3 ms·

It seems that everyone is assuming that the allegations in the article are true, and are commenting based on that assumption. But are they true? Can someone co

by wenc 9y ago

It seems that everyone is assuming that the allegations in the article are true, and are commenting based on that assumption. But are they true? Can someone corroborate? p.s. the reason I ask is because things are often more complex than a simple narrative would have you believe, and it's worthwhile thinking about what's actually going on rather than just taking in a narrative without questioning it.

11thEarlOfMar 9y ago
Moreover, Amazon is a global company with 500,000+ employees. Painting the entire company with this brush is poor analysis. If this portrayal is representative of this distribution center, it could be the result of a general manager whose incentive bonuses motivate him/her to be strict about how pickers spend their time and grant strikes even for legitimate medical excuses. Or it could be true that all of Amazon is this way. In that case, however, this one circumstance is insufficient to draw that conclusion.
- sn41 9y ago
  I suspect it is a pervasive part of Amazon's work culture. They bought Whole Foods, IIRC, and there were news articles about how that went: http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/02/whole-foods-inventory-system-reportedly-making-employees-cry-at-work.html http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/02/whole-foods-inventory-syst...
  - wenc 9y ago
    The problem identified in the article seems to point to the OTS inventory system, which was a Whole Foods initiative. Amazon doesn't seem to know much about it (which may partly be the problem), but it isn't evidence against Amazon per se.
hackandtrip 9y ago
Even if the bottle story could be an hyperbole, the work conditions for manual work are well known to be sub standard. Italian news [0] already got some articles where employers criticize the conditions. Nothing like peeing in a bottle, but the problem remains and all the comments made here are still valid. [0]: https://it.businessinsider.com/due-dipendenti-amazon-raccontano-linferno-del-centro-di-smistamento-di-piacenza/ https://it.businessinsider.com/due-dipendenti-amazon-raccont...
avoutthere 9y ago
I personally know a number of Amazon warehouse workers and none of them consider the workplace to be harsh. This article smacks of a smear campaign. Note the timing with this piece: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-13/oracle-is-said-to-lead-anti-amazon-lobby-on-pentagon-cloud-bid https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-13/oracle-is...

by wenc 9y ago

11thEarlOfMar 9y ago

Moreover, Amazon is a global company with 500,000+ employees. Painting the entire company with this brush is poor analysis. If this portrayal is representative of this distribution center, it could be the result of a general manager whose incentive bonuses motivate him/her to be strict about how pickers spend their time and grant strikes even for legitimate medical excuses. Or it could be true that all of Amazon is this way. In that case, however, this one circumstance is insufficient to draw that conclusion.

sn41 9y ago
I suspect it is a pervasive part of Amazon's work culture. They bought Whole Foods, IIRC, and there were news articles about how that went: http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/02/whole-foods-inventory-system-reportedly-making-employees-cry-at-work.html http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/02/whole-foods-inventory-syst...
- wenc 9y ago
  The problem identified in the article seems to point to the OTS inventory system, which was a Whole Foods initiative. Amazon doesn't seem to know much about it (which may partly be the problem), but it isn't evidence against Amazon per se.

hackandtrip 9y ago

Even if the bottle story could be an hyperbole, the work conditions for manual work are well known to be sub standard. Italian news [0] already got some articles where employers criticize the conditions. Nothing like peeing in a bottle, but the problem remains and all the comments made here are still valid. [0]: https://it.businessinsider.com/due-dipendenti-amazon-raccontano-linferno-del-centro-di-smistamento-di-piacenza/ https://it.businessinsider.com/due-dipendenti-amazon-raccont...

avoutthere 9y ago

I personally know a number of Amazon warehouse workers and none of them consider the workplace to be harsh. This article smacks of a smear campaign. Note the timing with this piece: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-13/oracle-is-said-to-lead-anti-amazon-lobby-on-pentagon-cloud-bid https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-13/oracle-is...