I just finished Sam Walton's Book "Made in America". It's about Walmart, but I heard somewhere it's required reading for all Amazon managers. Anyway, it's a fantastic book, and there's something about their Anti-Union stance in it: "I have always believed strongly that we don’t need unions at Wal-Mart. Theoretically, I understand the argument that unions try to make, that the associates need someone to represent them…
I'd love some German style unions but it's the companies that won't give them a shot.
Amazon is offering competitive wages (especially for Albama's cost of living), and benefits from day one. Maybe a majority of the workers there prefer the status quo?
>Amazon is offering competitive wages (especially for Albama's cost of living), and benefits from day one.
>The most recent figure for the median wage in greater Birmingham, a metropolitan area of roughly one million people that includes Bessemer, was nearly $3 above Amazon’s pay there, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
I would be willing to listen to that line of argument, but having seen the Amazon manager training videos, the doitwithoutdues.com site, the countless other articles, evidence and anecdotes about Amazon's particularly aggressive forms of trying to prevent unionisation, the twitter ambassadors tweeting the official talking points etc. I don't think we can rule out the possibility we don't actually know what the employ…
The union is free to pay Amazon employees $15 an hour to watch their propaganda videos. This paternalism of low wage employees needs to stop. They can make up their own mind and actually have skin in the game as opposed to some tech worker making 10x as much telling them they're being brainwashed
I don't see the paternalism in the comment you are replying to. Nobody is saying that workers can't make up their own minds.
To me the comment is pointing out that we as outsiders very likely don't know what is going on because reporting is probably biased.
This is an ahistorical argument that is wildly ignorant of the power dynamics between labor and capital, with a Nassim Taleb-ism shoe-horned in to a place where it doesn't fit.
And isn’t this the core issue behind nearly every political disagreement? Who has power, and how can we take it. I’m not saying that’s always bad, but it is, at the end of the day, about control.
And here I was thinking political disagreement was about solving problems and reaching compromises to everyone's benefit. I guess I'm naive.
And isn’t this the core issue behind nearly every political disagreement? Who has power, and how can we take it. I’m not saying that’s always bad, but it is, at the end of the day, about control.
And here I was thinking political disagreement was about solving problems and reaching compromises to everyone's benefit. I guess I'm naive. Edit: Updated for clarity
Amazon is entirely apathetic to the concerns of their warehouse and trucking staff. That's why they need to wear diapers, soil themselves, shit in bags in the back of their trucks, and piss in bottles. If Amazon was interested in compromising we wouldn't be seeing nationwide coverage of these issues wherever Amazon builds a warehouse.
Once upon a time Republicans represented the managerial and investor class and Democrats represented labor (1920’s-1990’s). Now the corporate DNC is just pro mega corps with lip service to corporate safe “progressive” topics that don’t challenge their power. Identity politics etc. Sorry more of a rant here but I don’t see unions getting much help anytime in the press or national stage and doubt Apple, Google, Wal mar…
Unions will eventually find ways to persist symbiotically with big business by making it impossible to do small business.
I would be willing to listen to that line of argument, but having seen the Amazon manager training videos, the doitwithoutdues.com site, the countless other articles, evidence and anecdotes about Amazon's particularly aggressive forms of trying to prevent unionisation, the twitter ambassadors tweeting the official talking points etc. I don't think we can rule out the possibility we don't actually know what the employ…
One of my neighbor works fir Amazon warehouse here in NJ, he is quite happy, never heard him complain about it. Yeap, I agreed with you. The media is untrustworthy and is a propaganda machine. Good thing is they are digging their own grave now.
I despise my job, but I'm unskilled and considering my pay, benefits, and responsibilities it's the best compromise I've found. I'd tell you, and my coworkers, that I'm happy. But I'm lying and no one wants to hear me complain about the bad hand life has dealt me so I put my face on and pretend, like just about everyone else.
Computerization of stock control and sales made trusting and empowering the employees much less necessary. I suspect his attitude would not have lasted even if he had survived.
One of the largest german drugstore chains still operates by that principle and they're successful with it. Computerized sales will not pick up on certain things - for example stuff that is not available in the store but people ask for.
As a contrary to that, many stores have a phone app that lets you look up items in a given store location. I've been using that exclusively for the last few years instead of trying to find someone to help me. I'm sure that these apps can and do report on searches that turn up out of stock items or unknown items.
Of course I do miss the service level I used to be able to get; for example I could walk into a box store and find an employee in the plumbing aisle, describe my problem, and they would not only show me where the item I needed is located, but would also give me tips on installation or even talk me out of the purchase if my problem didn't actually need a replacement part (but and adjustment instead).
Imagine a world where being able to not have access to healthcare is a good thing.
Americans always say it should be "their choice" and I just feel like I'm staring at an incomplete jigsaw puzzle Like. It's your choice to...go bankrupt or die from a treatable illness? I don't know what they expect non-Americans to draw from that line of reasoning
Before WWII, people in the U.S. bought catastrophic insurance and generally paid for their medical care out of pocket without much trouble. This kind of insurance was around $80/month or less in my state before Obamacare was implemented (it doubled after that). Before WWII, everyone simply paid for common Doctor visits and relied on their insurance for larger bills. After WWII, the US made gave employers tax incentives to provide insurance, which in hindsight was a huge mistake.
As an iww organizer with friends across the US in Amazon warehouse management and on the ground- no Unions are just bringing democracy into capitalism. How can any red blooded American oppose them? Edit: not sure why I'm being down voted, did I say something offensive??
I suspect many of the child comments don’t understand how IWW differs from RWDSU.
Perhaps you could be the one to elucidate the distinction.