something really tragic happened to her. I found out that I was pregnant in February. I immediately went to the doctor, and my doctor was like, my client should not lift over five pounds. And what kind of work were you doing after this no heavy lifting recommendation? Okay. Did you switch to a much different role that would mean no meaningful lifting?

No, sir. They didn't honor my doctor's note. You know, and I mean, I'm here at work. I need the monies. So I'm not going to go home. So I did what she told me to do. Your supervisor. Yeah.

And it's a normal day or whatever. I was there 12 hours. And it was going into like the 13th hour. I'm like, I don't feel well. I'm sick. I need to go home. My stomach is hurting. She was like, I don't feel well. I'm sick. I need to go home. My stomach is hurting. She was like, what's wrong?

What's going on? I was like, I'm pregnant. She was like, what is this fucking, excuse me, pregnancy? You don't need any more fucking kids. Go fucking have an abortion. You don't need a fucking no more children. Those were her exact words? Those was her exact words.

Told me to have a fucking abortion. After she told me that, I went on with home. I was like, I'm going into the 13 hour and I couldn't do it. I barely made it to the car. I was like, okay, Tasha, gather myself together. I was like, well, maybe I need to go home, eat, take a hot bath, and maybe just lay down. Maybe I feel better. And that's exactly what I did. But, you know, I started hurting even worse. And I went on, went to sleep. But once I woke up that

morning, I just pulled a cover to use the restroom. Blood was like drenched in my mattress and my gown was like drenched with blood. And what was happening? I was miscarrying. And I'm so sorry. My husband got on up. He's distraught. And he took me on to the ER. And I went to the ER and the doctor examined me.

And they were like, well, Ms. Bohannon, there's nothing we can do. You know, you're already miscarrying and you just got to let it take its course. And that's what I did. How far along were you in the pregnancy at that point? I was like three months. Because I miscarried in May. Yeah. How quickly did you go back to work?

My doctor took me off maybe like a week after. And I went back to work me and my co-worker it was like five of us on the same shift we were all pregnant together yeah we were like what the it's going on It's stuff in the water. Because it was like five of us was like pregnant. And it was like a trick or down effect. January, co-worker lost her baby. February, co-worker lost her baby. I lost my baby. Another co-worker lost. It was like right after. Wait. Several of your co-workers, you all got pregnant around the same time. And how many of you miscarried? Five. And not even months apart. Yeah. Some of the women who lost their pregnancies were in their second trimester,

so they were more than 20 weeks along. And do you think that that was a coincidence? I don't think so, no. I think that there was a pattern there. And the women would say there was a pattern of them being routinely pushed past their limits, of having their doctor's notes ignored, denied even the slightest reprieve from heavy lifting, of being forced to hoist against their doctor's orders boxes that could weigh up to 45 pounds, of them working in conditions where the heat was unbearable and there were very few breaks. So no, I don't think it was a coincidence. I really feel like it was the workload.

I really feel like it was the heavy lifting. Mm-hmm. I really felt like it was the workload. I really felt like it was the heavy lifting. And the over-extensive hours. I really do think that it played a part in us losing our babies. Did the management of the warehouse and the company understand that you and several of your coworkers-workers had had miscarriages? Um, they knew.

They didn't care. And about three years later, on an October morning in 2017, Linda Neal came to work. She had been complaining to her colleagues and had been asking her supervisors for a break from heavy lifting because she had not been feeling well. She'd been short of breath, feeling nauseated. Around 11 a.m., she collapses on the floor and dies of a heart attack. The people next to her on the conveyor belt are shocked, and they say that they were told

by supervisors to keep packing boxes and work around this woman's dead body. packing boxes and work around this woman's dead body. This was the last straw for Tasha. This was the thing that she just couldn't accept. I just, I said, I got to tell somebody. I just couldn't, I was like, you know, somebody got to listen to me. And I was like, you know, somebody got to listen to me. And I was like, we need a union in this building.

Tasha makes an outbound call to the Teamsters. The Teamsters popped up. The Teamsters are a union that Tasha had heard was trying to unionize some of XPO's truck drivers in different parts of the country. So Tasha calls them and tells them what all been going on in the warehouse and about Ms. Linda passing. And they were like, we're going to get you some help. And the Teamsters, they came to Memphis. And we told our story. So, yeah.

How did you feel after making that initial connection with the Teamsters? Did you feel like things were going to maybe change at the warehouse? I did. I really thought that the Teamsters could help not only this warehouse, all the surrounding warehouses that XPO has. I felt like we needed collective bargaining. We needed a union in there so that they wouldn't keep continuously do us the way that they do us. So. Do you still work there? Do you still work at XPO? I do not. I left at XPO this year in March. And I'm still out fighting for my co-workers and fighting for other women and other men in Memphis

so that they can know their power, so that they can know their rights. That's my fight. That's my everyday fight. It's my fight. It's my everyday fight. Jessica, how likely is it that Tasha will succeed in unionizing this XPO warehouse? Unlikely. And that's because there's a number of things going on. People are terrified of unionizing. XPO has explicitly said they have in their employee handbook all the pitfalls of unionization that they've spelled out for those workers.

I think people are kind of focused most keenly in their day-to-day, not on unionizing, but on just kind of getting through the day. And the benefits of joining a union are still very amorphous for them. So I think that it's going to be very tough to unionize that warehouse. And even if she did succeed in unionizing this warehouse where she works, how meaningful would that be in the grand scheme of XPO and in this emerging, fast-growing industry of warehousing and packaging and trucking all these products? It would be a very small victory. It's not going to change this broader macroeconomic picture, which is these are the jobs. These are the dominant jobs that are springing up across the country. They're often the only jobs, which means the warehouse operators like XPO have the

upper hand. Because if you're someone without a college degree and you are dependent on a job for your livelihood, like most people are, you're going to accept the conditions of that job, whatever they are. And you can see these pressures borne out in Tasha Morrell's own family. One of her two sons, after watching everything that his mother went through, took a summer job at another XPO warehouse in Memphis, this one handling Nike products. He was like, Ma, you strong, Ma. He's like, I'm so tired. He was like, football, you strong, Ma. He's like, I'm so tired. He was like, football. You know, he plays football.

He plays sports. And he was like, I don't be this tired after a workout. He was like, oh, Ma. He was like, Ma, I give you the utmost respect. I was like, go to school, son. Get your education. If not, this is where you're going to end up at, in one of these warehouses. If not, this is where you're going to end up in one of these warehouses.

Has Tasha's work life and those of her colleagues gotten better since all this scrutiny was brought by her, by you? Yes. I think Tasha's work and the work of the Teamsters Union has made a difference. I think just the threat of unionizing has forced XPO to improve certain elements of these jobs. So I think it has pressured XPO to raise wages. I think it has also pressured XPO to clarify for these workers just how long their shifts are going to be. And I think that it has resulted in these workers getting more breaks and more rest time. But the kind of cruel irony of all of this is that despite all that work, there is a very real chance that all of these jobs, no matter how good they are or how much better they get, will eventually be replaced by robots. Inside these warehouses? number of robots working alongside the warehouse workers like Tasha Murrow. And that proportion of robots to flesh and blood workers is going to change. And the robots, most economists think, will win out. It's especially ironic because it sounds like in a way these jobs were designed

not really for humans as they've been envisioned and practiced, but in a sense for a robot. That's right. If you want someone to work without taking any breaks, you want them to work in pretty brutal conditions, you want them to work throughout the night, a robot is a better bet than a human being. If these warehouse jobs don't improve, and if automation continues to happen at the pace it is, what job is there for people outside these warehouses? Outside these warehouses. Well, I'm not sure. I really don't see another job, really, unless you have that education to do better.

But, I mean, Memphis, that's the only thing that's there. It's a distribution center. I mean, that's all that's there. It's a distribution center. I mean, that's all that's there. It's a warehouse. So in order for us to take care of our family and our bills, then that's what we have to do. It's not really a lot of options in Memphis. So, you know, yeah. Tasha, I really want to thank you for coming here and chatting with us. We really, really appreciate it.

Thank you for listening. Thank you so much. In response to the Times reporting on XPO logistics, members of both the House and Senate have demanded information about working conditions in its warehouses. XPO told the Times that some of the problems in the Memphis warehouse existed before it purchased the company that operated it in 2014. Times reporting shows that the problems continued after the acquisition. Following the congressional inquiries, XPO says it has enacted a new policy that provides accommodations like more frequent breaks and time off for pregnant workers.

We'll be right back. Here's what else you need to know today. The Trump administration is in talks with the Mexican government to allow migrants applying for asylum in the U.S. to remain in Mexico while they await a decision. Such an arrangement would reverse the current policy, which allows asylum seekers to stay in the U.S. until their petition is resolved, a system President Trump has derided as catch and release. The situation has become more urgent in recent weeks, as the number of migrants has surged at border crossings, with many of them arriving in caravan-style groups of a few thousand people. people. On Sunday afternoon, members of one such caravan raced

toward a border crossing near San Diego, prompting U.S. agents to fire tear gas and temporarily shut down the border crossing. That's it for The Daily. I'm Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.