Inside Amazon's Warehouse - The Morning Call. This story was originally published Sept. You can read more of our series on Amazon.

Lehigh Valley warehouse at themorningcall. Elmer Goris spent a year working in Amazon. Lehigh Valley warehouse, where books, CDs and various other products are packed and shipped to customers who order from the world's largest online retailer. The 3. 4- year- old Allentown resident, who has worked in warehouses for more than 1. July because he was frustrated with the heat and demands that he work mandatory overtime. Working conditions at the warehouse got worse earlier this year, especially during summer heat waves when heat in the warehouse soared above 1.

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He got light- headed, he said, and his legs cramped, symptoms he never experienced in previous warehouse jobs. One hot day, Goris said, he saw a co- worker pass out at the water fountain. On other hot days, he saw paramedics bring people out of the warehouse in wheelchairs and on stretchers. I never felt like passing out in a warehouse and I never felt treated like a piece of crap in any other warehouse but this one," Goris said.

They can do that because there aren't any jobs in the area." Goris' complaints are not unique. Over the past two months, The Morning Call interviewed 2. They offered a behind- the- scenes glimpse of what it's like to work in the Amazon warehouse, where temperatures soar on hot summer days, production rates are difficult to achieve and the permanent jobs sought by many temporary workers hired by an outside agency are tough to get. Only one of the employees interviewed described it as a good place to work. Workers said they were forced to endure brutal heat inside the sprawling warehouse and were pushed to work at a pace many could not sustain. Employees were frequently reprimanded regarding their productivity and threatened with termination, workers said.

The consequences of not meeting work expectations were regularly on display, as employees lost their jobs and got escorted out of the warehouse. Such sights encouraged some workers to conceal pain and push through injury lest they get fired as well, workers said. During summer heat waves, Amazon arranged to have paramedics parked in ambulances outside, ready to treat any workers who dehydrated or suffered other forms of heat stress. Those who couldn't quickly cool off and return to work were sent home or taken out in stretchers and wheelchairs and transported to area hospitals. And new applicants were ready to begin work at any time.

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An emergency room doctor in June called federal regulators to report an "unsafe environment" after he treated several Amazon warehouse workers for heat- related problems. The doctor's report was echoed by warehouse workers who also complained to regulators, including a security guard who reported seeing pregnant employees suffering in the heat. In a better economy, not as many people would line up for jobs that pay $1. But with job openings scarce, Amazon and Integrity Staffing Solutions, the temporary employment firm that is hiring workers for Amazon, have found eager applicants in the swollen ranks of the unemployed. Many warehouse workers are hired for temporary positions by Integrity Staffing Solutions, or ISS, and are told that if they work hard they may be converted to permanent positions with Amazon, current and former employees said.

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The temporary assignments end after a designated number of hours, and those not hired to permanent Amazon jobs can reapply for temporary positions again after a few months, workers said. Temporary employees interviewed said few people in their working groups actually made it to a permanent Amazon position. Instead, they said they were pushed harder and harder to work faster and faster until they were terminated, they quit or they got injured.

Those interviewed say turnover at the warehouse is high and many hires don't last more than a few months. The supply of temporary workers keeps Amazon's warehouse fully staffed without the expense of a permanent workforce that expects raises and good benefits.

Using temporary employees in general also helps reduce the prospect that employees will organize a union that pushes for better treatment because the employees are in constant flux, labor experts say. And Amazon limits its liability for workers' compensation and unemployment insurance because most of the workers don't work for Amazon, they work for the temp agency.

Amazon's priority and key competitive edge is quick delivery of products at low prices. Its Lehigh Valley location on Route 1. Interstate 7. 8 puts one- third of the population of the U. S. and Canada within a one- day haul. And the weak labor market helps keep employment costs down. We strive to offer our customers the lowest prices possible through low everyday product pricing and free shipping offers .. Amazon says about itself in documents filed with the U.

S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The situation highlights how companies like Amazon can wield their significant leverage over workers in the bleak job market, labor experts say. Large companies such as Amazon can minimize costs for benefits and raises by relying on temporary workers rather than having a larger permanent workforce, those experts say. They can get away with it because most workers will take whatever they can get with jobs few and far between," said Catherine Ruckelshaus, legal co- director of the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group for low- wage workers. The temp worker is less likely to complain about it and less likely to push for their labor rights because they feel like they don't have much pull or sway with the worksite employer." Amazon warehouse workers interviewed come from a variety of backgrounds, including construction, small business owners and some with years of experience at other warehouse and shipping operations.

Several of them said it was their worst work experience ever. Their accounts stand in sharp contrast to the "fun, fast- paced" atmosphere described in online help wanted ads for the Amazon warehouse. Amazon and ISS both said they take the safety of workers seriously, but declined to discuss specific concerns current and former employees voiced to The Morning Call. Watch Louis C.K.: Hilarious Mojoboxoffice.

Both companies had three weeks to respond to multiple Morning Call inquiries for this story. Of the workers voicing concerns, 1. ISS and seven directly by Amazon.'I couldn't breathe' Amazon has two warehouses at the end of Boulder Drive in Breinigsville, where work is done that few customers ever see. Workers on the receiving side unload trucks and unpack boxes of incoming inventory, which they store in bins throughout the warehouses. On the outbound side, pickers scurry through the aisles gathering products from storage bins and bringing them to packers, who box them and ship them to customers. Both permanent and temporary employees are subject to a point- based disciplinary system. Employees accumulate points for such infractions as missing work, not working fast enough or breaking a safety rule such as keeping two hands on an inventory cart.

If they get too many points, they can be fired. In the event of illness, employees have to bring in a doctor's note and request a medical waiver to have their disciplinary points removed, those interviewed said. Not working fast enough, or failing to "make rate," is a common reason employees get disciplinary points, those interviewed said. Workers are expected to maintain a rate, measured in units per hour, which varies depending on the job and the size of inventory being handled. Products moving through the warehouse range broadly in size, from compact discs and i. Pods to chain saws.

Workers use hand- held scanners to track inventory as it moves through the warehouse, which enables managers to monitor productivity minute by minute, employees said. Goris, the Allentown resident who worked as a permanent Amazon employee, said high temperatures were handled differently at other warehouses in which he worked.