After Jordan Flowers, a patient with lupus nephritis and the 24-year-old founder of the Amazon Labor Union, was fired from Amazon, he continued advocating for workers’ rights, according to an article published in Insider. The company claimed that he left voluntarily, though Mr. Flowers denied this and explained that his 10- to 12-hour workday worsened his chronic pain. As a result, he focused on securing workplace accommodations for himself and others—and was subsequently terminated. Despite his daily fatigue, joint pain, and headaches, Mr. Flowers currently organizes public demonstrations, helps other workers file complaints, and educates individuals on how to fight for comprehensive health-care benefits. Mr. Flowers stressed that a lack of health insurance has discouraged him from visiting his health-care provider and making arrangements to receive a kidney transplant. However, he noted that a recent court ruling acknowledging the company’s involvement in antiunion tactics represented a win for the Amazon Labor Union—which has been arguing for his reemployment for months. “[Patients] with medical issues need to really be speaking up. People think that because we’re ill, we’re not going to fight back … [but] we need to be accommodated, and not just [with] better wages but better health benefits, too,” concluded Mr. Flowers.
May 25, 2023