3 ms·

That should come from the top, not from the bottom of the company. It's not the responsibility of a lower level employee to define what his company stands for.

by krn 7y ago

That should come from the top, not from the bottom of the company. It's not the responsibility of a lower level employee to define what his company stands for. Everyone is free to work for a company that matches his values.

paganel 7y ago
> Everyone is free to work for a company that matches his values. No, they are not. Maybe it is true for a select group of people (computer programmers, some lawyers, some medical professionals), but the vast majority of people are not "free to work" and choose any company that matches "their values". Which makes protests like this one even more important and noteworthy, as those people protesting are risking a lot more compared to the "privileged" professions I mentioned above.
- krn 7y ago
  > Which makes protests like this one even more important and noteworthy, as those people protesting are risking a lot more compared to the "privileged" professions I mentioned above. The profession doesn't matter at all, because anyone can go to the streets and protest to defend public interests. But attacking your own employer is not a solution. Why not to look for a job at NGO, or get involved in a non-profit startup instead? Oh, it doesn't pay well enough? Then you have to come into an agreement with yourself.
  - hectorlorenzo 7y ago
    Because no one in big corps would then fight for these kind of issues. Amazon changing parts of its business to be more sustainable is probably more impactful than dozens of NGOs at full speed.
    - krn 7y ago
      Amazon or any other corporation will only change parts of its business to become more sustainable if that directly (through lower spending) or indirectly (through improved public image) increases its profitability. Unless, of course, it's forced to do so by government regulations.
      - hectorlorenzo 7y ago
        Well, I guess that workers demonstrating publicly against your own policies doesn't do wonders for public image.
  - paganel 7y ago
    > Why not to look for a job at NGO, or get involved in a non-profit startup instead? You're seriously asking why a lowly-paid Amazon employee doesn't look for a NGO or a non-profit startup job instead? No offence, but is this satire? It seems like a Silicon Valley episode to me.
    - conanbatt 7y ago
      If you are a lowly-paid employee, your focus should be on becoming a highly-paid employee, not in engaging fights with your allegedly only employer.
    - krn 7y ago
      > No offence, but is this satire? It seems like a Silicon Valley episode to me. As an EU citizen from a country with an average personal income of less than 1000€ / month, I don't see any problem with not working for a company that stands against what I firmly believe in. It doesn't necessarily have to be an NGO or a non-profit. If you care about climate change more than about anything else, get a job at TSLA.
      - CalRobert 7y ago
        "As an EU citizen" This does confer some benefits with respect to safety net, etc. Working for an NGO might mean your kid not getting adequate health care. Also, I don't believe TSLA is in a position to hire everyone who might like to work there (and they're not perfect themselves considering Elon's opposition to public transport that actually works, like buses)
        krn 7y ago
        > This does confer some benefits with respect to safety net, etc. Sure, it does, but we are talking here about highly paid Amazon's tech employees, not about lowly paid warehouse workers: > More than 340 tech workers at Amazon used the hashtag #AMZNSpeakOut in public statements that condemn the company for not taking sufficient action on the climate crisis.
        7y ago
  - zentiggr 7y ago
    Wow... it's been a long time since you bootstrapped yourself through minimum wage jobs and had do work for anyone who would take you until you could save enough to start to crawl up out of that cycle... Took me a tour in the military to change my overall chances in life. And there aren't enough NGOs and startups to absorb thousands of Amazon workers anyway... hence having to get the warehouse jobs in the first place. If employees aren't allowed to lobby / strike / speak out for better behavior of their own employer, no one else is going to have better leverage to encourage change either.
    - krn 7y ago
      > And there aren't enough NGOs and startups to absorb thousands of Amazon workers anyway... hence having to get the warehouse jobs in the first place. These climate protesters are not warehouse workers – they are Amazon's tech employees, making hundreds of thousands per year. People working for a minimum wage are far too busy fighting for their own survival. In fact, many blue collar workers in the US are concerned that any new environmental policies might reduce their jobs and income. It's the highly-educated white collar workers, who are protesting against climate change. And they have more than enough options in choosing whom to work for.
raxxorrax 7y ago
Your customers might be interested in what your "lower level employees" think.

by krn 7y ago

paganel 7y ago

> Everyone is free to work for a company that matches his values. No, they are not. Maybe it is true for a select group of people (computer programmers, some lawyers, some medical professionals), but the vast majority of people are not "free to work" and choose any company that matches "their values". Which makes protests like this one even more important and noteworthy, as those people protesting are risking a lot more compared to the "privileged" professions I mentioned above.

krn 7y ago
> Which makes protests like this one even more important and noteworthy, as those people protesting are risking a lot more compared to the "privileged" professions I mentioned above. The profession doesn't matter at all, because anyone can go to the streets and protest to defend public interests. But attacking your own employer is not a solution. Why not to look for a job at NGO, or get involved in a non-profit startup instead? Oh, it doesn't pay well enough? Then you have to come into an agreement with yourself.
- hectorlorenzo 7y ago
  Because no one in big corps would then fight for these kind of issues. Amazon changing parts of its business to be more sustainable is probably more impactful than dozens of NGOs at full speed.
  - krn 7y ago
    Amazon or any other corporation will only change parts of its business to become more sustainable if that directly (through lower spending) or indirectly (through improved public image) increases its profitability. Unless, of course, it's forced to do so by government regulations.
    - hectorlorenzo 7y ago
      Well, I guess that workers demonstrating publicly against your own policies doesn't do wonders for public image.
- paganel 7y ago
  > Why not to look for a job at NGO, or get involved in a non-profit startup instead? You're seriously asking why a lowly-paid Amazon employee doesn't look for a NGO or a non-profit startup job instead? No offence, but is this satire? It seems like a Silicon Valley episode to me.
  - conanbatt 7y ago
    If you are a lowly-paid employee, your focus should be on becoming a highly-paid employee, not in engaging fights with your allegedly only employer.
  - krn 7y ago
    > No offence, but is this satire? It seems like a Silicon Valley episode to me. As an EU citizen from a country with an average personal income of less than 1000€ / month, I don't see any problem with not working for a company that stands against what I firmly believe in. It doesn't necessarily have to be an NGO or a non-profit. If you care about climate change more than about anything else, get a job at TSLA.
    - CalRobert 7y ago
      "As an EU citizen" This does confer some benefits with respect to safety net, etc. Working for an NGO might mean your kid not getting adequate health care. Also, I don't believe TSLA is in a position to hire everyone who might like to work there (and they're not perfect themselves considering Elon's opposition to public transport that actually works, like buses)
      - krn 7y ago
        > This does confer some benefits with respect to safety net, etc. Sure, it does, but we are talking here about highly paid Amazon's tech employees, not about lowly paid warehouse workers: > More than 340 tech workers at Amazon used the hashtag #AMZNSpeakOut in public statements that condemn the company for not taking sufficient action on the climate crisis.
      - 7y ago
- zentiggr 7y ago
  Wow... it's been a long time since you bootstrapped yourself through minimum wage jobs and had do work for anyone who would take you until you could save enough to start to crawl up out of that cycle... Took me a tour in the military to change my overall chances in life. And there aren't enough NGOs and startups to absorb thousands of Amazon workers anyway... hence having to get the warehouse jobs in the first place. If employees aren't allowed to lobby / strike / speak out for better behavior of their own employer, no one else is going to have better leverage to encourage change either.
  - krn 7y ago
    > And there aren't enough NGOs and startups to absorb thousands of Amazon workers anyway... hence having to get the warehouse jobs in the first place. These climate protesters are not warehouse workers – they are Amazon's tech employees, making hundreds of thousands per year. People working for a minimum wage are far too busy fighting for their own survival. In fact, many blue collar workers in the US are concerned that any new environmental policies might reduce their jobs and income. It's the highly-educated white collar workers, who are protesting against climate change. And they have more than enough options in choosing whom to work for.

raxxorrax 7y ago

Your customers might be interested in what your "lower level employees" think.