Why I’m finally going to boycott Amazon

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

People were boycotting Amazon in the 90s, and theyre still doing it today.

They boycott Amazon for its attitude towards corporation tax (previously miserly, in May Amazon announced a change in policy that means it will now pay the tax). They boycott Amazon for how it roughhouses publishers. They boycott Amazon for dropping WikiLeaks from its web servers, or threaten a boycott if they dont withdraw items that promote paedophilia or just have Keep Calm and Rape a Lot written on them in massive letters.

But I havent. And, chances are, its for the same reason that you havent boycotted Amazon because the convenience of buying stuff in my pants on a laptop on my sofa slightly outweighs my sense of moral discomfort, and also because parcels make me feel special. But the New York Times has just published a lengthy piece about Amazons godawful corporate practices and as a result my resolve has been tested more than ever. Because Amazon sounds like a terrible place to work. The worst.

it paints a nightmarish picture of people getting stress ulcers and being expected to reply to emails at midnight, of lacerating criticism and workers sobbing relentlessly at their desks. One employee describes being given a low-performance rating after returning from treatment for her thyroid cancer. Another miscarried twins, and claims she was told: From where you are in life, trying to start a family, I dont know if this is the right place for you. It paints a picture of Amazon as a vampire that grabs newcomers and bleeds them out, before dumping them out on the street with a shrug.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/commentisfree/2015/aug/17/why-i-am-finally-going-to-boycott-amazon?CMP=fb_gu

[TENBILLIONDOLLARS 216]

White collar work means working late, it means meeting deadlines, it means busting your butt to protect the brand that pays you.

Until they decide they don't need you of course, at which point you'll need to sue to get the benefits they told you you'd get.

It's the American way.

If ya don't like it, go flip burgers at McD.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

From the sounds of it Amazon should be classified as red collar labour.

[Dashinka 23,202]

All-in-all, I am all for "at will" employment. My job requires a lot of off hour and weekend work due to the global nature of the business. Evening or early morning meetings are very common due to time zone differences.

[TENBILLIONDOLLARS 216]

All-in-all, I am all for "at will" employment. My job requires a lot of off hour and weekend work due to the global nature of the business. Evening or early morning meetings are very common due to time zone differences.

Same here.

And all our ideas get ripped apart at meetings too. But I've never been reduced to tears. No one I know has. Well, none of the men anyway.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

If the expose is true Amazon is an argument for unionised labour.

[TENBILLIONDOLLARS 216]

If the expose is true Amazon is an argument for unionised labour.

I don't see why. The place sounds tailor made for the young and single alpha types. They can have their Amazon.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Putting someone who is recently bereaved or recovering from cancer on 'performance improvement' has to be illegal.

[TENBILLIONDOLLARS 216]

Putting someone who is recently bereaved or recovering from cancer on 'performance improvement' has to be illegal.

Don't be a <word banned on VJ, starts with P, often used as slang for a female body part that starts with v, also a word banned on VJ>.

[Dashinka 23,202]

If the expose is true Amazon is an argument for unionised labour.

I was thinking the same thing when I first read about it. The surprising thing to me is that this hasn't happened yet considering where they are located (Seattle). Not a big union supporter myself, but they do have a place when it comes to excessive work practices if it is indeed endemic.

Edited August 17, 2015 by Bill & Katya

[Rob L 3,811]

I was thinking the same thing when I first read about it. The surprising thing to me is that this hasn't happened yet considering where they are located (Seattle). Not a big union supporter myself, but they do have a place when it comes to excessive work practices if it is indeed endemic.

Washington is an "at will work" state. If you don't have a union contract and you don't like it ( working all hours of the day, always on email), don't let the door hit your backside on the way out.

These types of practices are common in the IT industry. I think the question is, to what degree. Articles like these put a drag on Amazons hiring efforts, it is bad publicity they will need to overcome. Not being able to pull in top engineering talent could harm their expansion.

I lived 9 years of life under Microsoft before I determined that lifestyle was not for me, many of my friends stayed and thrived. There were several opportunities to work for Amazon, I am sure I would not have liked it. Some of the folks I knew who left MS for Amazon found the work challenging, most of them made lots of money and got out.

The most troubling are the allegations that folks with health concerns ( cancer, miscarriages, cardiact) were edged out. This could be a violation of the law. Amazon HR should take these allegations seriously,

Bezos recognizes the harm that the NY Times narrative can do to his business"

Amazon said late Sunday that it would not tolerate the “shockingly callous management practices” described in an article in The New York Times over the weekend. Jeff Bezos, the retail giant’s founder and chief executive, said he did not recognize the workplace portrayed in the article and urged any employees who knew of “stories like those reported” to contact him directly.

“Even if it’s rare or isolated, our tolerance for any such lack of empathy needs to be zero,” Mr. Bezos said in an email circulated to all the retailer’s employees.

Putting someone who is recently bereaved or recovering from cancer on 'performance improvement' has to be illegal.

It is

[Sousuke 1,214]

Join Us.

[Póg mo 1,749]

All-in-all, I am all for "at will" employment. My job requires a lot of off hour and weekend work due to the global nature of the business. Evening or early morning meetings are very common due to time zone differences.

Why shouldn't people be protected from unscrupulous employers? Why in the 21st century, are American companies allowed to get away with nineteenth century employment practices? I just don't buy the argument that this is the American way. What does that even mean? I would understand at will employment, if most people were in a position to switch employers, or not worry about paying rent or affording the price of a doctors visit, or simply being able to walk out of one job and straight into another, without having to undergo background checks, or not being required to wait a set period before health care coverage kicked in. Sorry, but to me, at will employment is a product of a bygone era.

[Póg mo 1,749]

It is

Good luck proving it in court. The laws are completely stack against employees.

[GandD 5,966]

I laughed when I heard about this. Try working in automotive.