Amazon fired Chris Smalls. Now the new union leader is one of its biggest problems.

[Libertas]

https://www.vox.com/recode/23145265/ama ... ment-biden

A year ago, Chris Smalls couldn’t get politicians to return his calls.

But on a muggy morning in late April, two of the biggest names in politics — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) — were making a special trip to Staten Island, New York to visit with the 33-year-old former Amazon warehouse process assistant, father-of-three, and leader of a resurgent labor movement sweeping the country.

Smalls and his former colleagues, organizing under the banner of the newly formed Amazon Labor Union, or ALU, surprised the world in early April by doing what many thought was impossible: leading the first successful US union campaign at Amazon, a tech giant that has long viewed worker organizing as an existential threat to its business, and done virtually everything in its enormous power to stop it.

Paying people a living wage with benefits is one of the main reasons cons vote for GOP, to make sure they dont have to. Board cons hate working people obviously, since they vote against them every single fucking time they vote.

[Motor City]

https://www.vox.com/recode/23145265/ama ... ment-biden



Paying people a living wage with benefits is one of the main reasons cons vote for GOP, to make sure they dont have to. Board cons hate working people obviously, since they vote against them every single fucking time they vote.

....Sen. Sanders continued, “All over this country people are working crazy hours, with terrible working conditions, inadequate wages, poor benefits…and what you have done is to take on one of the most powerful corporations in America owned by the second wealthiest guy in this country.”.....

Got to wonder what's to come from an economy and a nation that cant attract or keep workers that instead grinds through them creating misleading employment statistic's by counting the same workers multiple times as they change or quit jobs. All these big huge things are dependent on this dysfunctional and abusive system and group of people who have the means the resources but refuse to use them. Whose leverage is slip slip slipping away.

[Glennfs]

Got to wonder what's to come from an economy and a nation that cant attract or keep workers that instead grinds through them creating misleading employment statistic's by counting the same workers multiple times as they change or quit jobs. All these big huge things are dependent on this dysfunctional and abusive system and group of people who have the means the resources but refuse to use them. Whose leverage is slip slip slipping away.

From what I've heard the pay is excellent but the working conditions couldn't be worse.
Going in and out of work is like entering a jailhouse. Male workers have been known to pee in trash cans.
The pace they expect is unrealistic and older workers can't keep up the pace.
Other than the pay it is a sweatshop

[Libertas]

More wild accusations with zero credible sources.

[Glennfs]

More wild accusations with zero credible sources.

This is really getting old


https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/ ... 82f4911519


https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... -warehouse


https://www.boredpanda.com/amazon-emplo ... gn=organic


https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/01/study-a ... anies.html

https://peoplesworld.org/article/worker ... nt-center/

https://blog.ipleaders.in/unsafe-workin ... ght/?amp=1

https://m.thewire.in/article/business/a ... rs-culture

[carmenjonze]

This is really getting old

Not nearly as old as your intellectual laziness.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/ ... 82f4911519

Who TH is Jack Kelly?

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... -warehouse

Lol since when did you start reading The Guardian for any reason?

LOL

utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

Yes, run to Google and copy/paste the first ten links that show up…

https://peoplesworld.org/article/worker ... nt-center/

You’re citing The Daily Worker, now?

Really? Okay.

https://blog.ipleaders.in/unsafe-workin ... ght/?amp=1

https://m.thewire.in/article/business/a ... rs-culture

TF is “IPLeaders.in”?

And what are you doing posting something from The Wire opinion pages?

You’re reading Indian publications, now?

Sure, you are. Christamighty, you are one lazy, intellectually-backwards person. :problem:

[Glennfs]

Not nearly as old as your intellectual laziness.



Who TH is Jack Kelly?



Lol since when did you start reading The Guardian for any reason?

LOL




Yes, run to Google and copy/paste the first ten links that show up…



You’re citing The Daily Worker, now?

Really? Okay.


TF is “IPLeaders.in”?

And what are you doing posting something from The Wire opinion pages?

You’re reading Indian publications, now?

Sure, you are. Christamighty, you are one lazy, intellectually-backwards person. :problem:

7 links not enough what a tool

[carmenjonze]

7 links not enough what a tool

Are you a size queen? Or are you just another lazy-ass, undereducated con who just runs to google and puts a search term in, but is too stupid to even read through what you post before posting it.

Since when do you ever read The Guardian, or The Wire opinion pages, or a random Forbes blog…do you even know what The Wire is?

Or The Daily Worker.

LMAO, The Daily Worker…imagine your reaction if anyone here ever posted anything from The Daily Worker…

[Number6]

Are you a size queen? Or are you just another lazy-ass, undereducated con who just runs to google and puts a search term in, but is too stupid to even read through what you post before posting it.

Since when do you ever read The Guardian, or The Wire opinion pages, or a random Forbes blog…do you even know what The Wire is?

Or The Daily Worker.

LMAO, The Daily Worker…imagine your reaction if anyone here ever posted anything from The Daily Worker…

Well, at least he isn't using The Daily Stormer, again, as a source.

[carmenjonze]

Well, at least he isn't using The Daily Stormer, again, as a source.

True, Daily Worker > Daily Stormer

[ProfX]

From what I've heard the pay is excellent but the working conditions couldn't be worse.
Going in and out of work is like entering a jailhouse. Male workers have been known to pee in trash cans.
The pace they expect is unrealistic and older workers can't keep up the pace.
Other than the pay it is a sweatshop

You're not entirely wrong. One of the big problems with Amazon is the fulfillment warehouses rely on a great deal of automation, and many workers report either being injured by or not being able to keep pace with, the faster, more relentless robots. And the more interesting issue is their performance is also often being evaluated by machine algorithms.

Amazon warehouse robots 'increase staff injuries'
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54355803

In the pursuit of getting your package out the door the same day, Bezos not only wants to utilize lots of drones and fast machines, but force his human workers to keep pace.

Amazon employee fired by a robot: It's you vs machine's algorithm
Normandin's experience is a twist on the decades-old prediction that robots will replace workers.
https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 581_1.html

Stephen Normandin spent almost four years racing around Phoenix delivering packages as a contract driver for Amazon.com. Then one day, he received an automated email. The algorithms tracking him had decided he wasn’t doing his job properly.

The 63-year-old Army veteran was stunned. He’d been fired by a machine.

[snip]

Normandin’s experience is a twist on the decades-old prediction that robots will replace workers. At Amazon, machines are often the boss — hiring, rating and firing millions of people with little or no human oversight.

Amazon became the world’s largest online retailer in part by outsourcing its sprawling operations to algorithms—sets of computer instructions designed to solve specific problems. For years, the company has used algorithms to manage the millions of third-party merchants on its online marketplace, drawing complaints that sellers have been booted off after being falsely accused of selling counterfeit goods and jacking up prices.

Increasingly, the company is ceding its human-resources operation to machines as well, using software not only to manage workers in its warehouses but to oversee contract drivers, independent delivery companies and even the performance of its office workers. People familiar with the strategy say Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos believes machines make decisions more quickly and accurately than people, reducing costs and giving Amazon a competitive advantage.

[snip]

But the moment they sign on, Flex drivers discover algorithms are monitoring their every move. Did they get to the delivery station when they said they would? Did they complete their route in the prescribed window? Did they leave a package in full view of porch pirates instead of hidden behind a planter as requested? Amazon algorithms scan the gusher of incoming data for performance patterns and decide which drivers get more routes and which are deactivated. Human feedback is rare. Drivers occasionally receive automated emails, but mostly they’re left to obsess about their ratings, which include four categories: Fantastic, Great, Fair or At Risk.

Bloomberg interviewed 15 Flex drivers, including four who say they were wrongly terminated, as well as former Amazon managers who say the largely automated system is insufficiently attuned to the real-world challenges drivers face every day. Amazon knew delegating work to machines would lead to mistakes and damaging headlines, these former managers said, but decided it was cheaper to trust the algorithms than pay people to investigate mistaken firings so long as the drivers could be replaced easily.

[snip][end]

To me, this is the latest form of something that's been around for a long time, called Taylorism. The "scientific" management of robotizing human labor.... by treating workers and their bodies like machines to be evaluated with algorithms.
https://www.britannica.com/science/Taylorism

I have many problems with it. First and foremost, I agree with Doug Engelbart that AI & other technology should be the servant of humanity, not its master. But secondly, this relentless system transforms human workers into analogs of the machines they are increasingly working with and under. The word "robot" in Czech, first used by Karl Capek in his play R.U.R. in the 1920s, means "serf".

[Glennfs]

True, Daily Worker > Daily Stormer

Let me explain the symbolism behind that link.
I had a link from the WSJ all the way to the voice of CPUSA with 5 in between.
I did so to demonstrate the ignorance of those people here who keep playing the show me a link game.

[Glennfs]

You're not entirely wrong. One of the big problems with Amazon is the fulfillment warehouses rely on a great deal of automation, and many workers report either being injured by or not being able to keep pace with, the faster, more relentless robots. And the more interesting issue is their performance is also often being evaluated by machine algorithms.

Amazon warehouse robots 'increase staff injuries'
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54355803

In the pursuit of getting your package out the door the same day, Bezos not only wants to utilize lots of drones and fast machines, but force his human workers to keep pace.

Amazon employee fired by a robot: It's you vs machine's algorithm
Normandin's experience is a twist on the decades-old prediction that robots will replace workers.
https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 581_1.html

Stephen Normandin spent almost four years racing around Phoenix delivering packages as a contract driver for Amazon.com. Then one day, he received an automated email. The algorithms tracking him had decided he wasn’t doing his job properly.

The 63-year-old Army veteran was stunned. He’d been fired by a machine.

[snip]

Normandin’s experience is a twist on the decades-old prediction that robots will replace workers. At Amazon, machines are often the boss — hiring, rating and firing millions of people with little or no human oversight.

Amazon became the world’s largest online retailer in part by outsourcing its sprawling operations to algorithms—sets of computer instructions designed to solve specific problems. For years, the company has used algorithms to manage the millions of third-party merchants on its online marketplace, drawing complaints that sellers have been booted off after being falsely accused of selling counterfeit goods and jacking up prices.

Increasingly, the company is ceding its human-resources operation to machines as well, using software not only to manage workers in its warehouses but to oversee contract drivers, independent delivery companies and even the performance of its office workers. People familiar with the strategy say Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos believes machines make decisions more quickly and accurately than people, reducing costs and giving Amazon a competitive advantage.

[snip]

But the moment they sign on, Flex drivers discover algorithms are monitoring their every move. Did they get to the delivery station when they said they would? Did they complete their route in the prescribed window? Did they leave a package in full view of porch pirates instead of hidden behind a planter as requested? Amazon algorithms scan the gusher of incoming data for performance patterns and decide which drivers get more routes and which are deactivated. Human feedback is rare. Drivers occasionally receive automated emails, but mostly they’re left to obsess about their ratings, which include four categories: Fantastic, Great, Fair or At Risk.

Bloomberg interviewed 15 Flex drivers, including four who say they were wrongly terminated, as well as former Amazon managers who say the largely automated system is insufficiently attuned to the real-world challenges drivers face every day. Amazon knew delegating work to machines would lead to mistakes and damaging headlines, these former managers said, but decided it was cheaper to trust the algorithms than pay people to investigate mistaken firings so long as the drivers could be replaced easily.

[snip][end]

To me, this is the latest form of something that's been around for a long time, called Taylorism. The "scientific" management of robotizing human labor.... by treating workers and their bodies like machines to be evaluated with algorithms.
https://www.britannica.com/science/Taylorism

I have many problems with it. First and foremost, I agree with Doug Engelbart that AI & other technology should be the servant of humanity, not its master. But secondly, this relentless system transforms human workers into analogs of the machines they are increasingly working with and under. The word "robot" in Czech, first used by Karl Capek in his play R.U.R. in the 1920s, means "serf".

I didn't include the local delivery drivers. But many if not most are independent contractors who have a deal similar to taxi cabs.
Those guys are working 70+ hours a week

[Glennfs]

I didn't include the local delivery drivers. But many if not most are independent contractors who have a deal similar to taxi cabs.
Those guys are working 70+ hours a week
Their over the road drivers are also contractors but with a bad deal.
If I wanted to lease to them i would have to do so through a third party. They only lease on small fleets not one truck guys like me.
Those companies with only a handful of trucks hire the bottom of the barrel drivers.
Mainly because they can't compete with the wages and benefits of major carriers.
So they wind up with the drivers that can't get hired by a decent company

[carmenjonze]

Let me explain the symbolism behind that link.
I had a link from the WSJ all the way to the voice of CPUSA with 5 in between.
I did so to demonstrate the ignorance of those people here who keep playing the show me a link game.

You only think of it as a game because you’re the type of delusional, entitled, supremacist that thinks everything coming out of your mouth is to be taken as fact.

Sorry, this isn’t Planet MAGA where whatever low-quality information is good for ignoramus conservative whites, rules.

Plus, you’re just here to own the libz, anyway. How’s that game going for you?

[carmenjonze]

I didn't include the local delivery drivers. But many if not most are independent contractors who have a deal similar to taxi cabs.
Those guys are working 70+ hours a week

According to…?

[carmenjonze]

Their over the road drivers are also contractors but with a bad deal.
If I wanted to lease to them i would have to do so through a third party. They only lease on small fleets not one truck guys like me.
Those companies with only a handful of trucks hire the bottom of the barrel drivers.

Says…

Mainly because they can't compete with the wages and benefits of major carriers.

According to…?

So they wind up with the drivers that can't get hired by a decent company

Where are you getting any of this information from?

[Glennfs]

Says…



According to…?



Where are you getting any of this information from?

I own a one truck company and have looked into hauling amszon freight.
As for the local drivers it is very similar to what FedEx has been doing on a smaller scale for decades.
As for the bottom of the barrel drivers. With the exception of retirees who only drive part time that is the way it had been in my 30 years with very few exceptions.
The small fleets simply can't afford to pay what the big fleets pay.
So why would a driver work for a smaller fleet if he can get better wages and benefits from the bigger companies.
As a general rule it is because he can't get hired by a decent company

[ProfX]

I think we can start calling this "Amazonization" of the labor economy. As it's replacing "Walmartization" as the dominant model. Difference is, a lot of "Amazonization" is invisible. When you order a package, you don't really see the process before it arrives at your door, you might not even know much about who delivered it.

Glennn actually isn't wrong about working conditions, but he's wrong about the rest. Pay is NOT always that great.

There has been a long-standing issue where the fulfillment warehouses in many areas aren't even air conditioned, and workers start suffering from heatstroke as temperatures climb in summer.

https://ilsr.org/wp-content/uploads/201 ... _FINAL.pdf

Fewer Jobs
As Amazon displaces sales at brick-and-mortar stores, it’s causing more job losses than gains. An analysis of the corporation’s impact on employment by ILSR found that, at the end of 2015, Amazon had 146,000 employees in the U.S., but had displaced enough sales at stores to force the elimination of 295,000 retail jobs. That works out to a net loss of 149,000 jobs.1 These job losses will only climb as Amazon takes over more of the retail sector and ramps up its reliance on robots and drones for picking, packing, and delivering orders.

[snip]

Grueling Work
Amazon runs its warehouses and employees like a machine. The work is often dehumanizing, and includes dashing across massive warehouses, frequent kneeling and bending, and dangerously high production quotas.3 According to the International Business Times, “Amazon’s productivity numbers are apparently purposely designed to be unattainable for most workers so that employees feel that they are falling down on the job and push harder to hit the impracticable levels.”4 In 2016, Amazon was fined by federal regulators for not recording employee injuries, including some that were severe.5

[snip][end]

Rhetoric in commercials aside, wages are often low, it often relies on temps without benefits in fulfillment warehouses and "flex" drivers for delivery, and yes Bezos is notoriously anti-union as are the management.

It's not such a glorious place to work for. I really don't care that BezosPost was a staunch critic of Trump; good for them, but Astronaut Jeff still needs to treat his workers better and let them form unions.

[Glennfs]

I think we can start calling this "Amazonization" of the labor economy. As it's replacing "Walmartization" as the dominant model. Difference is, a lot of "Amazonization" is invisible. When you order a package, you don't really see the process before it arrives at your door, you might not even know much about who delivered it.

Glennn actually isn't wrong about working conditions, but he's wrong about the rest. Pay is NOT always that great.

There has been a long-standing issue where the fulfillment warehouses in many areas aren't even air conditioned, and workers start suffering from heatstroke as temperatures climb in summer.

https://ilsr.org/wp-content/uploads/201 ... _FINAL.pdf

Fewer Jobs
As Amazon displaces sales at brick-and-mortar stores, it’s causing more job losses than gains. An analysis of the corporation’s impact on employment by ILSR found that, at the end of 2015, Amazon had 146,000 employees in the U.S., but had displaced enough sales at stores to force the elimination of 295,000 retail jobs. That works out to a net loss of 149,000 jobs.1 These job losses will only climb as Amazon takes over more of the retail sector and ramps up its reliance on robots and drones for picking, packing, and delivering orders.

[snip]

Grueling Work
Amazon runs its warehouses and employees like a machine. The work is often dehumanizing, and includes dashing across massive warehouses, frequent kneeling and bending, and dangerously high production quotas.3 According to the International Business Times, “Amazon’s productivity numbers are apparently purposely designed to be unattainable for most workers so that employees feel that they are falling down on the job and push harder to hit the impracticable levels.”4 In 2016, Amazon was fined by federal regulators for not recording employee injuries, including some that were severe.5

[snip][end]

Rhetoric in commercials aside, wages are often low, it often relies on temps without benefits in fulfillment warehouses and "flex" drivers for delivery, and yes Bezos is notoriously anti-union as are the management.

It's not such a glorious place to work for. I really don't care that BezosPost was a staunch critic of Trump; good for them, but Astronaut Jeff still needs to treat his workers better and let them form unions.

As to low wages I guess that is a relative term. For example if you are 21 living in Charlotte making $11 an hour and Amazon hires you at $15 an hour you are pretty happy with your wages

[gounion]

Geez, Glenn. You really need to watch your links. Socialist sites? Next you'll be linking to neo-nazi sites. Oh, wait, you already did that...

[Glennfs]

Geez, Glenn. You really need to watch your links. Socialist sites? Next you'll be linking to neo-nazi sites. Oh, wait, you already did that...

Again let me explain the symbolism behind that
We have some posters here playing a game ie trolling demanding links to the time of day.
So when they demanded links on this subject on which I was in agreement with them and posted things we all know to be true.
I decided to show their ignorance by posting a link from the WSJ and from a socialist site. Along with 5 in between.

[gounion]

Again let me explain the symbolism behind that
We have some posters here playing a game ie trolling demanding links to the time of day.
So when they demanded links on this subject on which I was in agreement with them and posted things we all know to be true.
I decided to show their ignorance by posting a link from the WSJ and from a socialist site. Along with 5 in between.

No, Glenn, you just posted the first ones you found, without paying any attention to where they were from, as you always do.

[ProfX]

I was rather amused when a certain GreenAss decided to post a critique of the 1619 Project, & the source he cited was the World Socialist website.

Weird, he never cited that after, or since.

[Glennfs]

No, Glenn, you just posted the first ones you found, without paying any attention to where they were from, as you always do.

No I didn't and there you go with the I know what you really meant bullshit. The first link I found was the WSJ which gave me the idea. The fact that there was a link from a socialist site was a bonus.