Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers

#141

Post by leetcrew » Sat, Mar 21, 2020, 8:52 PM UTC

srtjstjsj wrote: post #116

leetcrew wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

not quite, but delivery services are extremely important to the vulnerable population right now. many of these people are old and, as we all know, these are the people that vote most consistently. no sitting politician wants to be the one who sat on their hands while a strike prevented the elderly from receiving their hand sanitizer order.

People shut in at home don't need hand sanitizer.

I mean that's sort of beside the point; it only matters whether they think they do. the older people I know are aggressively sanitizing stuff whenever they have anything delivered.

Re: Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers

#142

Post by tanilama » Sat, Mar 21, 2020, 9:06 PM UTC

TheAdamAndChe wrote: post #4

rorykoehler wrote: post #2

Amazon workers should unionize immediately now that the virus has given them leverage.

I understand what you're saying, but walking out or forcing negotiations during a global pandemic is sociopathic, and the union would gather a massive amount of political venom.

Not just venom, they are begging for destruction.

People seem to forget the very meaning of a state. Spoiler: it is about power, and physical power.

Re: Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers

#143

Post by avip » Sat, Mar 21, 2020, 9:08 PM UTC

caymanjim wrote: post #43

dahfizz wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is there any legal precedent for what governments would do? There is a long history of the government using the military to break strikes and fill the labor gap for things deemed necessary for national security. I'm not sure Amazon warehouses are in the same class as coal mines though...

The government would absolutely step in and stop a strike at Amazon right now, or just about any other business. Anyone trying to strike right now would be run out of town by citizens with torches as well. It might sound like a good idea in the abstract, but if you factor in the emotional state of the country, people would be up in arms and those on strike would get zero sympathy.

Torches are 25$ apiece now and you can only get them at Amazon.

Re: Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers

#144

Post by sfj » Sat, Mar 21, 2020, 9:21 PM UTC

Der_Einzige wrote: post #81

phreeza wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think it's inevitable that there will be a deflation? Genuine question, it seems the money supply is going to be increasing?

Nope. The dollar is so strong that other countries are trying really hard to get as much USD as possible. This means that liquidity is drying up and there is a shortage of dollars world-wide. This is deflationary right until we see the banking sector collapse.

That's one factor, I'd argue it is caused by the $12 trillon is usd denominated debt, and due to the economic situation, no cashflow to pay it. But the Fed has been ramping up printing presses, creating a tug of war. How long before the latter overtakes the former?

The Fed just expanded repo to $1 trillion per day: https://m.theepochtimes.com/fed-expands-repo-to-1-trillion-p...

Re: Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers

#145

Post by DirkDiggler69 » Sat, Mar 21, 2020, 9:22 PM UTC

dehrmann wrote: post #63

mulm wrote: post #16

One of the Danish consumer NGOs called tænk recently tested the security of things bought off amazon, wish and other online retailers. More than half of the smoke alarms bought on amazon didn’t work. Around half of the baby toys didn’t meet choking hazard safety. Not sure why anyone still buys things from there. Or anywhere online really, all the other retailers failed as well.

> More than half of the smoke alarms bought on amazon didn’t work I've bought multiple name-brand ones off Amazon, sold by Amazon. The one by my bathroom absolutely works. I can't count how often a steamy shower set it off. Were they buying knockoffs from third-party sellers?

Yea, that shouldn't be happening.

Re: Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers

#146

Post by KarlKemp » Sat, Mar 21, 2020, 9:25 PM UTC

Klinky wrote: post #66

dehrmann wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When the bailouts for so many others are happening I don't disagree that the support for, say, airlines, are bailouts, but the connotation that word has from 2008-2009 mischaracterizes what's going on right now. When this all blows over, you absolutely want airlines ready for business. Letting heavily impacted businesses fail is a recipe for a depression.

It's probably time to nationalize the airline industry entirely. Why do they enrich themselves during good times, and then we bail them out during bad times? If it's essential to economic stability and national security, and it keeps costing taxpayers a ton of money, then why even continue this facade of "private" airlines? The same excuse was used for banks during the recession. We need banks when the economy recove…

The bank (as well as the GM) bailout did involve equity transfers. I believe quite a few shareholders got wiped out, and the net result was even positive for the government (barely, but still).

Also interesting: The farm subsidies over the last two years, supposed to compensate them for their business losses due to Trump’s trade war, cost a multiple of the 2008 bailout (2x or 3x IIRC). None of that will be recovered.

Re: Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers

#147

Post by Apocryphon » Sat, Mar 21, 2020, 9:27 PM UTC

seneca wrote: post #47

bdefore wrote: post #21

Glad to see this from Amazon, although I see it heading off the inevitable. Wouldn't this be the most powerful moment for employees in 'essential' services to engage in worker strikes? Is there any legal precedent for what governments would do? With all this war rhetoric thrown around, it seems a reasonable jump to declare essential workers troops on the frontline deserving of what we give other troops (free health c…

Striking in order to exploit a global disaster for personal gain would be a great way for organized labor to turn many people against them for a life time. It may work in the short term, but even that is debatable. Many people would gladly see the national guard break a strike if it's between them and basic essentials. Long term, the optics of that kind of move are so damning that it would likely be a net-loss.

Happened in World War II, and that’s why health insurance in the U.S. is tied to employers.

Re: Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers

#148

Post by dehrmann » Sat, Mar 21, 2020, 9:32 PM UTC

ndiscussion wrote: post #80

dehrmann wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> More than half of the smoke alarms bought on amazon didn’t work I've bought multiple name-brand ones off Amazon, sold by Amazon. The one by my bathroom absolutely works. I can't count how often a steamy shower set it off. Were they buying knockoffs from third-party sellers?

A steamy shower should not set off a smoke alarm. Perhaps it has a higher false positive rate.

https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/WPI2015SmokeAlarmReport.pdf

> photoelectric smoke alarms should not be placed near bathrooms or similar locations that create steam. Even though location recommendations are already common on alarm packaging, nuisance alarms persist in homes due to inappropriate alarm placement

Which I suppose is on me, but it is a known issue with some smoke detectors.

Re: Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers

#149

Post by pjc50 » Sat, Mar 21, 2020, 9:33 PM UTC

Apocryphon wrote: post #147

seneca wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Striking in order to exploit a global disaster for personal gain would be a great way for organized labor to turn many people against them for a life time. It may work in the short term, but even that is debatable. Many people would gladly see the national guard break a strike if it's between them and basic essentials. Long term, the optics of that kind of move are so damning that it would likely be a net-loss.

Happened in World War II, and that’s why health insurance in the U.S. is tied to employers.

Could you expand on this bit of history please?

Re: Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers

#150

Post by dahfizz » Sat, Mar 21, 2020, 9:35 PM UTC

srtjstjsj wrote: post #111

nerfhammer wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As everyone notices their packages stop arriving, comparatively few will buy into the idea that people making $17/hr are being 'exploited', especially as many people find their own working hours being reduced or eliminated.

People making $16/hr aren't the ones living on Amazon Prime package flow.

If you've ever wondered if you're out of touch and in your own echo chamber, you definitely are.