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> An honest question - whose progress? Whose development? Do workers benefit by turning that screw at 5:01? Companies provide service to society. They don't ex
by slver 5y ago
> An honest question - whose progress? Whose development? Do workers benefit by turning that screw at 5:01?
Companies provide service to society. They don't exist in a vacuum. Hence it'd be good if workers are aware of the big picture and don't just stubbornly antagonize their own employers, as if they're in a battle against one another, rather than in cooperation.
In Japan when Fukushima blew out, old employees where there to contain the disaster. Do you think they did it for their personal benefit? How far would we go as a society if we're complete egoists? Not that far.
- the-smug-one 5y ago>Companies provide service to society.[...] How far would we go as a society if we're complete egoists? Not that far. And yet publicly traded companies are legally bound to maximize the profit for the stock holders.
- slver 5y agoThey’re not.
- triceratops 5y agoJapan has a different corporate culture to the US. Lifetime employment is still attainable, and company loyalty goes both ways. It's not really fair to compare that to the US, where it's primarily about the bottom line. In this culture, you can't fault workers for looking out for their own interests first.
- slver 5y agoSo the argument that it should be all about the bottom line in the US is that in the US it's always all been about the bottom line. Circular argument is circular.
- triceratops 5y agoIt's really hard to change a culture because of the vicious cycle that you have pointed out.
- SmellTheGlove 5y agoThere is a difference between operating a nuclear power plant and stuffing random shit into a box. I'm not really sure the latter contributes to any measure of "progress" beyond Amazon's bottom line. It's a weird position to take that unionizing Amazon warehouses would detract from society. I'd say that for the thousands of warehouse floor workers, who are also members of society, it would move things very much forward.
- mc32 5y agoWhat about 2-day or next day deliveries? Would unions agree to the change in work necessary to achieve these SLAs? Do we need shoes or screwdrivers delivered next day? Doubt it. But that's only one aspect. These innovations allow for other things to be possible (grocery delivery, time sensitive deliveries, lowered costs, due to efficiencies, innovations in alternative delivery methods, etc.)
- SmellTheGlove 5y agoThey’re still possible. Not everything has to be done at the lowest possible poverty wage. It’s not as though those savings are being passed on to you in the first place. Staff up, and pay staff appropriately.
- slver 5y ago> There is a difference between operating a nuclear power plant and stuffing random shit into a box. Are you under the impression that running a power plant day to day is a glamorous job? Funny.
- SmellTheGlove 5y agoNo, the difference I’m alluding to is regarding the criticality of the power plant vs. stuffing shit into a box. Amazon can pay its workers more to fix the shortage without detracting from some notion of “progress.”