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Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

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Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#61

Post by duxup »

rednerrus wrote: post #12
da_chicken wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wouldn't matter. The current administration is from a party whose platform is as anti-labor as their opposition was under Woodrow Wilson. Even if we had a strong Federal government right now, it would be interested in aiding Amazon , not it's workforce. As it is I fully expect to hear talking points that "responsible" workers wouldn't strike or try to organize, or that there should be a law against unionization du…

Trump hates Bezos enough to try to shut USPS to get to him. I'm sure he'd love to get the double whammy of screwing over Bezos and a boost from working class voters in swing states.

Trump has plenty of employees in his businesses, and support from lots of business folks. I would expect Trump to cut his nose off to spite his face at any moment ... but not if it meant using the federal government to side with a labor movement like this. He has likely made that choice already with his appointments.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#62

Post by rochester46 »

retrac wrote: post #60

Some comments here really had me scratching my head. Remember, it's not just engineers, code monkeys and managers at Amazon. The majority of their employees are unskilled labour. Warehouse workers and delivery drivers. An Amazon warehouse worker in Canada makes just a little more than minimum wage. Even if it might be a nice company to work for if you're in an office, it may be a very different reality for the majori…

Canadian minimum wage is relatively high (and your statement is only true for Ontario, btw. In other parts of Canada, Amazon warehouse worker minimum pay is 150% minimum wage). When viewed through the lens of the reality that is the American workforce, things look very differently.

In the US, Amazon warehouse workers make more than double the federal minimum wage. They make, at minimum, more than double the wage of an average McDonalds worker. They make more than Starbucks store workers, more than most construction workers. Even in Canada, Amazon warehouse workers make more than your average Tim Hortons worker.

Warehouse workers also get the same health insurance that Amazon SWEs get, which is better health insurance by far than even most white-collar American workers have.

>The majority of their employees are unskilled labour.

Unskilled laborers getting double minimum wage and great benefits seems to me to be a good thing for society. It baffles me that people are trying to decry this.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#63

Post by MattGaiser »

easytiger wrote: post #42
greendave wrote: post #31

Would be interesting to see a comparison of Amazon's tactics and Walmart's. Traditionally Walmart has gotten a lot of bad press for its working conditions and its destruction of small businesses across the US. Amazon has thusfar had far less scrutiny.

> Amazon has thusfar had far less scrutiny. Are you quite serious?

Scrutiny is probably the wrong word, but Amazon faces far less practical opposition compared to Walmart.

With Walmart, people will both be mad at them and oppose their stores, warehouses, etc.

With Amazon, anger stops at stage 1 usually.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#64

Post by toohotatopic »

Doesn't this show that the executive layer of Amazon isn't as clever as they appear? Employees can organize easily on Whatsapp or any other platform. In that case, Facebook has all the data and Amazon doesn't have any insight. Facebook then can hire any disgruntled but competent employee easily.

The lock down also signals weakness and insecurity. Amazon pays at least market rates and people want to work there. In case of a strike, they can hire new people with no training because workers essentially shop all day, a skill that is ubiquitously available

What do they fear?

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#65

Post by TheBobinator »

da_chicken wrote: post #10
foob4r wrote: post #2

Seems like Amazon's getting desperate now. Too bad the US government is the weakest in decades it's been to do something for the workers.

It wouldn't matter. The current administration is from a party whose platform is as anti-labor as their opposition was under Woodrow Wilson. Even if we had a strong Federal government right now, it would be interested in aiding Amazon , not it's workforce. As it is I fully expect to hear talking points that "responsible" workers wouldn't strike or try to organize, or that there should be a law against unionization du…

Forcing work during a pandemic that might kill people without providing them PPE or making changes to operations is the literal height of insanity.

Amazon has been a subsidized american corporation servicing chinese interests for 2 decades; the US goverment recieves hundreds of billion in chinese bond purchases a year and for the privelage of having this subsidy the Federal government the federal government in turn provides a subsidty to amazon in the form of forging anti-trust prosecution against amazon for running a retail division that ran a loss for 2 decades while prosecuting wal-mart.

End of the day, best way to handle this is to make an app for it. People run it on their phones which everyone has, and they co-ordinate and vote that way as a single block and as seperate groups.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#66

Post by [deleted] »

grumple wrote: post #37
chrisseaton wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They pay extremely well, don't they? And a huge number of people just don't care about these issues like you do.

They are on the lower end of big tech salaries. And the vast majority of their employees are warehouse workers, and they are paid very poorly.

[deleted]

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#67

Post by Ididntdothis »

pacala wrote: post #59
Ididntdothis wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was always that way. It used to be that nobility lived the good life at the expense of the peasants. Now we have replaced nobility with educated office workers. And the system is set up that if you are part of the top x percent you will never have to see how the bottom lives. They are well hidden.

Not at this scale. Not at the scale where the nobility lives in NYC/SF/Shanghai and the peasants live in a different state or even overseas.

There are plenty of peasants in the places you mentioned. You just don’t see them. Who do you think provides all the basic services?

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#68

Post by defnotashton2 »

jordache wrote: post #51
redmattred wrote: post #45

Here is the page to cancel your Amazon Prime membership: https://www.amazon.com/mc/pipelines/cancellation

i don't understand this movement. If there is a purity test, to gauge your alignment with the internal company rules associated with every goods + service you rely on, then there needs to be transparency across the entire world economic landscape. Why cherry pick? Just because media decided to bring it to your attention? So you canceled Amazon Prime, everything else in your life was produced by some other entity. Do…

I have a dream where customers need for transparency is the sole and adequate reason for companies to responsible provide and therefore abide by the current ethical standards.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#69

Post by chrisseaton »

retrac wrote: post #53
chrisseaton wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They pay extremely well, don't they? And a huge number of people just don't care about these issues like you do.

Pre-crisis, Amazon's warehouse workers in Ontario made just a little over minimum wage.

I thought we were talking about the empowered tech workers?

But if you’re working around minimum wage then it’s even more ludicrous to suggest they have the ability to turn down work for ethical reasons. I don’t think you have any idea how little money that really is.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#70

Post by rumanator »

toohotatopic wrote: post #64

Doesn't this show that the executive layer of Amazon isn't as clever as they appear? Employees can organize easily on Whatsapp or any other platform. In that case, Facebook has all the data and Amazon doesn't have any insight. Facebook then can hire any disgruntled but competent employee easily. The lock down also signals weakness and insecurity. Amazon pays at least market rates and people want to work there. In cas…

> Employees can organize easily on Whatsapp or any other platform.

That requires employees to sign up to a service and/or Chanel they don't subscribe, or try to jump-start communities from scratch.

These actions are targeted at censoring pre-existing communities that are naturally and passively formed.

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