UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 16 Dec 13 - 03:43 AM

I'm talking about their working conditions... and I don't plan to use any of them, either.

So following this logic: given the long hours, 'back breaking' work and low pay that many farm workers have to put up with, I assume that you're going to stop buying food?

As Steve had alluded to, the UK has a minimum wage and some of the most stringent health and safety and employee protection laws in the world.

I unassamedly use Amazon, and until I get better reasons than the ridiculous "[employees] get an electric shock every time they touch a book", I will continue to do so.

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: GUEST,LynnH
Date: 16 Dec 13 - 03:30 AM

The workers at Amazon (Germany) are on strike today for better wages and conditions. This is just part of a continueing series of one day strikes which have been hitting Amazon(Germany) for a while now.

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Dec 13 - 02:02 AM

It's an interesting topic, and I'm not sure what to think. Any warehouse job is likely to be tedious, sometimes physically taxing work. Managers are likely to want to gauge performance and push employees to move more widgets.
Ultimately, it's a job that should be performed by a machine.

Trouble is, people need employment, and employers need to get work output for their money.

I don't know what's the truth here, but I haven't heard of Amazon employees wanting to strike for better wages and working conditions. All I've heard about, is Internet petitions from people who haven't worked there.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 16 Dec 13 - 12:15 AM

I'm not talking about what they pay them. I'm talking about their working conditions. And yes, I realise there are loads of other mail-order companies that also work their employees like dogs, and I don't plan to use any of them, either.

As for paying "their fair share" of taxes, that is not the issue under discussion here. However, I do think it's beyond sad that the way things are going, no company can be expected to do anything socially constructive (e.g., treat employees well, pay their fair share of taxes, pay a living wage, not destroy the environment) if they can make more money not doing it.

You may blame the countries for not requiring the companies to pay their "fair share" of taxes, but laws have become more and more complicated, because big companies have loads of money to pay legal eagles to find loopholes in the laws (and lobbied politicians to leave these loopholes)...

Feels like we are devolving back to "might makes right", except that money now equals "might"...

sigh.

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 15 Dec 13 - 10:02 PM

As noted before, if the UK doesn't have tax laws to collect its fair share, or has poor minimum wage legislation, that is the fault of the UK, not Amazon or the other mail order internationals which operate under the same rules. The idea of a boycott is laughable.

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 15 Dec 13 - 08:23 PM

Every reason for this to be in the music section. I am sure a lot of Mudcatters use Amazon to get hold of recorded music, and to send it to others.

Even if Amazon was a good employer in the USA, and an honest tax payer, that would be no reason to collude it being a rotten employer elsewhere and escaping paying taxes where it operates overseas.

And in fact there seems plenty of evidence both those accusations appear to apply in the USA as well.

Obviously having proper unionisation is an essential, but a boycott by individuals and organisations until that happens, and Amazon mends its ways is one way to help achieve those changes, along with pushing for changes to the law that make it impossible for it to continue the way its going. But that's not likely to happen with this government, or indeed any government we can expect for a long time.

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 15 Dec 13 - 08:07 PM

Here is a US petition which I signed months ago. https://www.change.org/petitions/end-amazoncoms-sweatshop-warehouse

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 15 Dec 13 - 07:55 PM

There were complaints about the summer temperatures inside the Breingsville (Pennsylvania) distribution center. Amazon has since spent $2.4 million to install industrial air conditioning there.

Wages are well-above the Pennsylvania minimum wage of $7.25/hour, the median low wage at Amazon's warehouse there is approx. $11/hour.

I have no information on minimum wages or average warehouse working conditions in UK, Amazon or other.
It seems to me that the quarrel should be with the UK government regulations.

Statutes have been changed in the U. S. to collect state taxes on sales in California and other jurisdictions; these changes apply to all similar mail order businesses.

""...drives good bookshops out of business."
The marketing picture in the U. S. has undergone marked changes, as the buying public is moving inexorably to stores which deliver to the home, fast and cheaply, with a much larger selection than any of the smaller stores can carry. Changes are taking place around the world.

You can't stop the flow of Niagara Falls with a bucket.

Lands End (Sears), LL Bean, Macy's are examples of three clothing outlets who have become strong in mail sales and there are hundreds of others. Small retailers are making deals with umbrella companies such as Abebooks, Amazon, etc., to piggyback on their large scale advertising and sales. This perhaps is the future of some of these businesses.
I can order used and new books through Amazon.ca that are delivered from small businesses in the UK, as well as U. S. and Canada.

In Canada, Indigo is doing the same thing with books that Amazon does internationally; Lee Valley is pushing mail orders in the hardware-related field, and London Drugs sells not only drug-related items by mail but also computers, home appliances, etc.

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Dec 13 - 07:41 PM

Right-o. But can you tell me how Amazon is any different from Tesco/Asda/Marks 'n' Sparks/Morrisons/care homes? Amazon, who I do not wish to defend in any way, have to pay the minimum wage. They provide jobs, etc. So what I want to know is, why are you singling out Amazon? Are they any better or worse that any of the other leeches? If so, in what way? We do live in a capitalist country and we have to breathe the polluted air. I'm currently waiting for an Amazon order to arrive. Do tell me why I should feel particularly guilty about it. I might not listen, of course. This is not simple.

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 15 Dec 13 - 07:04 PM

A petition won't have some influence on Amazon. Of course if everyone who signs it boycotts using Amazon that might help.

Conveniance isn't enough to justify using a service that exploits its workers, rips of the community by dosging paying fair taxes, and drives good bookshops out of business.

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 15 Dec 13 - 03:41 PM

Thanks, Fred. I agree with you. Although sometimes a petition can be enough to embarrass a company into cleaning up their act.
If not - a petition is a good starting point...

Q - True, this petition has no bearing on American conditions, but the US conditions are certainly comparable - and perhaps seeing this might inspire something on the American side...

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: GUEST,Fred McCormick
Date: 15 Dec 13 - 03:27 PM

Q. I looked for the wage scale you refer to and found the following bizarre comment.

"Amazon is successful because they provide the buyer a good deal."

A good deal if you don't want the Victorian wages and working conditions of its employees on your conscience perhaps. Before I rumbled Amazon I never could understand why everything I ordered from them came soaked in blood, toil, tears and sweat. Now I know.

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 15 Dec 13 - 02:41 PM

I have printed part of the wage scale for Amazon workers in the U. S. in the BS thread on the subject. I have not heard any comments from American employees, whose wages seem normal for the (hourly rates) positions at the bottom of the pyramid.

This petition should be removed to BS; it has no bearing on American conditions.
I cannot comment on scales in foreign countries such as UK.

Subject: RE: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: GUEST,Fred McCormick
Date: 15 Dec 13 - 02:29 PM

I get droves of petitions everyday, often relating to the environment or animal cruelty. I sign the vast majority, but this is one I'll be particularly glad to lend my siganture to.

Let's remember though that boycotts and petitions, while they are useful tools, will not in themselves force Amazon to pay decent wages and provide decent working conditions. What we need is a massive campaign to make sure that Amazon is properly unionised, plus a massive campaign by the Trades Union Congress to black the place until these things are done.

Subject: UK Petition: Amazon mistreats workers!
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 15 Dec 13 - 01:15 PM

Hi,

I would ordinarily post this in the BS section, but it does relate to Mudcat because we have links to Amazon, and get money from Amazon if people use the Mudcat link to them. To me, that is a valid reason for this to be "upstairs". If the powers that be disagree, I guess it will get moved below the line, but I'm hoping it won't be...

Personally, I am SO glad to see a petition on this! I have read some articles on how Amazon's workers are treated (not just in the UK - it's even worse in the US) and was truly appalled--so much so that I have decided not to use them any more.

Workers assigned to books get an electric shock every time they touch a book (due to static electricity - but much more painful than the itty bitty shocks we get from a charged carpet). A man who missed a day of work because his wife was in hospital having a baby was fired...

Here's a link for anyone who wants to read more on the subject (thanks to Thompson for posting this link in a previous thread):

I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave
My brief, backbreaking, rage-inducing, low-paying, dildo-packing time inside the online-shipping machine.

And here's the e-mail I received from the Care2 Petition Site:

As the holiday season gets closer and stores get more crowded, you may find yourself relying on Internet shopping more and more. But too often, we forget that the convenience of buying Gran a new mixer with the click of a button comes with a price -- the safety and health of warehouse workers.

While secretly filming for the BBC and working for Amazon UK, undercover reporter Adam Littler had to fill orders relayed by a monitor mounted to his trolley. The monitor counted down the minimal seconds given to finish each task and find products stored in this huge, 800,000-square-foot facility. The menacing monitor also beeped every time he fell short of expectations and then snitched to management when his performance wasn't up to par. Adam then got a reprimand. At the end of the day, he was physically and emotionally exhausted -- and unlike his temporary colleagues, he didn't have to come back the next day.

The health and safety of Amazon's workers are being sacrificed to make a quick profit. Someone has to stand up to tell Amazon that getting a pair of kitchen scissors in time for Christmas dinner isn't anywhere as important as keeping Brits safe.

Tell Amazon to treat its workers like humans, not like robots!

===============

Now, all we need is a petition for the US site (I know - and all the other countries where Amazon is - but the US is a good start!)

Thanks to all who care...