dailymail.co.uk really shouldn't be on the front page of hn, its a tabloid.
Amazon delivery drivers complain about bad work conditions
21–30 of 109 posts
Re: Amazon delivery drivers complain about bad work conditions
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree, this is part of the "gig" economy gone bad. I think the solution is quite simple though. All contracts must also include a minimum wage (not saying this is the US minimum wage currently) per hour. This sets a floor and forces more of the cost back up the chain. It fixes the problem of someone forcing minimally bid contracts to people who are desperate for any kind of work. We have great algorithms and the co…
Minimum wage laws are already supposed to work like that. The problem is that companies, Amazon and their contractors in particular, have been able to mischaracterize employees as "contractors" in order to get around minimum wage laws. It's the lax enforcement of 1099 mischaracterization that has allowed the "gig economy" shit-sandwich jobs to proliferate. A deliver driver who has to maintain a delivery schedule or m…
Right, that is what I was trying to say (and maybe did poorly). A plumber bids his own contract. These deliveries are bid and structured by someone else. It should be more like how most mechanics work (especially at a dealership). There is a book that says that job X should normally take Y hours to complete. The mechanics know their rate of payment per hour. The way you really make money is by being better than Y hours. Yes, you can still screw up and take 2Y but there is a floor that is "fair" and you don't have to be worried about people bidding Y / 2 and a race to the bottom.
Re: Amazon delivery drivers complain about bad work conditions
#23There was a time when you could give a christmas bonus to the mail man. I wish that the delivery men were more consistent, I would love to be able to give them a cash gift for all the work they do for me and my family on a regular basis.
Unfortunately it seems like during the holidays the usual delivery guy isn't around and it's a chaotic mix of people.
While we are here, I hate that they are now making people deliver on Sundays. Every year I struggle more with the morality of the package economy.
Re: Amazon delivery drivers complain about bad work conditions
#24On reddit, "spagheddie" wrote: I was once a FedEx delivery driver, so I don't know how it is for Amazon, but I would imagine it's similar? At FedEx we got paid per package delivered, which means the faster you deliver your packages, the more you are technically getting paid per hour. In addition to this, you'd get a daily bonus for delivering the packages fast. We could take our lunches whenever, nobody cared as long…
I've noticed this sort of thing a lot in the job market: performance or pay are directly tied to metrics resulting in employees being incentivized into odd behaviors (breaking the law, sabotaging coworkers, skipping breaks/lunch, stagtegically cancelling or avoiding work, etc). This type of management through metrics goes hand in hand with the gig economy and also temp agency/contract work.
Re: Amazon delivery drivers complain about bad work conditions
#25There was a time when you could give a christmas bonus to the mail man. I wish that the delivery men were more consistent, I would love to be able to give them a cash gift for all the work they do for me and my family on a regular basis. Unfortunately it seems like during the holidays the usual delivery guy isn't around and it's a chaotic mix of people. While we are here, I hate that they are now making people delive…
I'd really prefer that people be paid an adequate wage where I don't feel like I have to tip.
And why is Sunday delivery worse than Sunday work in a myriad of other industries, like retail or restaurants?
Re: Amazon delivery drivers complain about bad work conditions
#26There was a time when you could give a christmas bonus to the mail man. I wish that the delivery men were more consistent, I would love to be able to give them a cash gift for all the work they do for me and my family on a regular basis. Unfortunately it seems like during the holidays the usual delivery guy isn't around and it's a chaotic mix of people. While we are here, I hate that they are now making people delive…
I'd really prefer that people be paid an adequate wage where I don't feel like I have to tip. And why is Sunday delivery worse than Sunday work in a myriad of other industries, like retail or restaurants?
I'm not big on Sunday retail either. I prefer the older tradition where most stores were closed on Sunday so people could be with their families.
Re: Amazon delivery drivers complain about bad work conditions
#27In India, this gets worse. Lot of delivery guys use 2 wheelers and can often been seen carrying a huge bag full of packages on their bikes. Moreover many buildings don't have lifts so they end up carrying this load up 2 or 3 storeys. This is extremely back breaking work and add to that the pressure to deliver packages on time and navigating crazy Indian traffic on two wheelers with such heavy loads. On the other hand I am not sure what can be done.... People are just concerned about their convenience with no regards for rights of the delivery people. And given the level of unemployment it is unlikely that there will be protests from the drivers. While Indian e-commerce booms it will be on the backs of these guys.
Re: Amazon delivery drivers complain about bad work conditions
#28pesos have to flow in the right direction...
Re: Amazon delivery drivers complain about bad work conditions
#29There was a time when you could give a christmas bonus to the mail man. I wish that the delivery men were more consistent, I would love to be able to give them a cash gift for all the work they do for me and my family on a regular basis. Unfortunately it seems like during the holidays the usual delivery guy isn't around and it's a chaotic mix of people. While we are here, I hate that they are now making people delive…
USPS now delivers exclusively on Sunday for Amazon. It looks like they are expanding this service with lower wage jobs, with less benefits compared to the traditional postal worker.
I was shocked to receive a package from Amazon via USPS this past Labor day, of all days.
Quite depressing to see the continued erosion of rights workers fought for over the past century, to service one of the most powerful companies in the country. I've been trying to opt myself out of Amazon where possible.
https://www.alternet.org/labor /horrific-new-marriage-between-your-post-office-and-amazon-sunday
Re: Amazon delivery drivers complain about bad work conditions
#30I had an Amazon delivery driver pull up to my house at 10pm in his Camry. They clearly don't have their shit together.