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https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/20/21228324/amazon-whole-foods-unionization-heat-map-union https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/20/21228324/amazon-whole-foo... "Who

https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/20/21228324/amazon-whole-foods-unionization-heat-map-union https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/20/21228324/amazon-whole-foo... "Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon, is using a heat map to track stores that may be at risk of unionization" "a “diversity index” represents the racial and ethnic diversity of every store. Stores at higher risk of unionizing have lower diversity" https://trak.in/tags/business/2020/10/31/h1b-visa-ban-google-amazon-44-tech-biggies-sue-us-govt-over-h1b-visa-ban/ https://trak.in/tags/business/2020/10/31/h1b-visa-ban-google... In October 2020 Google, Amazon & 44 Tech Companies Sued the US Govt Over the H1B Visa Ban https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/data/h-1b-petitions-by-gender-country-of-birth-fy2019.pdf https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/data/h-1b... European countries make up only 2.8% of the H1B intake.

yhoneycomb 6y ago
Makes you wonder if THIS is what's behind all the pushes for diversity
- sudosysgen 6y ago
  Well no, it's not. More diverse stores may have tensions that lower the cohesiveness of the group, and some of their members may be economically more vulnerable and thus more weary of the risk of retaliation, but once (if) diversity is normalized and racial inequality subsides, then this disparity will almost certainly disappear. And once it does, one of the most major lines exploited against economic and social progress becomes much more difficult to exploit.
  - enimodas 6y ago
    Why would big Capital let racial inequality subside when they profit of it? And even if it were to subside, history teaches us that's it's very easy to divide and rile up people along ethnic and cultural lines.
- knowaveragejoe 6y ago
  Why do people think the promotion of diversity is part of some nefarious global plot?
  - DiggyJohnson 6y ago
    I don’t think anyone is claiming that it is “part of some nefarious global plot” in the discrete, conspiratorial sense you are suggesting.
    - knowaveragejoe 6y ago
      When modern Americans and Europeans rail against "diversity" as being the cause of their woes, it's almost certainly based on what boils down to some flavor of the "white genocide" conspiracy theory.
      - aqouta 6y ago
        When corporations push diversity as a terminal value it's almost always to suppress labor costs. It's very easy to win arguments if you just assume everyone who disagrees with you is a racist.
        knowaveragejoe 6y ago
        Give an example? You yourself are putting forth what amounts to a conspiracy theory.
  - SonOfKyuss 6y ago
    Because of the well funded propaganda networks in the US that push that notion.
    - avs733 6y ago
      That people should be given equal opportunity and not just the opportunity they were born with because their parents where lynched for voting?
- asdfasgasdgasdg 6y ago
  As cynical as this take is, you aren't alone in thinking it. This has been a repeating theme among some Bernie Sanders/economic left folks. For example, the concept that the center uses racial politics against the economic left to defuse their efforts has been discussed a number of times on the Chapo Trap House podcast. I'm personally not sure whether I subscribe to this belief, but I can see how people might feel this way.
  - heterodoxxed 6y ago
    I like to remind people that "Identity Politics" as envisioned by Barbara Smith and the Combahee River Collective in the 1970's as an approach to left-wing organizing is virtually unrecognizable when compared to today's neoliberal "woke" corporate identity politics. The former is about recognizing individual and group needs while organizing towards a universal, collective goal. The latter is about internecine conflict based on differences and the rejection of a collective goal entirely in favor of means-tested and targeted "reforms". It's rare in the economic left to reject identity politics entirely (outside of some wretched nazbol twitter types), because people like CTH, Adolph Reed, Mark Fisher, Barbara Smith, Bernie Sanders, etc. all recognize the need for navigating identity in left movements. Where they reject neoliberal identity politics is in accepting a need for a greater collective goal.
- heterodoxxed 6y ago
  The push for diversity is not that sinister, they just want the widest customer base they can get. Neoliberal diversity and identity politics lets them be moral without threatening their power base. What we've seen from Amazon's anti-union efforts this round is that they are not sophisticated enough to be pulling some kind of machiavellian plot. If unions are going to work in America, they have be able to navigate a diverse group of people. The American working class is incredibly diverse, more than the country itself. It's a challenge but it's not insurmountable. But the left/union approach to diversity and the corporate approach are completely different from each other and have different material motivations.
  - fallingknife 6y ago
    Have you ever in your life seen someone look at a company's diversity stats before buying something?
    - heterodoxxed 6y ago
      Are you saying advertising, marketing and PR have no effect? Because if so, I'll notify those billion dollar industries they've been made redundant.
    - femiagbabiaka 6y ago
      The marketing isn’t the stats, it’s the public claims they can make about tracking them.
    - themacguffinman 6y ago
      No but I do remember media headlines about a company.

yhoneycomb 6y ago

Makes you wonder if THIS is what's behind all the pushes for diversity

sudosysgen 6y ago
Well no, it's not. More diverse stores may have tensions that lower the cohesiveness of the group, and some of their members may be economically more vulnerable and thus more weary of the risk of retaliation, but once (if) diversity is normalized and racial inequality subsides, then this disparity will almost certainly disappear. And once it does, one of the most major lines exploited against economic and social progress becomes much more difficult to exploit.
- enimodas 6y ago
  Why would big Capital let racial inequality subside when they profit of it? And even if it were to subside, history teaches us that's it's very easy to divide and rile up people along ethnic and cultural lines.
knowaveragejoe 6y ago
Why do people think the promotion of diversity is part of some nefarious global plot?
- DiggyJohnson 6y ago
  I don’t think anyone is claiming that it is “part of some nefarious global plot” in the discrete, conspiratorial sense you are suggesting.
  - knowaveragejoe 6y ago
    When modern Americans and Europeans rail against "diversity" as being the cause of their woes, it's almost certainly based on what boils down to some flavor of the "white genocide" conspiracy theory.
    - aqouta 6y ago
      When corporations push diversity as a terminal value it's almost always to suppress labor costs. It's very easy to win arguments if you just assume everyone who disagrees with you is a racist.
      - knowaveragejoe 6y ago
        Give an example? You yourself are putting forth what amounts to a conspiracy theory.
- SonOfKyuss 6y ago
  Because of the well funded propaganda networks in the US that push that notion.
  - avs733 6y ago
    That people should be given equal opportunity and not just the opportunity they were born with because their parents where lynched for voting?
asdfasgasdgasdg 6y ago
As cynical as this take is, you aren't alone in thinking it. This has been a repeating theme among some Bernie Sanders/economic left folks. For example, the concept that the center uses racial politics against the economic left to defuse their efforts has been discussed a number of times on the Chapo Trap House podcast. I'm personally not sure whether I subscribe to this belief, but I can see how people might feel this way.
- heterodoxxed 6y ago
  I like to remind people that "Identity Politics" as envisioned by Barbara Smith and the Combahee River Collective in the 1970's as an approach to left-wing organizing is virtually unrecognizable when compared to today's neoliberal "woke" corporate identity politics. The former is about recognizing individual and group needs while organizing towards a universal, collective goal. The latter is about internecine conflict based on differences and the rejection of a collective goal entirely in favor of means-tested and targeted "reforms". It's rare in the economic left to reject identity politics entirely (outside of some wretched nazbol twitter types), because people like CTH, Adolph Reed, Mark Fisher, Barbara Smith, Bernie Sanders, etc. all recognize the need for navigating identity in left movements. Where they reject neoliberal identity politics is in accepting a need for a greater collective goal.
heterodoxxed 6y ago
The push for diversity is not that sinister, they just want the widest customer base they can get. Neoliberal diversity and identity politics lets them be moral without threatening their power base. What we've seen from Amazon's anti-union efforts this round is that they are not sophisticated enough to be pulling some kind of machiavellian plot. If unions are going to work in America, they have be able to navigate a diverse group of people. The American working class is incredibly diverse, more than the country itself. It's a challenge but it's not insurmountable. But the left/union approach to diversity and the corporate approach are completely different from each other and have different material motivations.
- fallingknife 6y ago
  Have you ever in your life seen someone look at a company's diversity stats before buying something?
  - heterodoxxed 6y ago
    Are you saying advertising, marketing and PR have no effect? Because if so, I'll notify those billion dollar industries they've been made redundant.
  - femiagbabiaka 6y ago
    The marketing isn’t the stats, it’s the public claims they can make about tracking them.
  - themacguffinman 6y ago
    No but I do remember media headlines about a company.