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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

#71

Post by partiallypro »

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…

I've heard good and bad things about the warehouse conditions. For many employees (from what I've heard) saying "low skill" is a severe under statement. I've heard from friends at a local Amazon warehouse of employees, for instance, using sex toys in the employee bathrooms (stolen from the carts.) Ex-cons starting fights on the floor, etc. Amazon is in turn has to be incredibly strict with its employees on the floor because of the type of people that it can attract. I know that sounds a bit heartless, but it is an unfortunate reality. That being said, if you can make it off of the floor from the "picker" role you are treated much better (from what I've heard,) because it shows you are competent. Almost anyone else on the floor could be fired and replaced within a day.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#72

Post by MattGaiser »

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.

Ontario minimum wage is the 2nd highest of any state/provincial entity in North America at $14. Sure that is not taking currency exchange into account, but prices are also in CAD in Canada.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#73

Post by retrac »

rochester46 wrote: post #62
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 a…

If that's the case and they're making ~$21 CAD an hour, then Amazon's American warehouse workers are paid considerably more than they are in Canada despite the US having a lower cost of living. At least in my local context, their behaviour doesn't seem to be something worth lauding. It's just another grueling underpaid warehouse job. With a union-busting employer.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#74

Post by zrail »

rochester46 wrote: post #62
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 a…

In the US do you know how many Amazon warehouse workers are employed by Amazon directly vs 3rd party contractors? Do your statements hold for those contractors?

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#75

Post by claudeganon »

rochester46 wrote: post #62
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 a…

That’s because they’re not decrying the wages or health benefits, but the overall treatment and union-busting.

You can have good wages and benefits for this kind of labor without firing organizers, plotting to smear them as “inarticulate” in the press, and exposing workers to undue injury and disease.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#76

Post by jm4 »

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…

I don't find that to be an entirely realistic scenario, but we can talk hypotheticals. As a company owner, I would welcome the opportunity for employees to quit as an alternative to unionizing. Having your problem quit for another job before you have to fire them is awesome. Having a competitor actively recruit your problem employees? That's killing two birds with one stone. You have to just laugh when it happens. It's great.

As for discouraging unionizing via official company communication media, it probably has more to do with discovery and access than wanting to block the communication altogether. Of course they realize people can use Whatsapp, text, online forum, etc. The thing is there needs to be a way to discover a large community of workers on some other platform. That's much harder than going through a company directory or blasting out emails to entire divisions. They don't want to provide easy discovery and access to people who would potentially join a union.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#77

Post by retrac »

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…

Amazon's sheer size places it in an entirely different category from something like a medium-sized enterprise with a couple thousand employees.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#78

Post by Frost1x »

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…

>The majority of their employees are unskilled labour.

I've never really liked "skilled" and "unskilled" label classifiers because it implies a relationship between compensation and skill. I'm aware you didn't say this but I see it far too often.

I've seen a lot of fairly low compensated work that I know for a fact I can't do. We need to stop dehumanizing people with 'skilled' and 'unskilled' labor. A lot of it just depends on what people choose to do and what demands happen to arise.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#79

Post by danaris »

rochester46 wrote: post #62
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 a…

The pay being high is good.

It's not a good enough reason to not form a union.

Pay is only one piece of worker treatment, and when you're talking about hard manual labour, it's really not the most important piece—workplace health & safety is. Doesn't matter how much you were paid while you worked there if you get killed or crippled because the employer skimped on safety, either in equipment or in allowing you to take your time on dangerous tasks.

Re: Amazon locks down internal employee communications amid organizing efforts

#80

Post by rochester46 »

claudeganon wrote: post #75
rochester46 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 a…

That’s because they’re not decrying the wages or health benefits, but the overall treatment and union-busting. You can have good wages and benefits for this kind of labor without firing organizers, plotting to smear them as “inarticulate” in the press, and exposing workers to undue injury and disease.

>That’s because they’re not decrying the wages or health benefits

Speak for yourself. The vast majority of complaints about Amazon on this forum are explicitly referencing pay.

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