Workers from Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart, Target and Walmart stage a mass sick-out and plan nationwide protests calling for hazard pay, paid leave and protective equipment amid the COVID-19 crisis

Employees at some of America's biggest companies are coordinating a 'mass sick-out' to protest unsafe working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Hundreds of workers at Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart, Target and Walmart have either called out sick or are walked off the job Friday afternoon in a push for hazard pay, sick leave, protective gear and additional cleaning supplies. 

The employees have become essential workers during the COVID-19 outbreak, but say bosses aren't doing enough to keep them mitigate their chances of contracting the virus. 

While small groups from each of the companies have been petitioning for safer working conditions since the middle of March, Friday's sick-out marks the first time they have combined efforts to create a large-scale 'movement'. 

The sickout falls on International Worker's Day, and organizers are also calling for customers to boycott buying products from the listed companies for the entire day. 

Pictures taken outside an Amazon fulfillment center on Friday afternoon, showed workers brandishing placards which read 'Capitalism Is The Virus' and 'Capitalism Kills'.  

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Hundreds of workers at Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart, Target and Walmart have either called out sick or are planning to walk off the job Friday afternoon in a push for hazard pay, sick leave, protective gear and additional cleaning supplies. A protester is seen outside Whole Foods earlier this month 

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Protesters outside Amazin's fulfillment centerin Staten Island, New York are pictured Friday

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The protest outside Amazon's Staten Island warehouse was one of many scheduled to take place in front of large retailers across the country Friday

Christian Smalls, a former Amazon worker who was fired from the company in March after organizing a strike over safety conditions, is helping to organize Friday's sickout. 

He told The Washington Post that workers at about 25 Amazon warehouses are 'expected to walk out at midday and petition in front of the facilities'. 

'The virus is killing some of our employees - this is a matter of life or death,' Smalls stated. 

Workers in more than a dozen Amazon factories have tested positive to COVID-19, and at least one worker has died. 

However, Amazon - which also owns Whole Foods - has hit back, claiming labor groups are 'spreading misinformation and making false claims' about the company. 

 'The statements made are not supported by facts or representative of the majority of the 500,000 Amazon operations employees in the U.S. who are showing up to work to support their communities,' spokeswoman Rachael Lighty told The Post.  

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Christian Smalls, a former Amazon worker who was fired from the company in March after organizing a strike over safety conditions, helped organize Friday's sickout. He is pictured at right 

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Supporters of the ex-Amazon employee turned out in force and called upon the online retail giant to provide their frontline workers with hazard pay, sick leave, protective gear and additional cleaning supplies

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Healthcare workers also turned out to show their solidarity with frontline employees in the retail sector 

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Dozens of workers were seen keeping six feet apart from one another as they stood outside the Staten Island warehouse 

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One masked protester brandished a sign which read: 'Treat your workers like your customers!'

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The daughter of one essential worker was seen at the New York protest 

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Police were on hand during the protests, but there was no reports of misbehavior after workers at the warehouse walked off the job Friday lunchtime 

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One protester took aim at Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with her sign 

Meanwhile, Target says they are 'distributing protective equipment,  deep-cleaning checkout lanes, limiting customer traffic and adding plexiglass partitions' to keep their employees safe. 

They say only a small number of their 340,000 frontline workforce is likely to partake in the sickout. 

However, one Target employee in Virginia told NBC News that he and his co-workers would be participating in the sickout. 

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Despite the protests, Amazon - which also owns Whole Foods - has hit back, claiming labor groups are 'spreading misinformation and making false claims' about the company

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Workers in more than a dozen Amazon factories have tested positive to COVID-19, and at least one worker has died. Protesters are calling for more adequate safety protocols 

'As workers, we have agency, we have the ability to change things, and we don't have to be passive spectators in our political and social lives,' they stated.  

And it appears that they have public sentiment on their side. 

Hundreds of posts shared on social media Friday came from consumers saying they would not be purchasing products from the companies until employee demands are met. 

Charles Booker, who is running for Congress, wrote on Twitter: Our lives are not commodities. Our labor does not define our humanity. This is why we organize. When necessary, this is why we strike. On#MayDay2020 and everyday, I stand in solidarity with workers and organized labor. Proud to be on the line with you.'   

 Another Twitter user stated: 'It's my birthday. Please boycott @amazon'. 

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One public policy expert predicts a public relations disaster of companies do not yield to some of the demands - given public sentiment is on the side of the workers 

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Posters in support of the customer boycott have been shared widely on Twitter

One public policy expert predicts a public relations disaster of companies do not yield to some of the demands - particularly given that Amazon and Instacart have seen demands soar amid nationwide stay-at-home orders. 

'If their sales are going up, but they are not passing any reasonable pay on to workers, it could be a huge PR disaster for some of these companies,' a  Molly Kinder, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, told The Post. 

On Wednesday, activists protested outside the Washington, DC home of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, calling on him to increase safety protocols for workers.  

More than one million Americans have tested positive to COVID-19, and more than 63,000 have died.  

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On Wednesday, activists protested outside the Washington, DC home of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, calling on him to increase safety protocols for workers.