Live data from Hacker News

Leaked Amazon memo details plan to smear fired warehouse organizer

vice.com

51–60 of 140 posts

Re: Leaked Amazon memo details plan to smear fired warehouse organizer

#51
post #2

What are the legal implications for Amazon from these revelations? I already know it's illegal to discourage union activity, but I'm curious about how this evidence affects the situation.

If admissible, this may be evidence in a wider case for a labor law violation. The NY Atty General was notably unhappy about what had transpired: https://www.npr.org/2020/03/31/824423595/new-york-attorney-g... ...Until events unfold more, we cannot speculate as to the charges (if any) will be brought against Amazon.

NYAG also called for NLRB to weigh in, which isn't going to happen. They've been offlined at the worst time.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/04/nlrb-suspends-unionizing-am...

Re: Leaked Amazon memo details plan to smear fired warehouse organizer

#52
post #44
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know why you're getting down-voted. Must be people that've never read about mass media in Manufacturing Consent.

Have you ? That book was about how the pro-corporate media portray various regions & people so as to drum up support for war. This situation is roughly the opposite of that.

It's more generally about mass media and the manipulation of information to create a certain narrative. The same tactics of mass media can be applied to different agendas.

Re: Leaked Amazon memo details plan to smear fired warehouse organizer

#53

This Vice story is just part of the smear campaign. Strategy: “We should spend the first part of our response strongly laying out the case for why the organizer’s conduct was immoral, unacceptable, and arguably illegal, in detail, and only then follow with our usual talking points about worker safety,” Zapolsky wrote. “Make him the most interesting part of the story, and if possible make him the face of the entire un…

“I let my emotions draft my words and get the better of me.”

What a pathetic excuse from the General Counsel of one of the world's most powerful firms when caught engaging in employee retaliation. This isn't acceptable from any lawyer.

Re: Leaked Amazon memo details plan to smear fired warehouse organizer

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Unfortunately this is the low bar set by a lot of modern journalism. We need a way out of it back to neutral, factual reporting. Creating fact focused journalism is a laudible goal but I'd be curious of what specific time in history you think that this was generally the case?

That's a good point. I can't say whether we've ever hit the mark on that generally. However, old news broadcasts (you can find them on Youtube) do seem a lot less emotional and more neutral. They probably still had their biases; I am unsure. However, I feel like HN is often sources from outlets like Vox and Vice, both of which are recognized as having a strong bias (see https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-…

There is as much bias in what you choose to report on as there is in the way you report it. For most of the mid-late 20th century major media outlets uncritically reported information stated by the White House and the military.

To do so without commentary or comparison to factual reality is a kind of bias but feels neutral because it doesn't create contention in an individual's mind. There are exceptions such as Cronkite's broadcast after the Tet Offensive which I am not lauding or criticizing here, only to say it was out of the norm.

Re: Leaked Amazon memo details plan to smear fired warehouse organizer

#55
post #4

A really disgusting but predictable thing to fall out of this whole fiasco is to watch Obama-era staffers aggressively side with management against labour: https://twitter.com/JayCarney/status/1245474780746330119

2008: Obama wins Ad Age's marketeer of the year. https://adage.com/article/moy-2008/obama-wins-ad-age-s-marke...

Re: Leaked Amazon memo details plan to smear fired warehouse organizer

#56
post #23

All I wanted to do was read the memo and I couldn't find the link. I'm not sure if I missed it or what but this is a common problem I run into on "news" sites. They quote (often out of context) parts of something but give no links to the actual source.

Probably because it was forwarded by email and the leaker's identity and job would be at risk.

Re: Leaked Amazon memo details plan to smear fired warehouse organizer

#57
post #33
post #17

Bezos and Amazon are examples of the worst parts of our modern take on capitalism. Shame on them.

You might like to read this opinion article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/01/amazon...

[flagged]

Re: Leaked Amazon memo details plan to smear fired warehouse organizer

#58
post #23

All I wanted to do was read the memo and I couldn't find the link. I'm not sure if I missed it or what but this is a common problem I run into on "news" sites. They quote (often out of context) parts of something but give no links to the actual source.

That's very much by design, in order to paint a certain picture, generate outrage, and ultimately clicks. Recall when the James Damore story was breaking? Many outlets like Motherboard (owned by Vice, authors of this story) circulated quotes and even modified documents that didn't show the full list of research references quoted by Damore, in an attempt to paint a certain picture. Unfortunately this is the low bar se…

throwawaysea

I didn't realize marine pollution had gotten so bad.

Post reply on HN