London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 23, 2026

Amazon aware that workers allegedly pee in water bottles, documents show; company pushes back

Amazon aware that workers allegedly pee in water bottles, documents show; company pushes back

Amazon is aware of its employees reportedly peeing in water bottles and defecating in bags, documents show.

The tech giant suggested in a tweet to Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., that the multiple reports published in recent years -- alleging poor working conditions at Amazon and that employees complained of peeing in water bottles or not having enough time to use the restroom -- were false.

"You don’t really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you?" Amazon tweeted Thursday. "If that were true, nobody would work for us. The truth is that we have over a million incredible employees around the world who are proud of what they do, and have great wages and health care from day one."


The tweet came in response to criticism from Pocan, who accused the company of putting on the facade of being a "progressive workplace."

"Paying workers $15/hr doesn't make you a 'progressive workplace' when you union-bust [and] make workers urinate in water bottles," the congressman said.

Internal documents obtained by digital investigative news outlet The Intercept, and retweeted by New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, show that at least some Amazon management teams were aware of the fact that employees -- and in particular, delivery drivers -- were urinating in water bottles and defecating in bags as a result of not having enough time to use a restroom.


One Pittsburgh-based Amazon employee sent a document labeled "confidential" to the outlet that lists behavior violations, including "public urination" and "public defecation."

The same employee shared an email from an Amazon manager to employees with The Intercept condemning the third instance of a driver defecating in a bag in two months.

"This evening, an associate discovered human feces in an Amazon bag that was returned to station by a driver," the email reads, according to The Intercept. "This is the [third] occasion in the last [two] months when bags have been returned to [the] station with poop inside. We understand that [driver associates] may have emergencies while on-road, and especially during Covid, DAs have struggled to find bathrooms while delivering."


The email continues: "We’ve noticed an uptick recently of all kinds of unsanitary garbage being left inside bags: used masks, gloves, bottles of urine. By scanning the QR code on the bag, we can easily identify the DA who was in possession of the bag last. These behaviors are unacceptable and will result in Tier 1 Infractions going forward. ... I know if may seem obvious, or like something you shouldn’t need to coach, but please be explicit when communicating the message that they CANNOT poop, or leave bottles of urine inside bags."

Another former Amazon delivery driver, Halie Marie Brown, told the outlet that the incidents happen because drivers "are literally implicitly forced to do so, otherwise we will end up losing our jobs for too many 'undelivered packages.'"

An email Brown shared with The Intercept warns employees to check their delivery vans "thoroughly for garbage and urine bottle[s]."

"If you find urine bottle[s], please report to your lead, supporting staff or me. Vans will be inspected by Amazon during debrief[ings] if urine bottle[s] are found, you will be issue[d] an infraction tier 1 for immediate offboarding," the email reads, according to the outlet.

Yet another email from an Amazon manager that a Houston-based driver to The Intercept complains of "several bad accidents, a stolen van" and "drivers leaving piss bottles etc. in the vans."

A number of reporters who have researched allegations of evidence working conditions at Amazon shared proof that employees complained of peeing in water bottles or not having enough time to use the bathroom on Twitter.


Amazon did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News.

Progressive politicians including Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., as well as conservative politicians including U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have increased pressure on Amazon to improve and be more transparent about worker conditions at its facilities. Their pressure comes as workers in Bessemer, Alabama, push a union vote that the company unsuccessfully attempted to delay.

Amazon's official brand account on Twitter has sparred with a number of lawmakers in recent days as the company attempts to vanquish the unflattering allegations.

The company has come under scrutiny after employees across the globe complained of poor working conditions amid COVID-19. On the other hand, Amazon has employed 500,000 global workers in 2020, including seasonal workers, bringing its total workforce to more than 1.3 million, the company announced during its fourth-quarter earnings call. It also reached a trillion-dollar market cap in January,

The company has implemented a number of new COVID-19 safety measures and tests than 700 employees per hour, according to its earnings report. It also allocated $2.5 billion in additional pay for employees, who are paid $15 per hour, in 2020, as well as full health care benefits.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Opens National Artificial Intelligence Safety Testing Facility
UK Government Finalizes Plans to Bring Remaining Regional Rail Services Into Public Ownership
Environment Agency Imposes Record Penalties on Water Companies Over Illegal Sewage Discharges
Great British Energy Announces Offshore Wind Partnership in North Sea
UK Government Tightens Planning Rules to Accelerate Housing Development
NHS Launches Digital Overhaul to Cut Elective Care Waiting Lists
Bank of England Signals Interest Rates May Stay Higher for Longer as Inflation Pressures Persist
The rise and fall of Hui Ka Yan, China’s richest man
Woke: Britain Considers Plain Packaging for Cigars as Specialist Shops Warn of Industry Collapse
Britain's Public-Service Productivity Remains Below 2019 as £80 Billion Output Gap Fuels WFH Debate
Mandelson Epstein Case in Jeopardy as U.S. Files Stay Out of Reach
Prince Harry and Six Others Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million After High Court Defeat
Bank of England Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Inflation and Energy Risks Persist
UK AI Security Tests Find Autonomous Agent Attempting Malicious Code Injection
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in Second Quarter Amid Global Pressures
UK Joins European Allies in Condemning Israeli Settlement Plans in West Bank E1 Area
Multiple People Killed in A66 Collision Near Middlesbrough Involving Police Vehicle
UK Government Holds First National Day for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism
UK Met Office Warns of Severe Autumn Storms as Strong El Niño Follows Historic Drought
Petrol Bombs Set Luxury Cars Alight Outside Birmingham Wedding as Police Hunt Three Men
Bitcoin Surges Toward $80,000 as Short Squeeze and ETF Inflows Ignite Crypto Rally
Prince Harry and Co-Claimants Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million Toward Daily Mail Publisher’s Legal Costs
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reportedly Plan Return to Britain With Their Children
UK Court Ruling Threatens Deportation Plans for Potential Trafficking Victims to Albania
Kemi Badenoch Presses UK Government for Decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw Oil Fields
UK Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Calls for Ban on Goods from Occupied West Bank
Andy Burnham Government to Place Civil Servants Directly in English Mayoral Offices
Met Office Warns Major El Niño Could Bring Stormier, Wetter Autumn to UK
UK Economy Gains Unexpected Momentum Ahead of Andy Burnham Government’s First Budget
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Royal Navy to Accelerate DragonFire Laser Deployment Against Growing Drone Threat
Northern Ireland Approves Five Hundred Million Pound Belfast Harbour Expansion
Great British Railways Takes Full Control of Avanti West Coast as Rail Nationalisation Reaches Final Stage
UK AI Safety Institute Calls for Mandatory Security Audits of Advanced AI Models
Scotland Secures Three Billion Pounds for Floating Offshore Wind Hub in Aberdeen
Government Overrides Local Councils to Approve Green Belt Housing Across Southern England
UK and EU Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Food Standards to Ease Cross-Channel Trade
Government Plans Multibillion-Pound Private Healthcare Expansion to Cut NHS Surgical Backlogs
Bank of England Signals Faster Rate Cuts as Inflation Falls Below the Two Percent Target
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
Moderna Shares Surge After Positive Personalized Skin Cancer Trial Results
×