18 ms·

Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

423 points by petethomas 2y ago

hiddencost 2y ago
Try avoiding Amazon this holiday season, to not cross the picket line.
- spondylosaurus 2y ago
  Are they specifically calling for a boycott, though? Or just striking? (Because if it's the latter, getting orders that go unfulfilled may actually help their cause.)
  - bmicraft 2y ago
    So what you're saying is we should order a bunch of stuff and then cancel at the first sign of a delay in fulfillment so amazon loses more by waiting it out?
    - ternnoburn 2y ago
      No, what they are saying is, "ask the workers what they want, and do that. Don't make assumptions."
      - spondylosaurus 2y ago
        Bingo :)
lnsru 2y ago
I am just curious who still orders anything today with delivery expectation to get it before Xmas. From my experience the delivery drivers are today delivering tons of stuff ordered a week ago and they are so overloaded, that todays order might come only in January.
- jclulow 2y ago
  Speaking from personal experience: people with ADHD, who don't have their shit together but desperately want to avoid disappointing the people they care about. People who then get hoodwinked by the bald faced lies everybody from Amazon right through to the courier staff will tell you about projected delivery dates and "oh, gosh, sorry, you know we just attempted delivery but couldn't get in!" (while you're sitting in front of the building)
  - WillAdams 2y ago
    My solution for this is to keep gifts for the people I buy presents for in mind throughout the year, and buy things as I come across them, then, when it's time to wrap, my wife and I lay things out and decide what actually gets gifted, excess gets set aside for upcoming birthdays (which are both fortunately early in the year, Jan. and March) or possibly even the next Christmas, then come April I start in on the process again.
    - jclulow 2y ago
      I'm glad that works for you! The challenge with executive function issues is that it can be literally impossible to reliably do things like that in advance! Especially months and months in advance. It's also a challenge to delay gratification; when I find something that really speaks to me about someone, I really just want to give it to them straight away. As a result I think I place a pretty low value on events centred around gift giving -- and yet I live in a society, etc.
- 0xEF 2y ago
  Back in my day, everything was 6 to 8 weeks for delivery from catalogs (Sears Christmas Wishbook, anyone?) and the carriers were far less accessible when it came to tracking packages and whatnot than they are today. Honestly, those times seem like a cold-sweat nightmare, now. Speaking as an old man who regularly shakes his fist at passing clouds, I'm pretty damned happy with the current delivery times, even if they are occasionally a few days late. Those folks are out there breaking their backs for us and we'd best not forget it
ramon156 2y ago
Had to buy some simple toolkit today. It was 5 bucks on Amazon, but I decided to find a local store that sells it. Same price btw. I think we should be a bit more aware about the impact of ordering everything through Amazon. Not only regarding delivery, but also the message it sends to local stores.
- coryrc 2y ago
  You basically can't buy couple-dollar things on Amazon, which is rather annoying. F.ex. I wanted a fiberglass pole, 5/16" diameter. I could buy 10 for $20. Home Depot had one for $3.50.
- InDubioProRubio 2y ago
  Imagine you are taxed to repair the roads, on which your untaxed competitors is driving too ruin you.. a nightmare.
  - t-writescode 2y ago
    We are taxed for road repairs. It's a common tax on gasoline here in the United States; and, yes, there is a known issue around this with electric cars and some efforts in place to try and rectify it.
    - InDubioProRubio 2y ago
      Amazon in europe went "untaxed" quite a while via the irish route, thus beeing subsidized by mom & pop stores.
      - robertlagrant 2y ago
        Amazon employing people creates a lot of taxes. Don't forget everything's taxed, not just corporation tax. Every employee generates income tax, employee tax, if they invest their money the interest is taxed, almost everything they buy from a shop has VAT, fuel they purchase is taxed, everything they buy has a higher price because that business has to pay tax and so do its employees, ad infinitum. There's tax everywhere, and the roads will still be there if none of those people had jobs and weren't paying any tax.
SeanAnderson 2y ago
Just a reminder that if you search for "Thank my driver" on Amazon you'll get $5 donated to your most recent delivery driver at no cost to you. You can do this once per delivery, for every delivery, for the few weeks leading up to the holidays.
- unsnap_biceps 2y ago
  There seems to be a cap per local area. My area hasn't donated any money for the past week or so. It just says a thank you will be given to the driver. I presume it's because enough people used it to max out the allotment in our zip code(?).
- tjpnz 2y ago
  Surprised to see they're also offering it in Japan.
- LinuxBender 2y ago
  Does this work if the driver is UPS or FedEx? Amazon drivers don't exist in my county and probably not in my state.
- batch12 2y ago
  Looks like they no longer get the tip. This is what I see: As of December 10, 2024, we have received more than 2 million "thank yous,” concluding the promotion offering $5 per "thank you" to eligible drivers. You can continue to thank your drivers and we will share your appreciation with them.
- erellsworth 2y ago
  Not any more, apparently. Now all they get is a pat on the back. "As of December 10, 2024, we have received more than 2 million "thank yous,” concluding the promotion offering $5 per "thank you" to eligible drivers. You can continue to thank your drivers and we will share your appreciation with them." https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=18271648011&pd_rd_w=v1CsT&content-id=amzn1.sym.01e73da7-2b70-4d57-8fe1-6d6f2f7b5cf4:amzn1.sym.01e73da7-2b70-4d57-8fe1-6d6f2f7b5cf4&pf_rd_p=01e73da7-2b70-4d57-8fe1-6d6f2f7b5cf4&pf_rd_r=W54910Y8BCKGNQP4CP9H&pd_rd_wg=t3uvE&pd_rd_r=117cd36d-6554-4feb-a066-7d3a696c562f&qid=1734623201&ref_=sxts_snpl_2_2_01e73da7-2b70-4d57-8fe1-6d6f2f7b5cf4 https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=18271648011&pd_rd_w=v1...
akokanka 2y ago
[flagged]
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- nielsbot 2y ago
  Amazon is going to do that anyway. May as well stand up for your share of the profits.
  - WillAdams 2y ago
    The thing is, it used to be standard for full-time employees to get a full stock share, but that was bargained away --- anyone know the rationale?
    - maxk42 2y ago
      I do not know the rationale, but this is the flip side of collective bargaining: if someone makes a bad deal on my behalf I can no longer deal directly with my employer.
      - nielsbot 2y ago
        Hard for me to imagine any cases where the union does a worse deal on your behalf than you did yourself. Maybe you're talking about only compensation? Unions bargain for more than just compensation: better healthcare, parental leave, more sick days, caps on hours worked, etc. In aggregate unions exist to get a bigger share of a company's profits for its workers. (Instead of executives and investors) But if you have examples, I'd love to read about them.
    - nielsbot 2y ago
      Bargained away? Which union did that and for what company?
      - 2y ago
thomas598brown 2y ago
[dead]
ChrisArchitect 2y ago
Related: Amazon Teamsters in NYC have voted to authorize a strike https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42436279 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42436279
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
a12k 2y ago
I’ve found that the rise of Apply Pay as a payment mechanism on random sites has been helpful in getting me off of Amazon. Often it’s just as easy to order something direct if they have Apple Pay (or ShopPay, but I have other issues with them) and the same price as Amazon. Plus discoverability is awful on Amazon anyways. Still don’t get the Whole Foods return ability when not shopping from Amazon, but not punching in my credit card number to random sites has been enough to get me to move 50% of my shopping to retailers direct.
- nine_k 2y ago
  To me, the key feature of Amazon is the fast delivery with Prime. Do other merchants offer fast delivery often enough? Regarding credit cards, I started using privacy dot com for virtual, merchant-locked cards. It protects against (rare) card details leaks, but, of course, does not give you any points or cashback.
  - jvanderbot 2y ago
    The local Target and Home Depots all offer same day pickup and delivery. For our house, that's taken 90% of the business away from Amazon. What's ironic is we still make purchases on Amazon that don't require their fast shipping. We're just conditioned to expect it. I'm thinking TVs, books, project supplies, art, etc.
    - the_snooze 2y ago
      >What's ironic is we still make purchases on Amazon that don't require their fast shipping. We're just conditioned to expect it. I'm thinking TVs, books, project supplies, art, etc. Realizing this was what made me quit Prime years ago, and eventually drive down my Amazon purchases to just a handful of times a year. For the most part, there's really not much of a difference if I get a book tomorrow vs. four days from now, or if I get it from Amazon or from the nearby Target. But there's a lot of infrastructure built up to satisfy this admittedly frivolous expectation of fast delivery. Are there cases when rapid delivery is necessary and valuable? Absolutely. Are those cases the norm? Not in my life, by an overwhelming margin.
RavlaAlvar 2y ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFC/comments/1hhips1/amazon_teamsters_striking_at_7_facilities_tomorrow/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFC/comments/1hhips1/amazon_te... Interesting to see discussion on Reddit from r/AmazonFC are pretty negative , wonder if these are genuine employees comment for PR team hired by Amazon
- ternnoburn 2y ago
  Amazon actively incentivizes (pays) employees to write positively about their experiences on social media.
  - mik09 2y ago
    that sounds dystopian if its true
- cpufry 2y ago
  yea they pay employees and also have bots that do this
- jedberg 2y ago
  It's interesting, because I know a few warehouse workers, and they all sing the praises of the job (all in the Bay Area). But yet I can see what the conditions are. I feel like every warehouse is a semi-independently run fiefdom and some are run a lot better than others.
  - david38 2y ago
    They sing the praises in the Bay Area? What pay do they get? This is one of the least affordable places in the country
  - kaonwarb 2y ago
    Two things can be true: - A particular class of job may be very challenging, or worse - The same class of job may be the best available option for some folks in some regions And, of course, some folks may have a good experience even while others do not.
rsanek 2y ago
10k is about 0.7% of their total employee count. I wonder if this will have any effect.
- ActionHank 2y ago
  It will have more business people asking about robots, other than that I doubt it will. Amazon don't even care if the packages are late because of this, they still get your purchase.
  - cpufry 2y ago
    i used to work on bezo's fc automation back in 2012 to 2016, they've been they'd been talking about "lights out fc" being just around the corner since since those days. if anything we had adjacent teams that were working on temp worker and worker scheduling systems, "people management" systems that had more interest from leadership. imo a lot of the automation stuff ended up being real timid and imo really was to juice valuation.
  - GreedIsGood 2y ago
    Of course Amazon cares. They measure fulfillment time religiously. Amazon is amazingly well run.
    - skeeter2020 2y ago
      if they really cared the would not have gotten Puralor to deliver my order in the middle of a Canada Post strike.
    - UltraSane 2y ago
      Amazon is only well run for the shareholders and executives. It is not well run for the people filling the boxes. It seems down right sadistic. Like the executives don't even see them as people. And they sent me a 43" Samsung TV when I ordered a 42" LG OLED. How the hell can their many billions of dollars of IT investment not automatically scan the barcode on the box or weight the box or use computer vision and notice this error before they sent the wrong TV out?
uxcolumbo 2y ago
I've unsubscribed from Amazon Prime and Audible. I don't mind waiting an extra for my stuff to arrive. It's important to support other smaller retailers. Amazon already started with enshittyfying some of their services.
- bitmasher9 2y ago
  What audible alternative are you using?
  - zefhous 2y ago
    I have found a lot of great content available in Libby and Hoopla. I use my local library card, but am also able to get a card from a nearby larger city library, and between the two I have access to a lot of content and very soon in a lot of cases.
  - anon_ask_acct 2y ago
    Libro.fm is basically bookshop.org but for audiobooks. Supports local bookshops, has roughly the same 1 credit per month price. There are some audible-only titles, which is frustrating.
hirvi74 2y ago
[flagged]
- iLoveOncall 2y ago
  In silk bedsheets. I also don't see how developers have any link with contract negotiations with warehouse workers? How do you sleep at night knowing that you attack people based on which job they do to provide for their family?
  - mint2 2y ago
    “ How do you sleep at night knowing that you attack people based on which job they do to provide for their family” If a line of reasoning can equally justify all the people who pushed opioids onto Americans, then it’s not a good one.
  - hirvi74 2y ago
    > I also don't see how developers have any link with contract negotiations with warehouse workers? Developers obviously have no direct impact on labor conditions of the warehouse workers. However, all the time-tracking, logistical optimizations, employee monitoring systems, etc. that enable Amazon to squeeze every bit of efficacy and profit out of these warehouse workers had to come from somewhere/someone. I believe by contributing to companies that are as highly unethical as Amazon, developers are supporting entities that enforce and perpetuate such awful labor practices conditions. I am not assigning personal blame to any developer directly, but I do believe that as developers we need to be more considerate of the downstream ethical impacts that our work may have on others.
    - iLoveOncall 2y ago
      > I am not assigning personal blame to any developer directly Actually you did exactly that in your post that got deleted by moderation.
      - hirvi74 2y ago
ITB 2y ago
I don’t understand why all these comments are about who buys or doesn’t buy at Amazon. The article is about unionization and strikes. I expect a conversation about the merits of unions and their negotiation tactics. In my opinion, events like these will just accelerate job elimination. The goal of a logistics company is to be reliable. Humans are unreliable and more so when they are purposely and collectively unreliable. I’ve lived in a country with very powerful unions and it sucks— miss every 5th flight because the union decides to strike.
- benterix 2y ago
  > I don’t understand why all these comments are about who buys or doesn’t buy at Amazon. The logical connection is as follows: Bezos decided to optimize everything to its limits, including human behavior, to the very limits of law. To literally track every movement of employees and abusing the power the company holds over them. This is an ongoing process that we are all painfully aware of. Because of that, there is a growing negative feeling towards them that causes people not to give them their money. That's why instead of unions we are talking about boycotting Amazon.
- ternnoburn 2y ago
  Because people want to feel connected, and recognize that Amazon is an unethical entity. If you read about Amazon mistreating workers to the point that they strike, you can feel good by saying, "I won't support that company!" The general term is "solidarity", and it's a mix of empathy and action and encouragement for others to do the same.
- yoyohello13 2y ago
  > I’ve lived in a country with very powerful unions and it sucks— miss every 5th flight because the union decides to strike. I'm willing to accept inconvenience if it means strong workers' rights.
  - Fin_Code 2y ago
    Keep saying that when a vacation get ruined because your connections got messed up and your out thousands of dollars.
okokhacker 2y ago
I’m not sure why the general sentiment here is that Amazon workers do not deserve a living wage and should be replaced with robots. All the best to the union, I sincerely hope they meet your demands.
- billy99k 2y ago
  Amazon warehouse work pays almost $20/hour where I live, which is well above the federal minimum wage and more than almost every other company in the area for this type of work. This is a living wage. "should be replaced with robots" I also think it's funny we are having this discussion. When songwriters and other creators were complaining about piracy in the 2000s, the general response from the tech community was that this was the future and you didn't deserve to earn a living. My response is the same.
  - greesil 2y ago
    Minimum wage != Livable wage I don't think it's worth considering the comparison. But sure, maybe working at a distribution center pays well enough where you're located. Likely that's not the case where these strikes are happening. It's expensive out there. Also, what you wrote gives the impression of "I've got mine already so I don't care what happens to you."
    - abduhl 2y ago
      Define what a livable wage is then. Is it $25/hr? $50/hr? $100/hr?
      - mbauman 2y ago
        $20/hr fulltime is ~40k/yr or ~$3300/mo. As just one benchmark: can you find housing in your area for $1100/mo?
      - philipov 2y ago
        To start with, any definition that ends with a constant number is wrong. The living wage in an area depends on the cost of living in that area. I don't have that number on hand, but I expect it to be included in any discussion of what people should get payed. After that, we need to ask how much profit a person should be allowed to make on their labor.
twiddling 2y ago
Bring in the Pinkertons
black_13 2y ago
[dead]
javanjibril 2y ago
[dead]

423 points by petethomas 2y ago

hiddencost 2y ago

Try avoiding Amazon this holiday season, to not cross the picket line.

spondylosaurus 2y ago
Are they specifically calling for a boycott, though? Or just striking? (Because if it's the latter, getting orders that go unfulfilled may actually help their cause.)
- bmicraft 2y ago
  So what you're saying is we should order a bunch of stuff and then cancel at the first sign of a delay in fulfillment so amazon loses more by waiting it out?
  - ternnoburn 2y ago
    No, what they are saying is, "ask the workers what they want, and do that. Don't make assumptions."
    - spondylosaurus 2y ago
      Bingo :)

lnsru 2y ago

I am just curious who still orders anything today with delivery expectation to get it before Xmas. From my experience the delivery drivers are today delivering tons of stuff ordered a week ago and they are so overloaded, that todays order might come only in January.

jclulow 2y ago
Speaking from personal experience: people with ADHD, who don't have their shit together but desperately want to avoid disappointing the people they care about. People who then get hoodwinked by the bald faced lies everybody from Amazon right through to the courier staff will tell you about projected delivery dates and "oh, gosh, sorry, you know we just attempted delivery but couldn't get in!" (while you're sitting in front of the building)
- WillAdams 2y ago
  My solution for this is to keep gifts for the people I buy presents for in mind throughout the year, and buy things as I come across them, then, when it's time to wrap, my wife and I lay things out and decide what actually gets gifted, excess gets set aside for upcoming birthdays (which are both fortunately early in the year, Jan. and March) or possibly even the next Christmas, then come April I start in on the process again.
  - jclulow 2y ago
    I'm glad that works for you! The challenge with executive function issues is that it can be literally impossible to reliably do things like that in advance! Especially months and months in advance. It's also a challenge to delay gratification; when I find something that really speaks to me about someone, I really just want to give it to them straight away. As a result I think I place a pretty low value on events centred around gift giving -- and yet I live in a society, etc.
0xEF 2y ago
Back in my day, everything was 6 to 8 weeks for delivery from catalogs (Sears Christmas Wishbook, anyone?) and the carriers were far less accessible when it came to tracking packages and whatnot than they are today. Honestly, those times seem like a cold-sweat nightmare, now. Speaking as an old man who regularly shakes his fist at passing clouds, I'm pretty damned happy with the current delivery times, even if they are occasionally a few days late. Those folks are out there breaking their backs for us and we'd best not forget it

ramon156 2y ago

Had to buy some simple toolkit today. It was 5 bucks on Amazon, but I decided to find a local store that sells it. Same price btw. I think we should be a bit more aware about the impact of ordering everything through Amazon. Not only regarding delivery, but also the message it sends to local stores.

coryrc 2y ago
You basically can't buy couple-dollar things on Amazon, which is rather annoying. F.ex. I wanted a fiberglass pole, 5/16" diameter. I could buy 10 for $20. Home Depot had one for $3.50.
InDubioProRubio 2y ago
Imagine you are taxed to repair the roads, on which your untaxed competitors is driving too ruin you.. a nightmare.
- t-writescode 2y ago
  We are taxed for road repairs. It's a common tax on gasoline here in the United States; and, yes, there is a known issue around this with electric cars and some efforts in place to try and rectify it.
  - InDubioProRubio 2y ago
    Amazon in europe went "untaxed" quite a while via the irish route, thus beeing subsidized by mom & pop stores.
    - robertlagrant 2y ago
      Amazon employing people creates a lot of taxes. Don't forget everything's taxed, not just corporation tax. Every employee generates income tax, employee tax, if they invest their money the interest is taxed, almost everything they buy from a shop has VAT, fuel they purchase is taxed, everything they buy has a higher price because that business has to pay tax and so do its employees, ad infinitum. There's tax everywhere, and the roads will still be there if none of those people had jobs and weren't paying any tax.

SeanAnderson 2y ago

Just a reminder that if you search for "Thank my driver" on Amazon you'll get $5 donated to your most recent delivery driver at no cost to you. You can do this once per delivery, for every delivery, for the few weeks leading up to the holidays.

unsnap_biceps 2y ago
There seems to be a cap per local area. My area hasn't donated any money for the past week or so. It just says a thank you will be given to the driver. I presume it's because enough people used it to max out the allotment in our zip code(?).
tjpnz 2y ago
Surprised to see they're also offering it in Japan.
LinuxBender 2y ago
Does this work if the driver is UPS or FedEx? Amazon drivers don't exist in my county and probably not in my state.
batch12 2y ago
Looks like they no longer get the tip. This is what I see: As of December 10, 2024, we have received more than 2 million "thank yous,” concluding the promotion offering $5 per "thank you" to eligible drivers. You can continue to thank your drivers and we will share your appreciation with them.
erellsworth 2y ago
Not any more, apparently. Now all they get is a pat on the back. "As of December 10, 2024, we have received more than 2 million "thank yous,” concluding the promotion offering $5 per "thank you" to eligible drivers. You can continue to thank your drivers and we will share your appreciation with them." https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=18271648011&pd_rd_w=v1CsT&content-id=amzn1.sym.01e73da7-2b70-4d57-8fe1-6d6f2f7b5cf4:amzn1.sym.01e73da7-2b70-4d57-8fe1-6d6f2f7b5cf4&pf_rd_p=01e73da7-2b70-4d57-8fe1-6d6f2f7b5cf4&pf_rd_r=W54910Y8BCKGNQP4CP9H&pd_rd_wg=t3uvE&pd_rd_r=117cd36d-6554-4feb-a066-7d3a696c562f&qid=1734623201&ref_=sxts_snpl_2_2_01e73da7-2b70-4d57-8fe1-6d6f2f7b5cf4 https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=18271648011&pd_rd_w=v1...

akokanka 2y ago

[flagged]

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
nielsbot 2y ago
Amazon is going to do that anyway. May as well stand up for your share of the profits.
- WillAdams 2y ago
  The thing is, it used to be standard for full-time employees to get a full stock share, but that was bargained away --- anyone know the rationale?
  - maxk42 2y ago
    I do not know the rationale, but this is the flip side of collective bargaining: if someone makes a bad deal on my behalf I can no longer deal directly with my employer.
    - nielsbot 2y ago
      Hard for me to imagine any cases where the union does a worse deal on your behalf than you did yourself. Maybe you're talking about only compensation? Unions bargain for more than just compensation: better healthcare, parental leave, more sick days, caps on hours worked, etc. In aggregate unions exist to get a bigger share of a company's profits for its workers. (Instead of executives and investors) But if you have examples, I'd love to read about them.
  - nielsbot 2y ago
    Bargained away? Which union did that and for what company?
    - 2y ago

thomas598brown 2y ago

[dead]

ChrisArchitect 2y ago

Related: Amazon Teamsters in NYC have voted to authorize a strike https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42436279 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42436279

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

a12k 2y ago

I’ve found that the rise of Apply Pay as a payment mechanism on random sites has been helpful in getting me off of Amazon. Often it’s just as easy to order something direct if they have Apple Pay (or ShopPay, but I have other issues with them) and the same price as Amazon. Plus discoverability is awful on Amazon anyways. Still don’t get the Whole Foods return ability when not shopping from Amazon, but not punching in my credit card number to random sites has been enough to get me to move 50% of my shopping to retailers direct.

nine_k 2y ago
To me, the key feature of Amazon is the fast delivery with Prime. Do other merchants offer fast delivery often enough? Regarding credit cards, I started using privacy dot com for virtual, merchant-locked cards. It protects against (rare) card details leaks, but, of course, does not give you any points or cashback.
- jvanderbot 2y ago
  The local Target and Home Depots all offer same day pickup and delivery. For our house, that's taken 90% of the business away from Amazon. What's ironic is we still make purchases on Amazon that don't require their fast shipping. We're just conditioned to expect it. I'm thinking TVs, books, project supplies, art, etc.
  - the_snooze 2y ago
    >What's ironic is we still make purchases on Amazon that don't require their fast shipping. We're just conditioned to expect it. I'm thinking TVs, books, project supplies, art, etc. Realizing this was what made me quit Prime years ago, and eventually drive down my Amazon purchases to just a handful of times a year. For the most part, there's really not much of a difference if I get a book tomorrow vs. four days from now, or if I get it from Amazon or from the nearby Target. But there's a lot of infrastructure built up to satisfy this admittedly frivolous expectation of fast delivery. Are there cases when rapid delivery is necessary and valuable? Absolutely. Are those cases the norm? Not in my life, by an overwhelming margin.

RavlaAlvar 2y ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFC/comments/1hhips1/amazon_teamsters_striking_at_7_facilities_tomorrow/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFC/comments/1hhips1/amazon_te... Interesting to see discussion on Reddit from r/AmazonFC are pretty negative , wonder if these are genuine employees comment for PR team hired by Amazon

ternnoburn 2y ago
Amazon actively incentivizes (pays) employees to write positively about their experiences on social media.
- mik09 2y ago
  that sounds dystopian if its true
cpufry 2y ago
yea they pay employees and also have bots that do this
jedberg 2y ago
It's interesting, because I know a few warehouse workers, and they all sing the praises of the job (all in the Bay Area). But yet I can see what the conditions are. I feel like every warehouse is a semi-independently run fiefdom and some are run a lot better than others.
- david38 2y ago
  They sing the praises in the Bay Area? What pay do they get? This is one of the least affordable places in the country
- kaonwarb 2y ago
  Two things can be true: - A particular class of job may be very challenging, or worse - The same class of job may be the best available option for some folks in some regions And, of course, some folks may have a good experience even while others do not.

rsanek 2y ago

10k is about 0.7% of their total employee count. I wonder if this will have any effect.

ActionHank 2y ago
It will have more business people asking about robots, other than that I doubt it will. Amazon don't even care if the packages are late because of this, they still get your purchase.
- cpufry 2y ago
  i used to work on bezo's fc automation back in 2012 to 2016, they've been they'd been talking about "lights out fc" being just around the corner since since those days. if anything we had adjacent teams that were working on temp worker and worker scheduling systems, "people management" systems that had more interest from leadership. imo a lot of the automation stuff ended up being real timid and imo really was to juice valuation.
- GreedIsGood 2y ago
  Of course Amazon cares. They measure fulfillment time religiously. Amazon is amazingly well run.
  - skeeter2020 2y ago
    if they really cared the would not have gotten Puralor to deliver my order in the middle of a Canada Post strike.
  - UltraSane 2y ago
    Amazon is only well run for the shareholders and executives. It is not well run for the people filling the boxes. It seems down right sadistic. Like the executives don't even see them as people. And they sent me a 43" Samsung TV when I ordered a 42" LG OLED. How the hell can their many billions of dollars of IT investment not automatically scan the barcode on the box or weight the box or use computer vision and notice this error before they sent the wrong TV out?

uxcolumbo 2y ago

I've unsubscribed from Amazon Prime and Audible. I don't mind waiting an extra for my stuff to arrive. It's important to support other smaller retailers. Amazon already started with enshittyfying some of their services.

bitmasher9 2y ago
What audible alternative are you using?
- zefhous 2y ago
  I have found a lot of great content available in Libby and Hoopla. I use my local library card, but am also able to get a card from a nearby larger city library, and between the two I have access to a lot of content and very soon in a lot of cases.
- anon_ask_acct 2y ago
  Libro.fm is basically bookshop.org but for audiobooks. Supports local bookshops, has roughly the same 1 credit per month price. There are some audible-only titles, which is frustrating.

hirvi74 2y ago

[flagged]

iLoveOncall 2y ago
In silk bedsheets. I also don't see how developers have any link with contract negotiations with warehouse workers? How do you sleep at night knowing that you attack people based on which job they do to provide for their family?
- mint2 2y ago
  “ How do you sleep at night knowing that you attack people based on which job they do to provide for their family” If a line of reasoning can equally justify all the people who pushed opioids onto Americans, then it’s not a good one.
- hirvi74 2y ago
  > I also don't see how developers have any link with contract negotiations with warehouse workers? Developers obviously have no direct impact on labor conditions of the warehouse workers. However, all the time-tracking, logistical optimizations, employee monitoring systems, etc. that enable Amazon to squeeze every bit of efficacy and profit out of these warehouse workers had to come from somewhere/someone. I believe by contributing to companies that are as highly unethical as Amazon, developers are supporting entities that enforce and perpetuate such awful labor practices conditions. I am not assigning personal blame to any developer directly, but I do believe that as developers we need to be more considerate of the downstream ethical impacts that our work may have on others.
  - iLoveOncall 2y ago
    > I am not assigning personal blame to any developer directly Actually you did exactly that in your post that got deleted by moderation.
    - hirvi74 2y ago

ITB 2y ago

I don’t understand why all these comments are about who buys or doesn’t buy at Amazon. The article is about unionization and strikes. I expect a conversation about the merits of unions and their negotiation tactics. In my opinion, events like these will just accelerate job elimination. The goal of a logistics company is to be reliable. Humans are unreliable and more so when they are purposely and collectively unreliable. I’ve lived in a country with very powerful unions and it sucks— miss every 5th flight because the union decides to strike.

benterix 2y ago
> I don’t understand why all these comments are about who buys or doesn’t buy at Amazon. The logical connection is as follows: Bezos decided to optimize everything to its limits, including human behavior, to the very limits of law. To literally track every movement of employees and abusing the power the company holds over them. This is an ongoing process that we are all painfully aware of. Because of that, there is a growing negative feeling towards them that causes people not to give them their money. That's why instead of unions we are talking about boycotting Amazon.
ternnoburn 2y ago
Because people want to feel connected, and recognize that Amazon is an unethical entity. If you read about Amazon mistreating workers to the point that they strike, you can feel good by saying, "I won't support that company!" The general term is "solidarity", and it's a mix of empathy and action and encouragement for others to do the same.
yoyohello13 2y ago
> I’ve lived in a country with very powerful unions and it sucks— miss every 5th flight because the union decides to strike. I'm willing to accept inconvenience if it means strong workers' rights.
- Fin_Code 2y ago
  Keep saying that when a vacation get ruined because your connections got messed up and your out thousands of dollars.

okokhacker 2y ago

I’m not sure why the general sentiment here is that Amazon workers do not deserve a living wage and should be replaced with robots. All the best to the union, I sincerely hope they meet your demands.

billy99k 2y ago
Amazon warehouse work pays almost $20/hour where I live, which is well above the federal minimum wage and more than almost every other company in the area for this type of work. This is a living wage. "should be replaced with robots" I also think it's funny we are having this discussion. When songwriters and other creators were complaining about piracy in the 2000s, the general response from the tech community was that this was the future and you didn't deserve to earn a living. My response is the same.
- greesil 2y ago
  Minimum wage != Livable wage I don't think it's worth considering the comparison. But sure, maybe working at a distribution center pays well enough where you're located. Likely that's not the case where these strikes are happening. It's expensive out there. Also, what you wrote gives the impression of "I've got mine already so I don't care what happens to you."
  - abduhl 2y ago
    Define what a livable wage is then. Is it $25/hr? $50/hr? $100/hr?
    - mbauman 2y ago
      $20/hr fulltime is ~40k/yr or ~$3300/mo. As just one benchmark: can you find housing in your area for $1100/mo?
    - philipov 2y ago
      To start with, any definition that ends with a constant number is wrong. The living wage in an area depends on the cost of living in that area. I don't have that number on hand, but I expect it to be included in any discussion of what people should get payed. After that, we need to ask how much profit a person should be allowed to make on their labor.

twiddling 2y ago

Bring in the Pinkertons

black_13 2y ago

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javanjibril 2y ago

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