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Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

reuters.com

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Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#191

Post by marpstar »

notTooFarGone wrote: post #53
vouaobrasil wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you are supporting is local sustainability. The world would be better off with less global trade and more local productions. Local productions means a stronger community and more visibility for business practices, because it's more sustainable. If a global business decides to just toss all the plastic it uses it in its backyard you'll never notice because it's 2000 miles away. If Amazon decides to treat their wo…

It's clearly not as black and white as you paint it. Local production uses the same materials that global production uses due to pricing. As long as transportation is cheaper than local production this will stay the same due to simple economics. Also accountability is the same there, shops just buy their material regardless of working conditions and whatsoever. At least companies can be regulated based off of that. T…

To add to this, local production means that money can be moving through local financial institutions, with larger balances, which provides more liquidity to the community.

Those financial institutions hire local people. Other local businesses use the same financial institutions.

It's not about "simple economics". This isn't a supply and demand curve. It's about what a higher cash flow/economic output can mean for the subjective quality of life in a community:

- More jobs - Higher wages - Improved public services (schools, roads, healthcare) - Increased property values

Tons of people in these comments talking about the shitty rural experience while seeming to miss the irony in "big cities are so much better" -- big cities started as small cities.

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#192

Post by jjav »

crazygringo wrote: post #184
dartos wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One big reason is it keep money local. When you buy from a non local business, that money leaves your towns microeconomy. It’s part of why dollar stores destroy low income areas.

When I buy from Amazon, it pays local warehouse workers and local delivery people. Amazon is a big employer in a lot of local communities.

Yes, minimum wage jobs for the locals, most of the profit goes to Bezos.

When you shop at locally-owned stores the money goes to a local small business owner, truly staying local.

Look up how walmart used to destroy small town economies by bankrupting all the local businesses and converting all those previously middle-class shop owners into minimum wage jobs at walmart.

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#193

Post by ndileas »

AndyMcConachie wrote: post #169
nine_k wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me, the key feature of Amazon is the fast delivery with Prime. Do other merchants offer fast delivery often enough? Regarding credit cards, I started using privacy dot com for virtual, merchant-locked cards. It protects against (rare) card details leaks, but, of course, does not give you any points or cashback.

It's interesting to me that some people really see fast-delivery as an important feature of e-commerce. In the 20+ years I've been buying stuff online I think maybe less than 5% of the time I have cared about how fast I get something delivered. Then again I don't have a business that relies on things getting to me fast. I'm just a guy who buys crap online for myself and my family. If I'm getting a book or some electr…

Fast delivery not a daily need for most people, but the dopamine hit is huge, and it makes people buy more stuff. I think an underappreciated factor of amazon's success is how it makes normal people feel like they're the boss, who can slam their fist and get immediate action.

Personally, I feel similarly to you, that most of the time the difference between one day and 1-3 weeks shipping is negligible. However, I think that relies on certain assumptions; I buy most consumable items (food, sponges, soap, etc) in person and almost always have enough to last another month or without buying more. Not everyone does that, some are JITing their daily needs and/or don't have enough free time and energy to make sure everything is always set well in advance (think working single mom, kid needs dress shirt tomorrow for whatever).

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#194

Post by crazygringo »

jjav wrote: post #192
crazygringo wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I buy from Amazon, it pays local warehouse workers and local delivery people. Amazon is a big employer in a lot of local communities.

Yes, minimum wage jobs for the locals, most of the profit goes to Bezos. When you shop at locally-owned stores the money goes to a local small business owner, truly staying local. Look up how walmart used to destroy small town economies by bankrupting all the local businesses and converting all those previously middle-class shop owners into minimum wage jobs at walmart.

> most of the profit goes to Bezos.

Incorrect. Bezos only owns 8.8% of Amazon.

Most of the profit is distributed to a wide variety of shareholders in the form of rising share prices, reflected in things like retirement accounts. In other words, a lot of that profit goes to grandmas across the country with their money in a Vanguard retirement fund. Including grandmas in your local community.

And you really think the local shopowner kept all the profit in their community? E.g. they didn't send their kids to college in another state? Or build a house with materials sourced from all over the country?

It's a whole lot more complicated than you seem to think.

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#195

Post by Bishonen88 »

kube-system wrote: post #188
nine_k wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me, the key feature of Amazon is the fast delivery with Prime. Do other merchants offer fast delivery often enough? Regarding credit cards, I started using privacy dot com for virtual, merchant-locked cards. It protects against (rare) card details leaks, but, of course, does not give you any points or cashback.

I don't dislike typing in my credit card numbers because I'm worried about the number leaking (This is the US, I hand my card to strangers a half dozen times per week), I dislike it because I have to go find my wallet and fill out a long form. Apple Pay is nice because I can slap one button on the top right of my keyboard.

A password manager can fill out CC details automatically as well.

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#196

Post by gruez »

jvanderbot wrote: post #120
vasco wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had this exact sentiment for many years but... what are we supporting really? Is it because you want a distributed network of inventory across the country near you in case of emergency? Is it because you like talking to someone when doing purchases? Is it because you think someone is doing a societal good by parking money in inventory they brought near you? Is it because you just don't like someone doing it more…

I used to work at Amazon. What you want to support are: - local retailers offer better jobs, and often better benefits. The work you do stocking at Menards is much better than sorting boxes at Amazon - support local repair vs repurchasing. This cuts down on the upstream demand and does wonders for local small-business economies. And again, provides better jobs than sorting boxes. - Efficiency is great! But what is Am…

>- local retailers offer better jobs, and often better benefits.

Is this backed by empirical evidence? I've also heard that small local companies have worse labor conditions, because they're small and fly under the radar compared to multinationals. One incident of an Amazon delivery driver peeing in bottles (even if they're technically working for a local subcontractor) is enough to show up on the New York Times. The same isn't going to be true for some local firm. Moreover, it's possible that "local retailers" targets a more upmarket segment compared to national chains. When I think "local retailers", I think small boutique shops in gentrifying neighborhoods. Obviously those stores will have better working conditions than Amazon, but it's not as if we got rid of Amazon, it'll get replaced by boutique shops, or that most people would be better served by them.

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#197

Post by beowulfey »

vasco wrote: post #34
ramon156 wrote: post #5

Had to buy some simple toolkit today. It was 5 bucks on Amazon, but I decided to find a local store that sells it. Same price btw. I think we should be a bit more aware about the impact of ordering everything through Amazon. Not only regarding delivery, but also the message it sends to local stores.

I've had this exact sentiment for many years but... what are we supporting really? Is it because you want a distributed network of inventory across the country near you in case of emergency? Is it because you like talking to someone when doing purchases? Is it because you think someone is doing a societal good by parking money in inventory they brought near you? Is it because you just don't like someone doing it more…

It's called "community" and our generation has no idea what that word means or why there is value to it.

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#198

Post by ActionHank »

rsanek wrote: post #152

10k is about 0.7% of their total employee count. I wonder if this will have any effect.

It will have more business people asking about robots, other than that I doubt it will. Amazon don't even care if the packages are late because of this, they still get your purchase.

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#199

Post by OfficeChad »

infecto wrote: post #126
vouaobrasil wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a bad thing. And you say it like it's a dichotomy. And I could certainly get most of the comforts of modern life with 5% of the force of globalization. House, food, bed, some reading material, etc. I don't really care for technology, and I use it because it's part of my work and livelihood. BUT, I could easily be just as happy living a simpler life. Believe me, I've already thought about it. I could be pretty m…

Please get off the internet then, destroy your computer and go live on a farm. I don't say this to be an antagonist but it is what you yourself is suggesting others do.

[dead]

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#200

Post by dartos »

crazygringo wrote: post #194
jjav wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, minimum wage jobs for the locals, most of the profit goes to Bezos. When you shop at locally-owned stores the money goes to a local small business owner, truly staying local. Look up how walmart used to destroy small town economies by bankrupting all the local businesses and converting all those previously middle-class shop owners into minimum wage jobs at walmart.

> most of the profit goes to Bezos. Incorrect. Bezos only owns 8.8% of Amazon. Most of the profit is distributed to a wide variety of shareholders in the form of rising share prices, reflected in things like retirement accounts. In other words, a lot of that profit goes to grandmas across the country with their money in a Vanguard retirement fund. Including grandmas in your local community. And you really think the l…

> And you really think the local shopowner kept all the profit in their community? E.g. they didn't send their kids to college in another state?

Imagine spending money and having that money allow people in your local community to afford college.

Then imagine thinking that’s a bad thing.

Obviously it’s complicated, but the gist is longer money stays in a local area, the better off that area is going to be.

It’s better for money to leave my town so that my neighbor’s kid could go to college than it is for me to get two day shipping on a new game console.

A pathological case could be made that every dollar that you keep in town is a dollar someone spends outside of the town. That’s a valid argument in theory, but in reality that doesn’t happen.

People go to local businesses and spend money. Local bars, specialty markets, farmers markets, etc.

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