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I worked in an Amazon warehouse. Bernie Sanders is right to target them


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2018 Sep 17, 7:20am   4,196 views  25 comments

by Patrick   ➕follow (55)   💰tip   ignore  

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/17/amazon-warehouse-bernie-sanders

The warehouse had the atmosphere of what I imagine a low-security prison would feel like. You had to pass in and out of gigantic airport-style security gates at the end of every shift and each time you went on break or needed to use the toilet. It could take as long as 10 or 15 minutes to pass through these gigantic metal scanners. A corporate, Orwellian form of double-speak was pervasive. You were not called a worker but an “associate”. You weren’t fired but instead you were “released”. Near the entrance to the warehouse, a cardboard cut-out of a fictional Amazon worker proclaimed, via a speech bubble attached to her head, that “we love coming to work and we miss it when we’re not here”.

The contrast between this sickly corporate uplift and the reality of life as an order picker at Amazon was stark. Workers were regularly admonished by management for clocking up so-called “idle time”, which was usually no more than the time it took to go to the bathroom. A recent survey of Amazon warehouse workers in England by the group Organise found that 74% were afraid to go to the toilet during a shift out of fear of missing productivity targets. On one occasion I found a Coca-Cola bottle containing urine sitting incongruently on a warehouse shelf amid the assorted miscellany, evidently left there by a worker too scared to take a toilet break.

Comments 1 - 25 of 25        Search these comments

1   Shaman   2018 Sep 17, 8:18am  

Which only flies because people still work there despite the onerous conditions. They could unionize or whatever but they’re scared.
Meanwhile Bezos is the world’s richest man.
2   Patrick   2018 Sep 17, 8:20am  

Yes, that's what unions are for. They do have a purpose in fighting conditions like that.
3   Bd6r   2018 Sep 17, 8:26am  

Patrick says
They could unionize or whatever but they’re scared.
Meanwhile Bezos is the world’s richest man.


1. This is where unions should be encouraged, but somehow left fights for public unions ignoring Bezos slave camps.
2. He has become the richest person in the world in part by using slave labor...
4   Bd6r   2018 Sep 17, 8:40am  

APOCALYPSEFUCKisShostikovitch says
WHY DO YOU WANT TO MURDER SUCCESS!?

He does not go far enough. After his slaves have been worked to nearly death, they should be sold for organ harvesting, thus maximizing the SANCTITY! of PROFIT! exactly as Trump and other Founding Fathers have commanded.
5   Shaman   2018 Sep 17, 8:45am  

dr6B says
PROFIT! exactly as Trump and other Founding Fathers have commanded.


Bezos is actively opposing Trump’s plan to close borders to illegals, slow down immigration so American workers aren’t displaced by cheap immigrants who will work for peanuts. Gee. I wonder why he feels so strongly about getting more poor immigrants?
6   Goran_K   2018 Sep 17, 8:49am  

Quigley says
Meanwhile Bezos is the world’s richest man.


Bezos is also a far lefty asshole who donates money to lefty orgs that support Occupy, BLM and open borders. Wonder why? Democrats don't bat an eye.
7   FortWayne   2018 Sep 17, 8:50am  

They have those in every Corp that does warehousing. People who work those jobs aren’t highly compensated, a lot of theft occurs.

I used to work warehouse, hated it. Well over half the employees were illegals. They took if they could.

That’s CA for you, left screams to have more illegals to replace Americans.
8   Bd6r   2018 Sep 17, 8:56am  

Quigley says
I wonder why he feels so strongly about getting more poor immigrants?

That probably applies to a lot of businesses using manual, low-paid labor. Meat packing, construction, etc. Without illegals or poor immigrants they would be forced to increase pay, which would cut into their PROFIT, thus restricting Bezos and his cohorts to acquisition of only 28 1000 ft yachts, instead of 30, which is what they need exactly as Founding Fathers commanded (c) Apocalipsefuck. BTW Trump himself uses low-qualified immigrant labor in his hotels.
9   LeonDurham   2018 Sep 17, 9:05am  

Goran_K says
Democrats don't bat an eye.


lol--did you read the thread title?
10   LeonDurham   2018 Sep 17, 9:08am  

dr6B says

1. This is where unions should be encouraged, but somehow left fights for public unions ignoring Bezos slave camps.


What are you talking about? Dems fight for unions everywhere.

And it was a DEM that brought the Bezos slave camp to your attention in the first place.
11   Goran_K   2018 Sep 17, 9:13am  

LeonDurham says
Goran_K says
Democrats don't bat an eye.


lol--did you read the thread title?


and how many Dems are in the streets today protesting Amazon and Nike?

It's a number less than 1.
12   MAGA   2018 Sep 17, 9:16am  

I worked in a very secure area when I was in the military. I had to go through multiple levels of security. It was no big deal as I understood the nature of our work.

13   Bd6r   2018 Sep 17, 9:17am  

LeonDurham says
And it was a DEM that brought the Bezos slave camp to your attention in the first place.

INDEPENDENT

His previous 16 years in the House of Representatives make him the longest serving independent member of Congress in American history.

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/about
14   Bd6r   2018 Sep 17, 9:31am  

LeonDurham says
What are you talking about? Dems fight for unions everywhere.

Also, Amazon was recently looking for place for their new headquarters. Most of the cities they looked at are D-controlled. Did the slave-like worker conditions came up in discussions with Amazon, and did the progressive cities demand unionization or something like that? Or were the cities simply sucking up to Bezos, kissing his ass exactly as founding fathers commanded?
15   LeonDurham   2018 Sep 17, 9:32am  

dr6B says

Also, Amazon was recently looking for place for their new headquarters. Most of the cities they looked at are D-controlled. Did the slave-like worker conditions came up in discussions with Amazon, and did the progressive cities demand unionization or something like that? Or were the cities simply sucking up to Bezos, kissing his ass exactly as founding fathers commanded?


I don't know--do you?
16   LeonDurham   2018 Sep 17, 9:33am  

dr6B says
INDEPENDENT

His previous 16 years in the House of Representatives make him the longest serving independent member of Congress in American history.


He ran as a DEMOCRAT for President.
17   LeonDurham   2018 Sep 17, 9:35am  

Goran_K says
and how many Dems are in the streets today protesting Amazon and Nike?

It's a number less than 1.


Ridiculous. It only counts if you're in the streets protesting?

Dems fight for unions everywhere. Republicans bash unions, eliminate union protections everywhere.

It takes a lot of balls to pretend that Dems are the ones causing poor working conditions.
18   Bd6r   2018 Sep 17, 9:39am  

LeonDurham says
I don't know--do you?

I have not heard anything about that, so I assume they are not pressing him. If they would press him, chances of HQ being in the respective city would drop to 0.

What I know is that the same cities are supporting police and firePERSONS unions so that Heroes in Blue can retire at 40 after hard job of beating up/shooting poor people.
19   Goran_K   2018 Sep 17, 9:41am  

LeonDurham says
It takes a lot of balls to pretend that Dems are the ones causing poor working conditions.


Oh really?





Doesn't take balls, just a bit of logic and ability to critically think.
20   Bd6r   2018 Sep 17, 9:42am  

Aphroman says
Trump and Republicans are in absolute control, who cares what you claim the powerless left is doing

What are Trumpublicans doing?

I'd say that right usually fight for businesses, but left for workers. Right of today is doing what one expects from them, e.i. trying to make conditions better for businesses. Unfortunately, left is doing the same for select businesses, while ignoring needs of workers.
21   Bd6r   2018 Sep 17, 9:43am  

LeonDurham says
He ran as a DEMOCRAT for President.

His party affiliation is INDEPENDENT.
22   Ceffer   2018 Sep 17, 10:08am  

When can they start shackling worthless, tax sucking children to their work stations? When they turn 13, they can be auctioned off for Iwog's radiator after learning workplace discipline.
23   Shaman   2018 Sep 17, 11:05am  

Herdingcats says
Trump supporters are lying sacks of shit


So are people who defend racist comments from known racists.
I’m not even sure why you did that. I thought Leftists were supposed to like minorities. You’re getting your card revoked, son!
24   Shaman   2018 Sep 17, 11:10am  

You defended Aphrosack when he declared Nike employees to be Mongoloids who nobody cares about. Forget what you did ten minutes ago? Senility is one reason for Leftism. So is mental disorder.
25   LastMan   2018 Sep 17, 5:22pm  

Neither Party cares, unless they can use it to discredit the other party.

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