Thomas Breen photo
Earl Durham: "I need a job, and a source of income."
Earl Durham took a break from studying to become a railroad engineer to try to get back on the job at a nearby Amazon warehouse, which is in the middle of its latest local hiring push.
Durham was one of a half-dozen people to show up in less than half an hour Wednesday midday at an Amazon job-information table set up in the front lobby of the New Haven Free Public Library’s main branch at 133 Elm St.
The global e‑commerce giant tabled by the downtown library’s front doors to get the word out about Amazon’s current bid to hire more part-time and full-time workers at the 1.2 million square-foot warehouse in North Haven that has been open since 2019.
The two Amazon employees staffing the table declined to talk with this reporter. A company spokesperson did not answer the Independent’s questions about how many and what kinds of jobs are now open at the North Haven warehouse, stating that Amazon does not break down job numbers by site or city.
The spokesperson, Caitlin McLaughlin, did say that Amazon employs roughly 15,000 people in full- and part-time jobs across Connecticut. She said the company’s main investments in the state include six “fulfillment and sortation centers,” eight “delivery stations,” 10 Whole Foods Market locations, and seven “on-site solar locations.”
She also said the average hourly wage for Connecticut Amazon workers is $19, and that 750,000 employees across the country are eligible for Amazon’s “pre-funded college tuition” program.
Amazon’s website identifies one (not yet open for hiring) job at the North Haven site as a “fulfillment center warehouse associate,” whose job responsibilities include receiving and putting away inventory, packing up customers’ orders, and loading boxes onto trucks for shipment and whose hourly pay rate ranges from $16.85 to $18.65.
Amazon staffers at a job info table at the library.
While the Amazon staffers at the public library on Wednesday refused to talk with the press, plenty of New Haveners who swung by the job info table spoke up about why they’re looking for work at the North Haven warehouse.
“I need a job, and a source of income.” said Durham, a Westville native and current resident of West Haven, in no small part to keep up with the costs of child support.
Durham, who is also a student in Gateway Community College’s railroad engineering program, said that he’s currently out of work. His most recent job was with ProPark at Yale New Haven Hospital. Before that, he worked as a seasonal, part-time employee at Amazon’s North Haven warehouse — the very same place he’s now looking to get back to work at.
Durham said he liked working a 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift at the warehouse doing “stowing,” which he described as “putting merchandise in a robot” to be moved and stored inside the building. What kids of merchandise did he handle? All kinds, he said, including lots of Air Pods.
The Amazon employees staffing the table at the library encouraged Durham and everyone else who picked up a flyer on Wednesday to create an online profile and apply for an Amazon job through the company’s website. They said “shifts drop” at around 4 a.m. on Saturday, including for the newly available jobs. “The shifts go very quickly,” they cautioned the prospective workers, encouraging them to sign up at 4 a.m. on Saturday if possible.
Santiago Liz: "I like New Haven" for its people.
Santiago Liz spent a good 10 minutes at Amazon’s job info table at the library on Wednesday.
Born and raised in the Dominican Republican, Liz said he moved from New York City to New Haven just three weeks ago. He said he’s currently working a construction job at one of the new apartment sites around town, but that the work has proven to be too physically demanding for him to stick with long term, especially since he’s now 64 years old.
“I like New Haven,” Liz said. He said he first visited New Haven when his daughter gave birth at the hospital, and he liked it so much he decided to stay.
What’s he like so much about New Haven?
“The people,” he said. “The people is the best resource, the best value.”
He remembered fondly taking the bus on Goffe Street the other day and realizing that his bus pass was out of money, and he didn’t have exact change to pay the fare. “Somebody paid my fare,” he said. That kindly bus passenger even missed her stop as she helped him cover the cost of riding.
“It’s not just the $1.75,” he said, still beaming with gratitude. “It’s the act, you know. It’s the quality of the person.”
And why is he interested in work at Amazon? “They’re growing,” he said. And “they’re here top stay.”
Darnaja Graham: "My friend told me it's nice" at Amazon.
Hamden resident Darnaja Graham also swung by the Amazon info table and said she plans to apply for a job at the North Haven warehouse. She currently works at the BJ’s in North Haven.
“My friend tole me it’s nice,” she said about the Amazon spot. “She likes the shifts.” Graham said she hopes to get a job there in part so she can work alongside her friend.
Travis Ruffin, who was standing on the library’s front steps nearby Graham, had fewer nice things to say about Amazon, based on his time working in a Windsor facility six years ago.
“The best part was the days off,” he said. He said he’s not looking to get a job at Amazon again — he’s doing similar warehouse work now for a different company, and is making three dollars more an hour than the $17.50 he made at Amazon.
“They’re hiring all these fucking people,” he added with the hint of a smile, “but my packages still don’t come on time.”
