Many corporations are evil. But Amazon may be the most dangerous as they consistently and have always put their employees at risk of injury or death.
Watch this 2025 video to understand why:
If you scroll down in this content you’ll see that I criticized Amazon for having ambulances stand by rather than fixing the issues.
Embarrassed by the attention on ambulances, they made safety worse by telling their employees not to call 911! (This is mentioned in the video above.)
What will it take for people to stop supporting a company putting profits above human life?
How Close is Amazon to Doctor Who’s Kerblam? (Nov 24, 2018)
WHY SO MANY BOYCOTT AMAZON CALLS?
There are increasing calls to boycott Amazon, but I had no idea just how many different issues are involved and how serious they are until I started researching this post.
Just like Wal-Mart, Amazon engages in unethical and unfair practices.
If you are not familiar with the reasons many people – myself included – boycott Wal-Mart please read my post about How WalMart Practices affect small business and local tax revenues.
AMAZON CENSORSHIP: DELETES KINDLE BOOKS
In Why Amazon Went Big Brother, Arstechnica wrote:
“Amazon.com shocked customers yesterday when it reached out to hundreds, if not thousands of Kindles and simply deleted texts that users had not only purchased, but had started to read!”
The New York Times reported:
In George Orwell’s “1984,” government censors erase all traces of news articles embarrassing to Big Brother by sending them down an incineration chute called the “memory hole.”
On Friday, it was “1984” and another Orwell book, “Animal Farm,” that were dropped down the memory hole — by Amazon.com.
Amazon customers were so outraged that Amazon Said They Will Stop Deleting Kindle Books. When they start editing books you already bought how many will notice? Almost NONE!
SMALL BUSINESS INDIE BOOK SELLER BOYCOTT
This week, Small Business supporters called for a boycott of Amazon because of their recent targeting of all small businesses that sell books, electronics and anything else Amazon offers.
Sarah Woodbury called Amazon’s tactic of offering buyers a discount for reporting prices and not buying from local businesses “a pretty low blow—despicable—…” in her comprehensive post on her Word Hits book review blog about Amazon’s Price Check App:
“Amazon wants shoppers to scan the price of electronics, toys, or dvd’s with their Price Check app (thus sending them [Amazon] this data) – and then walk out of the store to get a discount of up to $5 on that item online.”
This is going too far – and on top of their choosing to have ambulances stand by instead of bringing their warehouses down to a safe working temperature and then making employees stand outside in 26 degree weather – I am joining the calls to officially boycott Amazon.
I have previously written about Amazon’s heartless employee practices which intentionally endanger their employee’s lives. Details on that are at the bottom of this post so that all Amazon related issues are in this one post for easier sharing.
I realize that many bloggers and affiliate marketers are in the middle
of their prime revenue generating period and now may be the worst
possible time to make changes, so I ask you to at least REMEMBER.
Change who you’re promoting at your earliest convenience.
As you can tell by the tower ad in the center column of this blog, I have chosen to go with Bigger Books as an alternative to Amazon. Their affiliate program is on ShareASale.
The ShareASale Affiliate Network is where I always look first because they have been protecting merchants and affiliates alike from predatory affiliate practices.
We need to encourage them to continue to make that their most important USP. It IS the reason we use, recommend and promote ShareASale.
Without a continued commitment to keep their network clean they will be just another network.
BOYCOTT AMAZON TAX NEXUS ISSUE:
There are numerous other calls to boycott Amazon including the lobbying organization Alliance for Main Street Fairness boycott Amazon call over the sales tax Nexus issue.
While obviously wishing to APPEAR TO BE a small business organization, that alliance was actually formed by large retail corporations such as AutoZone, Best Buy, Home Depot, Sears, Target, and Wal-Mart.
That alliance is a good example of why intelligent individuals MUST
learn to be VERY discerning in what information you believe.The quality and quantity of disinformation
being generated every day is astounding.
BOYCOTT AMAZON CENSORSHIP ISSUE:
Amazon has periodically banned books that reveal truths that are not in line with what the global elite want us to believe. When they banned one such book, The Secret of Oz, some called for us to boycott Amazon for censorship.
Amazon lifted the ban of that book so there was no boycott. As I come across other incidents of censorship for political reasons I will add them here. If you know of any please leave details including links in the comments.
BOYCOTT AMAZON CHILD PROTECTION ISSUE:
Amazon is also being boycotted for selling books that are pro-child molestation. This issue makes it clear that the issue of free speech is not a simple one.
We can not protect ALL speech; however, as soon as we move
to limit SOME speech all Freedom of Speech is imperiled.
There are no easy answers when it comes to allowing free speech while at least keeping the most objectionable issues behind closed doors where only those who really want to see them can voluntarily go.
Laws of all kinds are used more to protect evil
than to protect us FROM evil.
When you buy and recommend books this year I ask you to consider supporting small book sellers instead of automatically buying or acting as an affiliate for Amazon.
This is especially important in light of the extremely bad publicity Amazon is getting REPEATEDLY regarding their putting profits before lives.
Amazon endangers employee’s lives
NYC residents have been getting these emergency alerts since 7:30pm. The situation is“life-threatening” and we’re being told not to travel unless fleeing or given an evacuation order. And what does Amazon do? Require us to report to work for our 10:00pm shift. pic.twitter.com/0bKC6Ns9hm
— Amazonians United New York City (@NYCAmazonians) September 2, 2021
- Amazon threatens to fire workers who want to take shelter during a tornado watch. In 2021, six employees were killed and one severely injured when a tornado struck the warehouse. Employees were never trained where to go; no tornado drills were ever done in advance. One bathroom was reinforced, but those six went to the wrong one.
- Ambulances wait outside Amazon warehouse | Business – The News Tribune (Sep 25, 2011 … ALLENTOWN, Pa.)
- Inside Amazon‘s Very Hot Warehouse – NYTimes.com (Sep 19, 2011)
- Amazon has Ambulances Wait Outside Warehouse on Hot Days (Sep 20, 2011)
- Amazon Forced Employees To Work Brutal Hours In 100 Degree Warehouse Or Face Termination (Think Progress)
- Amazon workers’ nightmare shows what happens when jobs are scarce (LA Observed)
Apparently learning nothing from the bad publicity over employees suffering from heat stroke, last month that same Amazon warehouse left their workers standing outside in sub-freezing temperatures because apparently identifying who pulled the fire alarm was more important than letting them die from exposure:
On Dec. 3, Cetronia Ambulance Corps transported six Amazon warehouse workers to the hospital to be treated for cold exposure following a fire alarm evacuation, said Larry Wiersch, CEO of the nonprofit ambulance service.
About 30 other people got into ambulances to warm up, he said.
“It was cold — 26 degrees — and it was windy,” Wiersch said.
“There were pregnant women, men and women in T-shirts and shorts, some with sleeveless shirts and shorts,” one complaint states.
“People were passing out and feeling ill left and right. … I am absolutely disgusted with this company’s practices and I do believe OSHA should visit this building and give them some sort of coaching on how to better handle the situation before there are more people suffering from hypothermia.”
These incidents make it painfully obvious that Amazon does not consider their employee’s lives when making business decisions. It is up to us to hold companies like this accountable for their actions.
You don’t have ambulances stand by – you FIX THE PROBLEM!
If we look the other way and continue to buy from Amazon and promote them as affiliates we are equally complicit and guilty of enabling them to intentionally endanger lives by negligent homicide or even criminal negligence.
The best way to get the attention of those who worship money
is this: Amazon Suffers Big Drop in IncomeKeep giving them your money and you are guilty, too!
I encourage all people of conscience to switch to other affiliate programs and buy from other book sellers. There are many and I am personally supporting Bigger Books because they are on ShareASale and have every book I’ve searched for so far.
If you don’t care about the Amazon employees, at least care about you, your friends and your family because what we allow to happen to anyone CAN and DOES happen to us eventually. As Joan Baez sings, “There but for fortune, go YOU or I…”
Do you know of an Amazon issue not yet covered on this page?
Please do leave details and relevant links in the comments.
If you are a new commenter here or you provide multiple links in one comment, your comment WILL be automatically held for moderation, but I will approve all relevant comments.
Originally published 12/12/11; added new information 12/2/18. Added featured video, more incidents, and removed/fixed broken links 8/1/25.
I appreciate this perspective, but is it really fair to boycott them entirely? What about the small businesses that use Amazon’s platform to reach customers? It’s a tough situation for everyone.
Hi Kat,
True, there are individuals and small businesses that make money from Amazon’s platform. Amazon doesn’t treat them ethically, either. But they feel they have to be there because Amazon controls too much of the ecommerce market.
There is no easy solution when we let corporations grow so large they monopolize markets. Even when they are penalized for their behavior, the penalties are not large enough to deter them from continuing as they are.
It’s alarming that a company as large as Amazon repeatedly fails to prioritize basic worker safety, whether during extreme heat, freezing cold, or tornado threats. These incidents show a dangerous pattern of valuing operations over human lives—something that should prompt immediate oversight and accountability. For companies that truly value safety and care for their team, check out Dubai Movers as an example of responsible workplace practices.
It’s hard to read stories like this and not feel a sense of responsibility as consumers. When companies repeatedly put profits above human lives, silence becomes complicity.
That’s why supporting alternatives—and especially small businesses—is so important. In India, for example, entrepreneurs registering through Udyam Registration gain access to government benefits, subsidies, and credit support. It’s a step toward creating fairer, safer, and more sustainable businesses that don’t rely on exploiting their workers.
If we want real change, we have to shift our choices—away from corporations that cut corners and toward businesses that prioritize people. Every purchase is a vote.
This is a bold and thought-provoking piece! I like how it tackles such an important issue head-on, encouraging readers to reflect critically on corporate responsibility and the human impact behind profits.
Thank you for raising such a critical perspective on Amazon’s practices. At BluDog, emphasizing ethical sourcing and fair labor in our high-visibility workwear is just as important as performance. Balanced, ethical business decisions empower both brands and people.
You’re welcome, Bludog. Sadly, no matter how much evil a corporation does consumers just keep supporting them.
It’s shocking to see a company prioritize profits over human safety. Employee well-being should always come first. Awareness and collective action are key to holding corporations accountable.