Amazon Warehouse Worker Dies On The Floor; Coworkers Say They Were Told To Keep Working

A 46-year-old worker collapsed and died on the floor at Amazon's PDX9 warehouse in Troutdale, Oregon on April 6. The death was not publicly disclosed for more than a week. Several coworkers told reporters they were told to keep working as the body lay on the warehouse floor.

Amazon confirmed the death. Oregon's Occupational Safety and Health Administration ruled the incident not work-related. Workers and labor reporters have raised significant questions about that ruling.

The worker's name has not been publicly released by the family.

What workers say happened

According to accounts published by The Worker Newspaper and TechCrunch, coworkers at PDX9 said they were instructed to continue their tasks while the worker remained on the floor. Some employees told reporters the warehouse had been unusually hot in the weeks leading up to the death, in part due to recent soundproofing renovations they said had restricted airflow.

Oregon OSHA's determination that the death was not work-related is consistent with a long-running pattern in warehouse fatality classification. When a worker collapses on a shift, the death is often categorized as a medical event unrelated to the work — even when the conditions of the work (heat, pace, lack of breaks) may have been contributing factors.

Amazon disputed the characterization that workers were ordered to continue around the body. The company has not provided a detailed account of the response.

The Amazon injury record

A 2025 analysis based on OSHA data found that Amazon's fulfillment centers report serious injuries at a rate more than twice the warehouse industry average. The figure has been the subject of congressional testimony, state attorney general investigations in California and New York, and an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

The Strategic Organizing Center, which represents the SEIU, has published a series of reports documenting the pace-of-work pressures, the rate of musculoskeletal injuries, and the documented practice of categorizing injuries in ways that minimize their reportability.

Amazon has consistently disputed the characterizations and has pointed to investments in safety programs as evidence of improvement. The numbers in OSHA's database tell a different story.

A growing list

The Wikipedia "List of Amazon worker fatalities" entry catalogs an increasing number of confirmed deaths at the company's facilities. The list is not exhaustive — it tracks publicly reported incidents — and the trend over the last several years is upward.

The Teamsters, which has been organizing Amazon workers at the JFK8 facility in Staten Island and at other sites, has called for federal action on pace-of-work standards and for stronger heat-illness protections in warehouses.

There is no federal heat standard for indoor workplaces. OSHA proposed one in 2024. It has not been finalized.

The PDX9 facility

PDX9 is an Amazon sort center in Troutdale, Oregon, east of Portland. It is part of the company's middle-mile logistics network. The facility is non-union. It employs several hundred workers.

The worker's family has been contacted by labor advocates and has, to date, chosen to remain out of public view.

The investigation, such as it is, is closed. Oregon OSHA's determination stands unless reopened. The U.S. Attorney's Office investigation into Amazon's broader safety practices is ongoing.

We'll publish more as the federal investigation advances.