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> Amazon isn’t going to arrest and deport me. They may however take away some people's livelihood capriciously and without due process.

mattnewton 6y ago
To the extent that your livelihood is dependent on Amazon, sure; it’s analogous to how you can be fired from any private company for almost anything in most states. But they won’t garnish your wages regardless of where you find employment next or put you in jail and force you to work for pennies an hour though. It’s an entirely different magnitude.
- bigbubba 6y ago
  I wasn't thinking of employees, but rather people running businesses selling things on Amazon or otherwise using their services. Insofar as Amazon can fire you, they're no different from any small business. Well, not quite. If Amazon fires you in the first few years of working there they'll demand part of the signing bonus back. That may not be wage garnishment but I know firsthand that it feels coercive to people in that situation; a fine for quitting a job is awfully close to indentured servitude. I quit as soon as that period had past but I would have quit a year earlier if not for that policy. And speaking of indentured servitude, H1B workers have it even worse since quiting or getting fired might get them deported, not merely fined.
  - tehwebguy 6y ago
    > I wasn't thinking of employees, but rather people running businesses selling things on Amazon or otherwise using their services. Insofar as Amazon can fire you, they're no different from any small business. This is a really wild take! Why would Amazon be required to keep doing business with some random product manufacturer or reseller?
    - bigbubba 6y ago
      There are many small businesses who use Amazon as a platform for reaching their customers. If Amazon kicks them out, their business evaporates in an instant. You may think it's foolish to create such a fragile business. I know I do. But the fact remains that this happens. Ebay and YouTube are to other obvious examples of corporate platforms people use to pay rent, which many cut them off capriciously and without due process. As are mobile appstores, particularly Apple's.
      - InitialLastName 6y ago
        Wouldn't that be an argument that we should do something about Amazon's monopoly, then? If they provide the only service that allows some chunk of the economy to function, that should be taken into account when we regulate them more heavily.
        bigbubba 6y ago
        Sure, I'd support that. My above comments are certainly not a suggestion that these companies not be broken up!

mattnewton 6y ago

To the extent that your livelihood is dependent on Amazon, sure; it’s analogous to how you can be fired from any private company for almost anything in most states. But they won’t garnish your wages regardless of where you find employment next or put you in jail and force you to work for pennies an hour though. It’s an entirely different magnitude.

bigbubba 6y ago
I wasn't thinking of employees, but rather people running businesses selling things on Amazon or otherwise using their services. Insofar as Amazon can fire you, they're no different from any small business. Well, not quite. If Amazon fires you in the first few years of working there they'll demand part of the signing bonus back. That may not be wage garnishment but I know firsthand that it feels coercive to people in that situation; a fine for quitting a job is awfully close to indentured servitude. I quit as soon as that period had past but I would have quit a year earlier if not for that policy. And speaking of indentured servitude, H1B workers have it even worse since quiting or getting fired might get them deported, not merely fined.
- tehwebguy 6y ago
  > I wasn't thinking of employees, but rather people running businesses selling things on Amazon or otherwise using their services. Insofar as Amazon can fire you, they're no different from any small business. This is a really wild take! Why would Amazon be required to keep doing business with some random product manufacturer or reseller?
  - bigbubba 6y ago
    There are many small businesses who use Amazon as a platform for reaching their customers. If Amazon kicks them out, their business evaporates in an instant. You may think it's foolish to create such a fragile business. I know I do. But the fact remains that this happens. Ebay and YouTube are to other obvious examples of corporate platforms people use to pay rent, which many cut them off capriciously and without due process. As are mobile appstores, particularly Apple's.
    - InitialLastName 6y ago
      Wouldn't that be an argument that we should do something about Amazon's monopoly, then? If they provide the only service that allows some chunk of the economy to function, that should be taken into account when we regulate them more heavily.
      - bigbubba 6y ago
        Sure, I'd support that. My above comments are certainly not a suggestion that these companies not be broken up!