3 ms·

No it's not. The very definition of sweatshop implies very low wages and long hours.

three_seagrass 6y ago
According to Wikipedia, a sweatshop is semantically a workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. The work may be difficult, dangerous, climatically challenging or underpaid. It's true that workers in sweatshops may work long hours with low pay, but it's not limited to that. If you read the article with the example that was asked for, you'd see the examples of how it's sweatshop conditions.
- adamweld 6y ago
  I read through the article, I don't really see how it fits that definition. Long shifts on your feet, physical labor, short breaks and no cell phones. Precise tracking of performance. Does it sound like fun? Hell no. But it seems like decent pay for unskilled physical labor, and I haven't read anything that sounds like sweatshop conditions.
  - three_seagrass 6y ago
    12 hour shifts on your feet with no access to chairs, consistent 150 F work conditions, 30 minute lunch breaks that take 30 minutes to get to, no paid bathroom breaks, etc. are a few of the examples from this one article alone that are in line with the semantics of sweatshop conditions.
    - 300bps 6y ago
      consistent 150 F work conditions If she told you there were sharks with lasers on their heads would you have believed that too? The article is literally unbelievable.
      - three_seagrass 6y ago
        No, but if multiple workers at multiple locations said the same thing, then it is more believable: >"I was really upset and I said, 'All you people care about is the rates, not the well-being of the people,' " she said. "I've never worked for an employer that had paramedics waiting outside for people to drop because of the extreme heat." There were so many reports of workers overheating that OSHA had to get involved: https://www.mcall.com/news/watchdog/mc-allentown-amazon-complaints-20110917-story.html https://www.mcall.com/news/watchdog/mc-allentown-amazon-comp... That, along with other conditions reported, make it a literal sweatshop.
  - memonkey 6y ago
    The idea that physical labor being unskilled work has been perpetuated for thousands of years in class based systems despite the fact that any kind of work can involve both physical and intellectual skill. If you've ever worked in a warehouse, you would know that there are plenty of skills to learn and refine.
  - uoaei 6y ago
    $16/hr is decent pay in those conditions? They risk bringing the coronavirus home every day to their families. Their bodies are chewed up over the course of months until they start falling apart from the stress and wear. "short breaks" usually means something like "you're only allowed to go to the bathroom twice" which is technically illegal but Amazon spent a lot of money asking consultants and lawyers how to circumvent that. Not to mention they don't get paid while they're standing in line for 20+ minutes to get frisked before they leave.

According to Wikipedia, a sweatshop is semantically a workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. The work may be difficult, dangerous, climatically challenging or underpaid. It's true that workers in sweatshops may work long hours with low pay, but it's not limited to that. If you read the article with the example that was asked for, you'd see the examples of how it's sweatshop conditions.

adamweld 6y ago
I read through the article, I don't really see how it fits that definition. Long shifts on your feet, physical labor, short breaks and no cell phones. Precise tracking of performance. Does it sound like fun? Hell no. But it seems like decent pay for unskilled physical labor, and I haven't read anything that sounds like sweatshop conditions.
- three_seagrass 6y ago
  12 hour shifts on your feet with no access to chairs, consistent 150 F work conditions, 30 minute lunch breaks that take 30 minutes to get to, no paid bathroom breaks, etc. are a few of the examples from this one article alone that are in line with the semantics of sweatshop conditions.
  - 300bps 6y ago
    consistent 150 F work conditions If she told you there were sharks with lasers on their heads would you have believed that too? The article is literally unbelievable.
    - three_seagrass 6y ago
      No, but if multiple workers at multiple locations said the same thing, then it is more believable: >"I was really upset and I said, 'All you people care about is the rates, not the well-being of the people,' " she said. "I've never worked for an employer that had paramedics waiting outside for people to drop because of the extreme heat." There were so many reports of workers overheating that OSHA had to get involved: https://www.mcall.com/news/watchdog/mc-allentown-amazon-complaints-20110917-story.html https://www.mcall.com/news/watchdog/mc-allentown-amazon-comp... That, along with other conditions reported, make it a literal sweatshop.
- memonkey 6y ago
  The idea that physical labor being unskilled work has been perpetuated for thousands of years in class based systems despite the fact that any kind of work can involve both physical and intellectual skill. If you've ever worked in a warehouse, you would know that there are plenty of skills to learn and refine.
- uoaei 6y ago
  $16/hr is decent pay in those conditions? They risk bringing the coronavirus home every day to their families. Their bodies are chewed up over the course of months until they start falling apart from the stress and wear. "short breaks" usually means something like "you're only allowed to go to the bathroom twice" which is technically illegal but Amazon spent a lot of money asking consultants and lawyers how to circumvent that. Not to mention they don't get paid while they're standing in line for 20+ minutes to get frisked before they leave.