Amazon admits that drivers sometimes need to pee in bottles while working.

Amazon admitted it was wrong. And in the process, the company admitted that some of its workers are actually in a situation where they need to urinate in bottles. Amazon countered an initial refusal it gave last week, when it responded aggressively to Rep. Mark Pocan on Twitter. The Wisconsin Democrat was responding to a tweet from a top Amazon executive and said the company cannot consider itself a progressive workplace when “breaks union and makes workers urinate in bottles. ”Amazon scoffed at the complaint. “You really don’t believe in this thing about peeing in bottles, do you?” the company said on Twitter. “If that were true, no one would work for us.”

Many quickly questioned Amazon’s response. Journalists got involved and shared documents which showed how “the pee in bottles thing” was not just a rare occurrence, but something that was often talked about by managers. Former workers also assessed their experiences. One person who identified himself as a former driver, for example, said he was fired for taking breaks to go to the bathroom. Vice published a story with the title: “Amazon denies workers to pee in bottles. Here are the pee bottles, ”which included photos of bottles that allegedly contained the urine of workers in the Amazon. The Intercept dedicated an article to debunk Amazon’s claim and noted that it wasn’t just about peeing. “Documents show that Amazon is aware that drivers pee in bottles and even defecate on the way,” reported Intercept.

Amazon admitted it was wrong to be so arrogant about the matter and publicly apologized to Pocan, claiming that the initial tweet referred to Amazon warehouses that have “dozens of bathrooms” instead of the company’s drivers. “We know that drivers can and have difficulty finding toilets because of traffic or sometimes rural routes, and this was especially the case during Covid, when many public toilets were closed,” said the company. Amazon made it clear that this was not a problem that Amazon faced alone and linked to several articles about Uber, taxi and UPS drivers who suffered from the same problem. “Regardless of the fact that this applies to the entire industry, we would like to resolve it. We still don’t know how, but we will look for solutions ”, said Amazon. “We apologize to Representative Pocan”, concludes the company’s statement.

Pocan expressed frustration with the way the company ended its statement. “Sigh,” he tweeted. “This is not about me, this is about your employees – whom you don’t treat with sufficient respect or dignity.” The comings and goings with Pocan take place at a time when the company is under increasing scrutiny, as it faces a major unionization drive. Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama are waiting for the results of a vote that could lead to the company’s first unionized facility in the United States.