Abhorrent Amazon - Amazon's Aggressive Anti-Union Video leaks

[rcmaehl]

Source:
Gizmodo

 

TL;DR:
Amazon instructs management to be strongly be Anti-Union in low-key ways.

 

Media:

 

Quotes/Excerpts:

Quote

A 45-minute union-busting training video produced by the company... provide[d] valuable insight into the company’s thinking and tactics. “We are not anti-union, but we are not neutral either,” the video states. “We do not believe unions are in the best interest of our customers, our shareholders, or most importantly, our associates. Our business model is built upon speed, innovation, and customer obsessionthings that are generally not associated with union. When we lose sight of those critical focus areas we jeopardize everyone’s job security: yours, mine, and the associates’.” Gizmodo has opted to not publish the video itself in order to maintain source anonymity. “[Amazon] preaches that they have this open-door policy and then when you try to go through that open door, instead of being allowed in, you are now set up,”. The meat of the video begins in section four, entitled “Warning Signs.” Here are a few of the (extensive) examples... according to the video:

• Use of words like “living wage” and “steward”
• Distribution of petitions and fliers
• Associates raising concerns on behalf of their coworkers
• Wearing union t-shirts, hats, or jackets
• Workers “who normally aren’t connected to each other suddenly hanging out together”
• Workers showing an “unusual interest in policies, benefits, employee lists, or other company information”
• Increased negativity in the workplace
• “[A]ny other associate behavior that is out of character”

The training video then asks managers to listen to 10 hypothetical employees. Workers loitering in the break room after their shift, asking for a list of the site’s roster, or complaining about the absence of a living wage fall into the “warning sign” category. Amazon teaches managers that,... “almost anything you say is lawful,”... giving personal opinions that accomplish nearly the same are within their rights. “Opinions can be mild, like, ‘I’d rather work with associates directly,’ or strong: ‘Unions are lying, cheating rats.’ The law protects both!”. Any of signs of potential organization are supposed to be escalated to human resources and general managers immediately.

Quote

Update 2:30pm: [T]he company issued the following statement:  “We’re perplexed as to why Gizmodo takes issue with a company wanting to better engage its employees, train hundreds of managers to maintain an open and direct dialogue with associates, and create channels to drive innovation on behalf of the customer in a caring and inclusive environment. The reporter clearly cherry-picked soundbites from the video to meet his editorial objective and do not align with our view on how to create career opportunities for employees. “In the U.S., the average hourly wage for a full-time associate in our fulfillment centers, including cash, stock, and incentive bonuses, is over $15/hour before overtime. That’s in addition to our full benefits package that includes health, vision and dental insurance, retirement, generous parental leave, and skills training for in-demand jobs through our Career Choice program, which has over 16,000 participants. We encourage anyone to come see for themselves by taking a tour at one of our fulfillment centers"

 

My Thoughts:

Based on the terms used by the training video, it doesn't seem like Amazon is fostering a nice workplace in the slightest. With reports of Associates' peeing in jars, and scrambling to meet almost impossible quotas, I'd sounds like it's time for Amazon to have some oversight.

 

[Qrtrmstr2k]

I dunno, I think some of these stories might be a bit exaggerated. But who

really knows unless you work there. I know they have fulfillment centers here in SoCal and in CA there are a LOT of worker rights and a labor board that makes it easy to file should stuff like that start happening...maybe they do this in right to work states, maybe it’s exaggerated, maybe it’s not. But I agree at least an investigation may be warranted.

[rcmaehl]

1 minute ago, VegetableStu said:

Abhorrent Amazon - Amazon's Aggressive Anti-Amalgamation Audiovisual Absconds Administrators Attention

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Teddy07]

Not my problem as I don´t work there. Amazon is still one of the best companies for me as a consumer.

[asus killer]

don't all this big companies hate unions? i really don't think this is a "Amazon problem"

 

where can we see the video?

[MyName13]

1)If some company is a horrible place to work at, what's the problem then?Workers that can find better jobs will leave, those who can't won't get any better jobs anyway.

2)Consumers care only about prices even if it was made by slaves.

[Misanthrope]

Kudos on the thread title. And yes Besos and Amazon deserve all the shit they get but a kind plea: please do not start "vote with your wallet!" or "Boycott Amazon!" comments: it helps basically nothing given their size and influence and that's usually the case for individual choices.

 

Support Amazon employees by demanding to the company that they support and embrace unionizing and fair hiring and workplace practices and do not give into their excuses and thinly veiled treats of "The economy will somehow crash" if poor Besos wasn't able to make as much as what 3 or 4 employees make in a year every single minute of the year.

[asus killer]

8 minutes ago, MyName13 said:

1)If some company is a horrible place to work at, what's the problem then?Workers that can find better jobs will leave, those who can't won't get any better jobs anyway.

2)Consumers care only about prices even if it was made by slaves.

i agree on point 2. People where killing themselves on Apples factories and customers still didn't give a shit.

But point 1, come one, things are not that easy, you don't just find another job that easilly

[ivan134]

9 minutes ago, Misanthrope said:

Kudos on the thread title. And yes Besos and Amazon deserve all the shit they get but a kind plea: please do not start "vote with your wallet!" or "Boycott Amazon!" comments: it helps basically nothing given their size and influence and that's usually the case for individual choices.

 

Support Amazon employees by demanding to the company that they support and embrace unionizing and fair hiring and workplace practices and do not give into their excuses and thinly veiled treats of "The economy will somehow crash" if poor Besos wasn't able to make as much as what 3 or 4 employees make in a year every single minute of the year.

So why would Amazon give in to those demands?

[Blademaster91]

10 minutes ago, MyName13 said:

1)If some company is a horrible place to work at, what's the problem then?Workers that can find better jobs will leave, those who can't won't get any better jobs anyway.

2)Consumers care only about prices even if it was made by slaves.

The first point I disagree with, finding another job that pays the same as Amazon does isn't always easy, 15 dollars an hour with full benefits isn't bad for a warehouse job either.

Though yeah, consumers don't give a sh*t as long as they get their stuff in 2 days or less. Consumers wouldn't be happy if Amazon raised prices to hire more workers so everyone could get decent breaks, and Amazon would probably rather replace everyone with bots than join a union.

[Peskanova]

Here in Spain amazon associates are the main issue, they get the contract with amazon and then they almost never deliver in 1 Day,  on 1 month 2 different companys make the cheap trick, 1º company told that they are not in the house (when we were and called amazon same day at that hour) , 2º company told that amazon didnt send the package (when amazon sent it and for a psu that should I've had same day just waited 3 days and a half)

For me and for my friends amazon is just as any big company but associates are just garbage, thats why amazon are trying to be the only courier company

 

I remember that they had problems with workers in poland this year, so maybe is for that....

[Ryujin2003]

Although Unions can have benefits, I completely despise them. They cause more damage and hinder progression more than any benefit they provide. Amazon should have better wages and support for their employees, but they shouldn't have to unionize in order to do it.

[MyName13]

52 minutes ago, asus killer said:

But point 1, come one, things are not that easy, you don't just find another job that easilly

Of course it isn't but how would you solve this problem?Force companies to pay employees more than they want to?Why would they do that if they don't want to pay them more already?

 

39 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

The first point I disagree with, finding another job that pays the same as Amazon does isn't always easy, 15 dollars an hour with full benefits isn't bad for a warehouse job either.

In that case, why complain?Company treats you badly?Find another company that isn't so toxic.Can't find another company for some reason (no other options or nobody wants to hire that person)?Then there's no point of complaining.Does enforcing minimum wages help at all?If more people have more money won't the prices simply increase (and maybe create the effect of inflation)?

[mynameisjuan]

58 minutes ago, asus killer said:

come one, things are not that easy, you don't just find another job that easilly

We have people my work place that are trying to find another job and its been 6 months at this point with countless interviews. 

 

Its far from easy to just say fuck it and quit. 

[PlayStation 2]

Whether or not you like unions is your opinion, but what fucking company other than Amazon would literally interrogate and spy on those who like unions or unionized employers? That's 16 layers of fucked up.

[rcmaehl]

49 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

15 dollars an hour with full benefits isn't bad for a warehouse job either.

I'll disagree. I work in a city known for handling a ton of packages. We have miles of warehouses and assembly jobs including the largest UPS sorting facility. $15/hr is starting level warehouse pay around here with $16-19/hr not being uncommon, and considering there's warehouses that'll pay your entire college loans, Amazon is only a last resort.

[asus killer]

4 minutes ago, MyName13 said:

Of course it isn't but how would you solve this problem?Force companies to pay employees more than they want to?Why would they do that if they don't want to pay them more already?

 

i would strongly sugest you research the history of unions, why did they come about in the 1st place and you will answer all your own questions. You'll see why letting companies do whatever they want is not a good idea and unions are the least of two evils.

And this is not me being an ass but the topic is really complex.

[rcmaehl]

4 minutes ago, asus killer said:

i would strongly sugest you research the history of unions, why did they come about in the 1st place and you will answer all your own questions. You'll see why letting companies do whatever they want is not a good idea and unions are the least of two evils.

And this is not me being an ass but the topic is really complex.

I believe some unionization was abused, but that doesn't mean all unionization is a bad idea. Amazon is a prime example of why Unionization should exist.

[suits]

Yeah, maybe their methods are extreme, we really don't know, but you have to understand their extreme vigilance of union talk, unions are what drove the automobile crisis a few years back, the only way amazon can keep up what its doing is by paying reasonable wages to what the jobs tasks actually are, if we run into a getting paid 100k a year to push a button for GM happening at amazon we can say good buy to all the things we like about amazon. 

[SolarNova]

I dont live in the US so i cant say whats good wage or not, BUT when they say

" the average hourly wage for a full-time associate in our fulfillment centers, including cash, stock, and incentive bonuses, is over $15/hour before overtime "

 That means that $15/hr is comprised of a set wage + bonuses . Its the set wage you need to look at, the set wage is what is a set reliable income for a person working. Bonuses are just that, a bonus, you cant rely on bonuses..its a bonus. So i would bet that $15/hr is no where near the 'actual' hourly set wage.

 

In the UK for example Amazon staff , the bottom tier staff, the guys and galls working in the warehouses; they get minimum wage and have to work their asses of to meet targets. Alot of the time having to break safety rules just to hit those targets. .For example a old colleague of mine told me when he worked there people had to 'run' around with baskets full of goods becouse their electronic device had a timer that tells you how long you have to grab an item and move on.

 

The UK national living wage (for over 25's) is only £7.83/hr. Let me tell you, its not possible for a person, that is single, to live of that income without other income support. So i can beleve this story, Amazon is a sh*t place to work. I've turned down jobs in amazon  whilst being unemployed in the past becouse of how bad that company is to its employees, and have seen, heared of, and known other people do the same thing, choosing to be unemployed over working at Amazon.

[Misanthrope]

1 hour ago, ivan134 said:

So why would Amazon give in to those demands?

It goes into politics so I won't go into detail but suffice to say that no single commercial entity is powerful enough to ignore the State and no State is powerful enough to ignore all of their people.

[Aetheria]

15 minutes ago, SolarNova said:

I dont live in the US so i cant say whats good wage or not, BUT when they say

" the average hourly wage for a full-time associate in our fulfillment centers, including cash, stock, and incentive bonuses, is over $15/hour before overtime "

 That means that $15/hr is comprised of a set wage + bonuses . Its the set wage you need to look at, the set wage is what is a set reliable income for a person working. Bonuses are just that, a bonus, you cant rely on bonuses..its a bonus. So i would bet that $15/hr is no where near the 'actual' hourly set wage.

 

In the UK for example Amazon staff , the bottom tier staff, the guys and galls working in the warehouses; they get minimum wage and have to work their asses of to meet targets. Alot of the time having to break safety rules just to hot those targets. .For example a old colleague of mine told me when he worked there people had to 'run' around with baskets full of goods becouse their electronic device had a timer that tells you how long you have to grab an item and move on.

 

The UK national living wage (for over 25's) is only £7.83/hr. Let me tell you, its not possible for a person, that is single, to live of that income without other income support. So i can beleve this story, Amazon is a sh*t place to work. I've turned down jobs in amazon  whilst being unemployed in the past becouse of how bad that company is to its employees, and have seen, heared of, and known other people do the same thing, choosing to be unemployed over working at Amazon.

I'm glad Amazon faceplanted when they tried to open up shop here. Sadly, shit like Uber is catching on.

[DrMacintosh]

I'm really anti anti-union 

[Bananasplit_00]

Say what you want about unions but I think spying on your employees to make sure they don't unionize is going a bit fucking far. I can't say I have heard anything good about working the warehouse at amazon either, seems like a really shitty place to work

[Sauron]

2 hours ago, VegetableStu said:

Abhorrent Amazon - Amazon's Aggressive Anti-Amalgamation Audiovisual Absconds Administrators Attention

 

/kneeslap