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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

#311

Post by cpufry »

ActionHank wrote: post #198
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.

i used to work on bezo's fc automation back in 2012 to 2016, they've been they'd been talking about "lights out fc" being just around the corner since since those days. if anything we had adjacent teams that were working on temp worker and worker scheduling systems, "people management" systems that had more interest from leadership. imo a lot of the automation stuff ended up being real timid and imo really was to juice valuation.

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

#312

Post by aguaviva »

regnull wrote: post #244
okokhacker wrote: post #223

I’m not sure why the general sentiment here is that Amazon workers do not deserve a living wage and should be replaced with robots. All the best to the union, I sincerely hope they meet your demands.

I don't think it's a question of who deserves what. They deserve a living wage. The kids deserve to get their presents on time. I deserve a pony. The question is how whether to see it as a smart tactical choice to get that they "deserve" or a cynical move to strike when they get maximum publicity and do maximum damage.

I would apply the term "cynical" to the decisions made by Amazon's management which create the working conditions that compel their workers to strike, while providing top 1% compensation to themselves.

These people are just doing what they have to do to survive. If anything, going on strike a truly desparate move. Insinuating that they are childishing in doing so (as if they feel they "deserve a pony") on the other hand, seems simply -- snide.

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

#313

Post by robertlagrant »

pyrale wrote: post #113
robertlagrant wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon employing people creates a lot of taxes. Don't forget everything's taxed, not just corporation tax. Every employee generates income tax, employee tax, if they invest their money the interest is taxed, almost everything they buy from a shop has VAT, fuel they purchase is taxed, everything they buy has a higher price because that business has to pay tax and so do its employees, ad infinitum. There's tax everywhe…

> employee tax There is no such thing as "employee tax". Usually, what exists is a scheme for some of the employee's salary to be paid in the form of retirement schemes, health care, etc. It's not a tax to subsidize unrelated things. Likewise, the income tax is not there to pay for the company's use of collective amenities, it's there to pay for the citizen's use. In the end, if your company doesn't pay all the stuff…

> There is no such thing as "employee tax". Usually, what exists is a scheme for some of the employee's salary to be paid in the form of retirement schemes, health care, etc. It's not a tax to subsidize unrelated things.

I didn't say it was to subsidize unrelated things; in fact it's more the other way round, where state pensions, and state employee pensions, public healthcare etc are just paid for, and the money comes from whence it comes.

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

#314

Post by greesil »

abduhl wrote: post #303
greesil wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

No. Guess we're at an impasse on this topic.

I find it funny that people are trying so hard to explain something to someone who really just wants an argument.

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

#315

Post by hirako2000 »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #247
asah wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1 - when I order on Amazon, it mostly gets here. Others, I suffer stress & distraction.

Hm, I have an active order right now. I ordered three things simultaneously on December 15 with a stated delivery date of December 20, also called out by the website as "arrives before Christmas". One of those things shipped the next day and is currently reported to be arriving tomorrow, which happens to match the stated delivery date. The other two have yet to ship, but their delivery date has slipped to "December 2…

Big day in 4 days. Amazon is currently dealing with hundreds of millions packages. Those not using fulfilment have less but even worse on them.

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

#316

Post by rectang »

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #154
rectang wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple Pay has raised my confidence level about buying directly from smaller internet sites. Since those sites don’t get my raw credit card info when I use Apple Pay, I don’t have to worry about whether they’ve implemented CC handling well (most have not). I almost never have to resort to Amazon any more.

Is this an ad? Paypal's been doing this for 25 years.

I've used PayPay a lot over decades, starting with when they were mainly a way of paying on eBay, but I haven't thought of them as "making the rest of the web an alternative to Amazon". Perhaps that's because PayPal didn't achieve the same market penetration. Or because I didn't perceive them as providing the same level of service, or ease of use — for example, they haven't made shipping as easy (or if they have, I'm not aware of it).

And no, my post is not an "ad" *eyeroll*. There seem to be several competitors active in a maturing ecosystem. I don't have experience with them them to the level that I'd feel comfortable citing them, but I regret not mentioning them if it would have made the point more effectively. If PayPal, or Google Pay, or some other provider has served that role for you, I'm glad.

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

#317

Post by zefhous »

bitmasher9 wrote: post #307
uxcolumbo wrote: post #175

I've unsubscribed from Amazon Prime and Audible. I don't mind waiting an extra for my stuff to arrive. It's important to support other smaller retailers. Amazon already started with enshittyfying some of their services.

What audible alternative are you using?

I have found a lot of great content available in Libby and Hoopla. I use my local library card, but am also able to get a card from a nearby larger city library, and between the two I have access to a lot of content and very soon in a lot of cases.

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

#319

Post by snikeris »

mschuster91 wrote: post #280
BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I’m not sure why the general sentiment here is that Amazon workers do not deserve a living wage and should be replaced with robots These are two entirely unrelated issues. If the world doesn't need a particular task to be done by humans, then the task should be performed by robots. Until that happens, the workers should be treated humanely.

> If the world doesn't need a particular task to be done by humans, then the task should be performed by robots. The problem is, our society isn't ready for that shift, not even close. Employment opportunities for the low skilled have all but gone down the drain - there is a reason why Walmart, Amazon and the other usual suspects love to set up shop in devastated communities: they have a captive audience that has no…

I worked for a Walmart store as a young man. It was well run, and they were adamant that you took your breaks throughout the day. I faced no exploitative or abusive conditions and was well paid.

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

#320

Post by graemep »

vouaobrasil wrote: post #75
graemep wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first point is true, but most people do not choose it. I do not think your second point stands. Almost the entire world is financially better off than it was in the past. Lots of third world economies are visibly richer than they were a few decades ago. Whose suffering are they benefitting from?

> The first point is true, but most people do not choose it. Because they lack wisdom and human beings en masse operate on instinct, not wisdom. > Almost the entire world is financially better off than it was in the past. Lots of third world economies are visibly richer than they were a few decades ago. Whose suffering are they benefitting from? The classic reply of the economist. It's because the industrial world me…

I did specify financially.

Also, there has been a visible improvement in living standards in third world countries. More money does not mean people have a better life in a rich country because there are diminishing returns on having more money. In a country where most people are a lot poorer and desperately need more money, more money does mean better off.

I am pretty sure people who can afford a proper house instead of a slum stack, or have a proper toilet, etc. are better off. As I said, there are visible improvements in the lives of the very poor.

"For example: if I could live next to a beautiful national park and walk there every day, that would be more valuable to me than a million dollars but living in a huge city."

That is your preference. Many people prefer living in a big city.

Also, what about how good your conditions of life are next to the beautiful national park? A nice house in a big city with good food and leisure time vs a shack in the beautiful place, hard work to grow a barely adequate amount of food?

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