Nomadland’ spotlights Amazon’s RV workforce “” here’s what it’s really like

Nomadland’ spotlights Amazon’s RV workforce “” here’s what it’s really like

In 2017, Shay Martinez-Machen was having an identity crisis. She was pregnant with her son, and the private ambulance company she'd worked at for a decade went bankrupt, suddenly leaving her without a home or a job."I went from corporate America to a stay-at-home mom overnight," Martinez-Machen, 33, said in an interview. "I didn't know who I was."Inspired by her parents, who had become "full-time nomads," Martinez-Machen, her wife America, and their two kids decided to hit the road in an RV. That summer vacation has since turned into a years-long lifestyle traveling around the country, picking up temporary jobs for months at a time.But each year since 2017, they've spent a few months working for one of the largest employers in the United States: Amazon.

Martinez-Machen and her wife are among hundreds of Americans who work at Amazon three months out of the year as part of the company's CamperForce program. Launched in 2008, CamperForce recruits RVers and van-dwellers for temporary jobs to shore up its workforce during the busy holiday shopping period. While CamperForce has been around for more than a decade, the program has been cast into the spotlight after it was featured in the Golden Globe-nominated film "Nomadland."The