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Largest subreddit for Amazon workers has banned any mention of unions
- nshung 5y agoI uninstalled the Reddit app recently after they have banned some subs I used to browse. It seems just a freaking arrogant attitude to me that you want to control what I browse. How power-tripped could you become by being able to control an Internet forum?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- banku_brougham 5y agowell its not really for smazon workers then.
- naoqj 5y agoI feel like this is not the whole story.
- kadoban 5y agoYeah it's only a very small part of Amazon's anti-union war.
- Supermancho 5y agoThe subreddit is for fulfillment centers. It's pretty specific. Union recruitment and discussion (laugh) isn't really specific to that. I don't consider this Amazon acting against unions, when it's more likely typical subreddit curation. There are other Amazon subreddits.
- cptcobalt 5y agoI disagree. I used to participate in both public and private subs topically related to my former workplace. Topical subs are usually a comfortable place for you to chat with people with experience familiar to yours. See, for example, r/starbucks and r/chipotle — many discussions here are employees talking about their work experience with customers occasionally poking in and chatting, there isn't a mob of people living and breathing Starbucks and Chipotle. In contrast, r/AmazonFC makes it even more topical and therefore more likely to attract an employee heavy userbase more than the average sub.
- Supermancho 5y ago> See, for example, r/starbucks and r/chipotle Different subreddits have different standards. Reddit has many subreddits that are very similar and have wildly different rulesets and prohibitions. Reddit isn't some greater commons of expression. This is the source of much of the drama and why subreddits often fragment into slightly more niche shards, all the time. It's just the way reddit has been for as long as I've known about it. The idea that Amazon has some overriding control of that particular subreddit seems unlikely with the kinds of whistleblowing that goes on frequently there. shrug
- aaomidi 5y ago> Union recruitment and discussion (laugh) Could you elaborate on the "laugh" here?
- junon 5y agoSubreddit removes heated discussion about topics irrelevant to the subreddit. How is this news?
- AA-BA-94-2A-56 5y agoHow is it irrelevant to the subreddit?
- junon 5y agoThe subreddit in question is about fulfillment centers.
- aaomidi 5y agoAnd the union discussions are there because of the conditions in the aforementioned fulfillment centers. What should the discussion be about, if not working conditions in a company that caused 6 deaths when they didn't let people leave and be safe?
- cptcobalt 5y agoFor the sake of discussion, what content would you expect to be relevant to a sub about Amazon Fulfillment Centers? Would you consider employees discussing their work experience with pseudo-anonymity about their workplace relevant?
- kurupt213 5y agoYou don’t understand. There is so much consumer curiosity about how fulfillment centers work that employees discussing work experiences is a big distraction.
- quantified 5y agoSo reddit is not a bastion of free speech either?
- gbraad 5y agoIt was always moderated speech. The founder recently even mentioned this on Elon Musk's post that 'free speech' on a public platform is unattainable. Even 4chan has moderation and bans.
- kurupt213 5y agoModeration to remove illegal content and non-relevant content is not what Reddit is doing. It’s not the same thing at all
- pavel_lishin 5y agoKeep in mind that Reddit removing subreddits and subreddit moderators banning certain topics are completely different things.
- stjohnswarts 5y agoMods on reddit have dictatorial status on their subs (within reason). However anyone is free to start a new sub to be more open than the one they are banned/shadow-banned in. If the topic is important enough people will move there.
- permachem 5y agoThen once the hive mind discovers said subreddit it gets deleted by mods especially if it is right leaning.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- cptcobalt 5y agoSetting aside much of the necessary context, is this somewhat inherently an anti-union action? (Even if the moderators are not anti-union themselves?) That said, I curiously dove in to find a lot of relevant flavor: - The sidebar of r/AmazonFC seems to have rather reasonable rules, yet "no pro/anti union discussion" bullet. I consider this to be a poor decision on their part. - Currently, the mods are now locking and reviewing all posts without sufficiently describing why: https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFC/comments/u7ipfn/current_state_of_the_subreddit/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFC/comments/u7ipfn/current_st... - With a cursory search, I found multiple threads within the past few months with (seemingly) unhindered union discussion. In these threads (which seem to be balanced in terms of pro/against sentiment) some employees express rather unsettling yet somewhat related sentiments, such as not being able to talk with other employees in their roles, even socially. (I am not extremely extroverted but even I can't imagine working in an environment like this.) - Most abstractly, permitting open discussions about unionization puts the Mods of r/AmazonFC in an extremely awkward place—I imagine that these mods are known to Amazon management (either intentionally or unintentionally disclosed) and probably currently work for the company. I seriously doubt they are paid enough where they can be careless about moderation actions in case it incurs the ire of Amazon, even if Moderating while off the clock in their free time on personal devices. (Unions or not, this is categorically broken in the US employment system, at a level larger than Amazon.) IMO, either: - Reddit community management should step in and offer assistance, particularly because the mods are claiming spam and brigading. (I don't know their intervention guidelines.) - The sub should link to (yet disavow, if the mods desire) a new sub for AmazonFC unionization discussions, as an open platform for fair discussion for or against unionization at Amazon Fullfilment Centers.
- forum_ghost 5y agoYou'd be surprised how many subreddits are owned by corporates or PR firms retained on their behalf. AmazonFC is quite likely a corporate subreddit. It's also shocking Amazon employees don't yet have their own forum setup for this, with a web-of-trust system, so that moles can be rooted out easily. Plenty of stuff like that out of the box for nominal fee. How long will it take for everyone to fully understand that if you don't ownn something (free service) - they own you, and your content, and often even your thoughts, not the other way around? Might get much worse before it gets better.
- tabtab 5y agoReddit's editing policy sucks. It encourages partisans, fanboys/girls, and zealots to manage a subreddit.
- mountainriver 5y agoI’m sure Amazon worked their way into the community and shut it down. If they can prove this it’s illegal right?
- andrewinardeer 5y agoWhy is it "illegal"?
- mountainriver 5y agoUnion-busting is in fact illegal because we have laws that protect the right to unionize (in America at least)
- draw_down 5y ago
- kurupt213 5y ago
- andrewinardeer 5y agoTheir sub, their rules. Hell, one sub banned me because I had the audacity to comment in a different sub they don't like.