{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.smith.senate.gov/bipartisan-momentum-builds-for-warehouse-worker-protection-act/", "Bipartisan Momentum Builds for Warehouse Worker Protection Act", "2024-09-25", "2024", "2024-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "MN", "Tina Smith", "S001203", "www.smith.senate.gov", "tinasmith", "https://www.smith.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "Washington (September 25, 2024) \u2013 U.S. Senator Tina Smith, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee, along with Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Bob Casey (D-PA), applauded the bipartisan momentum behind the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, legislation that would protect warehouse workers by prohibiting dangerous work speed quotas that lead to high rates of worker injuries. The legislation as re-introduced includes new enforcement authority for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as well as an exemption for small businesses. Senators Smith, Markey, and Casey, first introduced the Warehouse Worker Protection Act in May.\n\n\u201cThe Warehouse Worker Protection Act is about protecting the health and dignity of workers from the scourge of corporate greed at Amazon and other large companies,\u201d said Senator Markey. \u201cThis movement is strong and growing, and we will not rest until warehouse workers know when they clock in that they will return home unharmed.\u201d\n\n\u201cCorporations too often prioritize profit over their workers\u2019 safety and well-being, treating them like cogs in a machine. It has to stop. This legislation combats the warehouse industry\u2019s worst practices while ensuring corporations do right by their employees in treating them with the dignity they deserve,\u201d said Senator Hawley.\n\n\u201cThe momentum to protect workers is growing. These big companies hold a lot of power, they are literally controlling the lives of workers minute by minute with their productivity metrics and quotas,\u201d said Senator Smith. \u201cWith this bill, we are saying, enough is enough. We\u2019re putting accountability into this system and power back in the hands of workers subjected to systems that drive profits for billionaires while they wring workers dry.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have long fought to ensure that workplaces protect the health and safety of their employees. When giant corporations use intrusive surveillance technology and AI to track productivity, they can force warehouse workers to skip breaks and jeopardize their health and the health of their colleagues\u2014all to meet quotas set by algorithms,\u201d said Senator Casey. \u201cBy cracking down on dangerous surveillance technology, this legislation will help workers stand up for their own health and safety.\u201d\n\nA copy of the reintroduced legislation can be found HERE.\n\nIt is cosponsored by Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.).\n\nThe Warehouse Worker Protection Act is endorsed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the National Employment Law Project (NELP), the Athena Coalition, and Oxfam America.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:46:43Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.smith.senate.gov/bipartisan-momentum-builds-for-warehouse-worker-protection-act/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6154930926859379, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}