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Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

theintercept.com

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Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#41

Post by prpl »

mycologos wrote: post #26
prpl wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was usually the former. It was a very hard job, nearly aerobic, job at least 3 nights a week (1-2 of the nights was working backstock which might not need as much hustle). On top of that, it’s between 11 and 7, some people have more than one job and/or have to switch between day shifts and night shifts.

Interesting. I didn't know meth was cheap enough for this to be economically viable. It reminds me of hearing about cooks who took up smoking because smoke breaks were the only way to get breaks at all during service. From a short-term standpoint, it's got a logic to it.

Average pay in 2005 would have been $9-14/hr - top end was journeyman - at least 4 years on the job)

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#42

Post by 123jay7 »

Symbiote wrote: post #24
cletus wrote: post #7

My understanding is that this is pretty common for every courier including UPS and FedEx. Why? Because the driver will have a set of deliveries. Once they’re finished those they’re done for the day. In NYC at least finding a restroom and finding parking (even double parking) beat it takes valuable time. It saves time to pee in a bottle. This just isn’t unique to Amazon is all I’m saying.

I could save time at work by peeing in a bottle at my desk. But my employer (and the law here) doesn't expect me to do this, even if the nearest toilet is several minutes walk away.

You would really save time though? It would be faster to just go for a few minutes walk down the hall than to start using extreme menouvers like trying to pee in bottle.

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#43

Post by ericmcer »

How do you fix this? Install bathrooms in trucks? I have peed in a bottle when driving just to save the 20mins it would take to pull off, look for a bathroom I’m allowed to use, maybe have to buy something, figure out how to get back on the freeway. You can pee in a bottle without even slowing down, if it was a common occurrence you could make it a very easy and efficient process.

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#44

Post by rscho »

nimbix wrote: post #32
the_gipsy wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the way of the road, Ricky

Some people think TPB is a comedy. Others know it's a documentary.

I used to say that about "scrubs" and no one would believe me.

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#45

Post by danaris »

mycologos wrote: post #16

Amazon is, to me, a glaring example of just how little people are willing to translate outrage over capitalism and wage slavery into voting with their feet. I've literally heard people trash Amazon's labor practices, admit that they've been Prime members for years and will continue using them, and then express hope that the government will step in and do something to Amazon. Since many of these people are individuals…

Look up the phrase "there is no ethical consumption under capitalism."

We live in a time when the economic power of the middle class is eroding rapidly, and being able to order cheaper goods from Amazon with fast free shipping was a huge benefit even before we started living through a global pandemic.

It would take a truly staggering percentage of people around the world to choose to boycott Amazon before they actually started feeling it—and that wouldn't even touch some of their other major sources of revenue, like AWS, which provides it with a lot of income these days.

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#46

Post by evan_ »

vsskanth wrote: post #36

How do UPS USPS and FedEx drivers tackle this issue ? Restroom access is a problem and it's important to come up with some proposals especially if we want more women to be able to work these jobs

My observation is that they use restrooms in office buildings on their route. Idk what they do on residential routes.

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#47

Post by whoknew1122 »

simonebrunozzi wrote: post #5

> You don’t really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you? If that were true, nobody would work for us. > The truth is that we have over a million incredible employees around the world who are proud of what they do, and have great wages and health care from day one. Amazon's PR (one of the best in the industry) at its finest. Minimize/deny/ignore the issue raised, and quickly bridge to something else entirely. D…

Disclaimer: Work at AWS now. Opinion my own, and I have both good and bad things about my employer. I also have extreme reservations about capitalism.

1.) This is all competent PR. PR is there to cast the employer in a good light, and bait-and-switch is a tactic used since before there was a formalized PR industry. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon PR was going to next say 'most of our drivers aren't Amazon employees. We can't control how subcontractors act.' Which is a technically true statement, but misses the point.

2.) The context of this article is recent comments from Amazon's social media team and a director. In an incredibly large organization like Amazon, a director (and members of the social media team) is going to be far removed from the realities of package deliverers.

To give the director and social media team the benefit of the doubt, they could be speaking the truth as they believe it. Members of the social media team probably wouldn't work in a position wherein they're forced to urinate in bottles.

The director probably isn't aware of the 'leaked document'--which was really just an email sent to an unknown audience. But they typically won't send those types of emails to directors, because they don't want directors to know that stuff.

---

Amazon has a lot to atone for. It has some abhorrent practices. But let's not pretend that Amazon is the only company around where line workers don't have time to take adequate bathroom breaks. Or that Amazon's drivers are the only last mile delivery drivers who have issues finding time/places to go to the restroom.

Can Amazon do more? Yes. Should Amazon be a corporate leader? Yes. But this a larger problem than Amazon. This happens across industries with line workers and last mile delivery jobs.

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#48

Post by azinman2 »

vsskanth wrote: post #36

How do UPS USPS and FedEx drivers tackle this issue ? Restroom access is a problem and it's important to come up with some proposals especially if we want more women to be able to work these jobs

Probably the same. Why would it be any different?

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#49

Post by ericmcer »

WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #29
Symbiote wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could save time at work by peeing in a bottle at my desk. But my employer (and the law here) doesn't expect me to do this, even if the nearest toilet is several minutes walk away.

You're not considered a low grade commodity like these companies consider their workers.

Yes surely if these truckers were valued more Amazon would... install bathrooms in every van? Add a series of Amazon only toilets all over the country for drivers?

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#50

Post by madaxe_again »

neartheplain wrote: post #31
nerdponx wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, the old economics joke: > Two economists are walking down the street, when they pass buy a luxury car dealership. One economist says, "I really want that Ferrari!" The other economist replies, "Clearly you don't!" And the other one that isn't as relevant but is funny: > Two economists are walking down the street, when one of them sees something on the ground. She says, "hey, is that a $20 bill on the ground?" The…

Does the first joke refer to the fact that if they wanted the Ferrari they’d have bought it already, or that if they really wanted the Ferrari, they’d have chosen a more lucrative profession than economics?

The former - it’s a dig at “efficient markets”.
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