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So when the workers unionize, what's gonna change? Workers will not be notified of their mistakes? They will not be fired if they make too many of those? Miscal

So when the workers unionize, what's gonna change? Workers will not be notified of their mistakes? They will not be fired if they make too many of those? Miscalculating the items won't longer be a mistake? They will pay the double of minimum salary?

AlbertCory 4y ago
I've never worked in a unionized place, but from what I've heard over the years: Firing an employee becomes much harder. You have to convince the union first. Employees can file grievances. If a disciplinary or surveillance system is considered onerous (by them), then they file a grievance, and much bureaucracy ensues. Pay scales tend to depend on seniority and job classification, not on a supervisor's idea of your merit. This is negotiated in the union contract every few years, as a rule. Major changes in how the warehouse operates have to be cleared with the union. Union dues are deducted from paychecks. The union can go on strike, and other unions generally respect their picket lines. I'm deliberately not making this seem like Heaven on Earth. That's probably why union elections are contentious.
- AlbertCory 4y ago
  In case that seemed too even-handed for the employers: With a really shitty employer like Amazon (at least at some of their warehouses), a union really might provide some protection to the workers. All those stories about workers having to pee in a bottle because they get docked for too many bathroom breaks: gone. The union would take care of it. Getting fired for too many demerits from the overhead surveillance cameras? Gone. Of course, when you vote Yes or No for a union, you don't really know if they'll be able to negotiate all that. Prior to the 1930s, unions provided some on-the-job safety, and some protections against arbitrary management or pay cuts. Over time, those got written into laws or companies just refrained from really shitty practices. Most companies, anyway. Not all.
ROTMetro 4y ago
A process to respond to these notifications and mark obvious bs ones as bs and prevent them from being used as a strike on a person's record. A process to ensure validity of these notifications. A process to ensure AFTER deciding to fire someone management didn't go on a fishing expedition for JUSTIFICATION for the firing. Enforcement of consistency in firing, making sure they aren't just shotgun recording every possible thing so that they can use that later to go fishing for justification for firing someone. The manager used X to justify firing Peter? Enforced consistency in firing based on these notifications.
- AlexTWithBeard 4y ago
  Am I reading it right then, that the key problem of Amazon warehouse as a workplace is inconsistent application of corporate policies.

AlbertCory 4y ago

I've never worked in a unionized place, but from what I've heard over the years: Firing an employee becomes much harder. You have to convince the union first. Employees can file grievances. If a disciplinary or surveillance system is considered onerous (by them), then they file a grievance, and much bureaucracy ensues. Pay scales tend to depend on seniority and job classification, not on a supervisor's idea of your merit. This is negotiated in the union contract every few years, as a rule. Major changes in how the warehouse operates have to be cleared with the union. Union dues are deducted from paychecks. The union can go on strike, and other unions generally respect their picket lines. I'm deliberately not making this seem like Heaven on Earth. That's probably why union elections are contentious.

AlbertCory 4y ago
In case that seemed too even-handed for the employers: With a really shitty employer like Amazon (at least at some of their warehouses), a union really might provide some protection to the workers. All those stories about workers having to pee in a bottle because they get docked for too many bathroom breaks: gone. The union would take care of it. Getting fired for too many demerits from the overhead surveillance cameras? Gone. Of course, when you vote Yes or No for a union, you don't really know if they'll be able to negotiate all that. Prior to the 1930s, unions provided some on-the-job safety, and some protections against arbitrary management or pay cuts. Over time, those got written into laws or companies just refrained from really shitty practices. Most companies, anyway. Not all.

ROTMetro 4y ago

A process to respond to these notifications and mark obvious bs ones as bs and prevent them from being used as a strike on a person's record. A process to ensure validity of these notifications. A process to ensure AFTER deciding to fire someone management didn't go on a fishing expedition for JUSTIFICATION for the firing. Enforcement of consistency in firing, making sure they aren't just shotgun recording every possible thing so that they can use that later to go fishing for justification for firing someone. The manager used X to justify firing Peter? Enforced consistency in firing based on these notifications.

AlexTWithBeard 4y ago
Am I reading it right then, that the key problem of Amazon warehouse as a workplace is inconsistent application of corporate policies.