35 ms·

Retail has had labor quotas (with serious health/mental consequences) since time immemorial, but i don't see any outrage against Sears, ToysRus, or BedBath. Wh

Retail has had labor quotas (with serious health/mental consequences) since time immemorial, but i don't see any outrage against Sears, ToysRus, or BedBath. Why ?

eropple 2y ago
Two of those are dead and the third has coded several times over the last ten years. Amazon, on the other hand, is one of the world's biggest businesses.
maximinus_thrax 2y ago
Probably because it's the largest employer of warehouse workers in the nation and the second largest employer overall? Also, the issue is not having quotas, it's having quotas and keeping them secret from the workers.
insane_dreamer 2y ago
Did they have secret quotas that were not revealed to their employees? That's why.
- q1w2 2y ago
  Yes, usually they do. I suspect there is a more political motivation to target Amazon specifically.
  - IG_Semmelweiss 2y ago
    some where not so secret, which is why i knew about them, and the complete mental health anguish they caused - tripping over a customer was not as illiteral as you'd expect.
schneems 2y ago
I read your commment and I feel like it is indistinguishable from a talking head on TV using a “whataboutism” to defend the actions of Amazon without seeming to defend the actions of Amazon. Which makes me feel mad if that’s your goal and somewhat curious if you knew that before you posted. I would like to believe you’re an extremely passionate labor rights advocates and that you can hold all corporations to account. If that’s the case could you keep the original text and add an “Edit: my bad. We shouldn’t downplay their harms, but I’m passionate about this, where are more of these conversations happening?”
dylan604 2y ago
You do realize that all 3 of the companies you listed are all bankrupt, yeah?
- whamlastxmas 2y ago
  And more entertainingly, bankrupt specifically because of Amazon
callalex 2y ago
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory doesn’t see much outrage on this forum either, because it also doesn’t exist anymore. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_... It’s really, really, really difficult to interpret your comment in good faith, can you expand on your question? Otherwise you just come across as trying to poison sentiment analysis algorithms.
- IG_Semmelweiss 2y ago
  I was just making a point that those other companies did exactly what amazon did, but for reasons unknown, never became targets. I'm curious what has changed. The regulators? The sentiment. The companies I quoted are now bankrupt. But some time ago they were not. I could have said Macys, or add a few more contemporary names, but pcked them to illustrate my larger point: if amazon wasn't as profitable, it would not be a target either. Everyone wants to bring the one at the top. I understand that sentiment, but its not healthy when its ad-hoc
choppaface 2y ago
The action is under the: "Warehouse Quota Law, which went into effect in 2022 and limits quotas for 'work that must be performed at a specified speed or the worker suffers discipline,' " So it's not just that Amazon was cracking the whip really hard, Amazon was particularly astray of a particular (and somewhat new) law. Separately though, Amazon evidently mistreats employees excessively relative to the retailers you mention, e.g. delivery workers would have to pee in bottles: https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehamilton/2023/05/24/delivery-drivers-sue-amazon-for-being-forced-to-pee-in-bottles/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehamilton/2023/05/24/de...
salawat 2y ago
Mayhaps to you the practice is just normalized, whereas others don't see it the same way?
smugma 2y ago
Because those companies are all bankrupt, insolvent, and liquidated?

Retail has had labor quotas (with serious health/mental consequences) since time immemorial, but i don't see any outrage against Sears, ToysRus, or BedBath. Why ?

eropple 2y ago

Two of those are dead and the third has coded several times over the last ten years. Amazon, on the other hand, is one of the world's biggest businesses.

maximinus_thrax 2y ago

Probably because it's the largest employer of warehouse workers in the nation and the second largest employer overall? Also, the issue is not having quotas, it's having quotas and keeping them secret from the workers.

insane_dreamer 2y ago

Did they have secret quotas that were not revealed to their employees? That's why.

q1w2 2y ago
Yes, usually they do. I suspect there is a more political motivation to target Amazon specifically.
- IG_Semmelweiss 2y ago
  some where not so secret, which is why i knew about them, and the complete mental health anguish they caused - tripping over a customer was not as illiteral as you'd expect.

schneems 2y ago

I read your commment and I feel like it is indistinguishable from a talking head on TV using a “whataboutism” to defend the actions of Amazon without seeming to defend the actions of Amazon. Which makes me feel mad if that’s your goal and somewhat curious if you knew that before you posted. I would like to believe you’re an extremely passionate labor rights advocates and that you can hold all corporations to account. If that’s the case could you keep the original text and add an “Edit: my bad. We shouldn’t downplay their harms, but I’m passionate about this, where are more of these conversations happening?”

dylan604 2y ago

You do realize that all 3 of the companies you listed are all bankrupt, yeah?

whamlastxmas 2y ago
And more entertainingly, bankrupt specifically because of Amazon

callalex 2y ago

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory doesn’t see much outrage on this forum either, because it also doesn’t exist anymore. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_... It’s really, really, really difficult to interpret your comment in good faith, can you expand on your question? Otherwise you just come across as trying to poison sentiment analysis algorithms.

IG_Semmelweiss 2y ago
I was just making a point that those other companies did exactly what amazon did, but for reasons unknown, never became targets. I'm curious what has changed. The regulators? The sentiment. The companies I quoted are now bankrupt. But some time ago they were not. I could have said Macys, or add a few more contemporary names, but pcked them to illustrate my larger point: if amazon wasn't as profitable, it would not be a target either. Everyone wants to bring the one at the top. I understand that sentiment, but its not healthy when its ad-hoc

choppaface 2y ago

The action is under the: "Warehouse Quota Law, which went into effect in 2022 and limits quotas for 'work that must be performed at a specified speed or the worker suffers discipline,' " So it's not just that Amazon was cracking the whip really hard, Amazon was particularly astray of a particular (and somewhat new) law. Separately though, Amazon evidently mistreats employees excessively relative to the retailers you mention, e.g. delivery workers would have to pee in bottles: https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehamilton/2023/05/24/delivery-drivers-sue-amazon-for-being-forced-to-pee-in-bottles/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehamilton/2023/05/24/de...

salawat 2y ago

Mayhaps to you the practice is just normalized, whereas others don't see it the same way?

smugma 2y ago

Because those companies are all bankrupt, insolvent, and liquidated?