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Does anyone know what the "laughable justifications" for the firings were?

by jsnell 7y ago

morelisp 7y ago
In one case, an organizer was fired for refusing to not come to work after being put on "quarantine", three weeks after he was initially exposed and not given any leave, and no one else involved in the exposure was quarantined. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/31/amazon-strike-worker-fired-organizing-walkout-chris-smallls https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/31/amazon-strik... The specific incidents Bray discussed seemed to be on a private internal list, and specifically related to AECJ so probably not this issue - I doubt anyone will leak it as unless there's something especially egregious (not just specious justification, but something like a racial or sexist slur) it doesn't really benefit either side.
- schnischna 7y ago
  Nevertheless, he was quarantined and came to work. Why?
  - morelisp 7y ago
    I mean, he's absolutely explicit why: Smalls felt, by all evidence reasonably, that Amazon's working conditions were unsafe and unfair and wanted to advocate for better conditions for himself and his fellow workers. Why do you feel the need to ask this question? What ridiculous conspiracy theory are you concocting that somehow gives an ulterior motive to this situation?
    - schnischna 7y ago
      Because he was fired for refusing to comply to the orders of his employer. Whether they seemed reasonable or not. And he seems to have switched from worrying about his safety to campaigning against Amazon. Why should anybody be forced to employ somebody who has made it their job to damage their employers reputation?
      - josefx 7y ago
        > Whether they seemed reasonable or not. Isn't following unreasonable orders by definition you know unreasonable? I mean if your boss told you to jump of a bridge that seems unreasonable right? And you would still do it? After all he is your boss and you don't want to get fired, right?
        cowsandmilk 7y ago
        Being ordered to quarantine does not put you at risk. Jumping off a bridge puts your life in danger. Have no idea how those are at all comparable.
        josefx 7y ago
        > Have no idea how those are at all comparable. He was in the middle of organizing a movement for covid related safety improvements after multiple cases of exposure. Dropping that for two weeks would put him back at zero and he would return to the same risk he tried to have resolved. The order itself doesn't cause the risk, but it prevents an existing risk from being resolved. Its closer to working on an active train track knowing that the train might come any time. Of course he could have taken two weeks vacation, but he would just be back on the same train track with the same uncertainty of when it would be his turn to be hit by the covid train.
  - icebraining 7y ago
    The quarantine seems to be complete BS: "According to the company’s previous statements, the infected co-worker in question last reported for work on 11 March. (...) Smalls said Amazon did not send him home until 28 March, three weeks after the exposure."
    - schnischna 7y ago
      Nevertheless, he contradicted the orders of his employers, which seems a good reason for being fired. (Edit, in response to the answer below: I doubt sending somebody home to be quarantined violates any laws).
      - morelisp 7y ago
        Unless those orders contradicted employment law, in which case it seems like a good reason for Amazon to be shut down.
gadders 7y ago
One was explained in the linked article: "Amazon fired the warehouse worker Smalls on Monday, after he led a walkout of a number of employees at a Staten Island distribution warehouse. Amazon says he was fired for violating a company-imposed 14-day quarantine after he came into contact with an employee who tested positive for the coronavirus. Smalls says the employee who tested positive came into contact with many other workers for longer periods of time before her test came back. He claims he was singled out after pleading with management to sanitize the warehouse and be more transparent about the number of workers who were sick."

Does anyone know what the "laughable justifications" for the firings were?

by jsnell 7y ago

Does anyone know what the "laughable justifications" for the firings were?

In one case, an organizer was fired for refusing to not come to work after being put on "quarantine", three weeks after he was initially exposed and not given any leave, and no one else involved in the exposure was quarantined. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/31/amazon-strike-worker-fired-organizing-walkout-chris-smallls https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/31/amazon-strik... The specific incidents Bray discussed seemed to be on a private internal list, and specifically related to AECJ so probably not this issue - I doubt anyone will leak it as unless there's something especially egregious (not just specious justification, but something like a racial or sexist slur) it doesn't really benefit either side.

schnischna 7y ago
Nevertheless, he was quarantined and came to work. Why?
- morelisp 7y ago
  I mean, he's absolutely explicit why: Smalls felt, by all evidence reasonably, that Amazon's working conditions were unsafe and unfair and wanted to advocate for better conditions for himself and his fellow workers. Why do you feel the need to ask this question? What ridiculous conspiracy theory are you concocting that somehow gives an ulterior motive to this situation?
  - schnischna 7y ago
    Because he was fired for refusing to comply to the orders of his employer. Whether they seemed reasonable or not. And he seems to have switched from worrying about his safety to campaigning against Amazon. Why should anybody be forced to employ somebody who has made it their job to damage their employers reputation?
    - josefx 7y ago
      > Whether they seemed reasonable or not. Isn't following unreasonable orders by definition you know unreasonable? I mean if your boss told you to jump of a bridge that seems unreasonable right? And you would still do it? After all he is your boss and you don't want to get fired, right?
      - cowsandmilk 7y ago
        Being ordered to quarantine does not put you at risk. Jumping off a bridge puts your life in danger. Have no idea how those are at all comparable.
        josefx 7y ago
        > Have no idea how those are at all comparable. He was in the middle of organizing a movement for covid related safety improvements after multiple cases of exposure. Dropping that for two weeks would put him back at zero and he would return to the same risk he tried to have resolved. The order itself doesn't cause the risk, but it prevents an existing risk from being resolved. Its closer to working on an active train track knowing that the train might come any time. Of course he could have taken two weeks vacation, but he would just be back on the same train track with the same uncertainty of when it would be his turn to be hit by the covid train.
- icebraining 7y ago
  The quarantine seems to be complete BS: "According to the company’s previous statements, the infected co-worker in question last reported for work on 11 March. (...) Smalls said Amazon did not send him home until 28 March, three weeks after the exposure."
  - schnischna 7y ago
    Nevertheless, he contradicted the orders of his employers, which seems a good reason for being fired. (Edit, in response to the answer below: I doubt sending somebody home to be quarantined violates any laws).
    - morelisp 7y ago
      Unless those orders contradicted employment law, in which case it seems like a good reason for Amazon to be shut down.

gadders 7y ago

One was explained in the linked article: "Amazon fired the warehouse worker Smalls on Monday, after he led a walkout of a number of employees at a Staten Island distribution warehouse. Amazon says he was fired for violating a company-imposed 14-day quarantine after he came into contact with an employee who tested positive for the coronavirus. Smalls says the employee who tested positive came into contact with many other workers for longer periods of time before her test came back. He claims he was singled out after pleading with management to sanitize the warehouse and be more transparent about the number of workers who were sick."