It's not much better working manual labor for them.
Depending on where you are manual labour is pretty good. Unless it is one of the truly shitty ones, ie potato picker, then you at least are treated with some respect.
Edit; respect is the wrong word but I cant think of a word to describe "takes into account that you a human and have a live outside of work, and that their whole like does not revolve around their job".
Keep in mind, Amazon's the place where they just got the Supreme Court to rule that they can make you wait in line an hour each day at a security checkpoint and they don't have to pay you for it.
Keep in mind, Amazon's the place where they just got the Supreme Court to rule that they can make you wait in line an hour each day at a security checkpoint and they don't have to pay you for it.
TheTeamsters were trying to drum up support within UPS to get paid for the shuttle rides to and from work areas, two years ago. Dunno how that went down, I was fired two days before I got seniority.
This NYT article about Amazon.com was very disconcerting to read. Working there seems almost like bootcamp, like indoctrination into a cult. The open hostility and combativeness its workers are treated with is scary. Even if this presented a slanted or incomplete view, if the company isn't flatly denying that there is any basis for these stories and accusations then it is a problem.
The other problem is that many of these elements are present all throughout the tech industry: especially the expectation of working long hours, putting work so far ahead of family and personal time, always remaining connected 24/7 even on "vacation". If these are explicitly expected/required at Amazon, they are simply the way to get ahead and look like the rock star and guarantee job security almost everywhere else. This is bad for the whole tech industry as people don't get up and leave their employment as much as they should to punish companies' bad behavior.
Their UK branches aren't much better. Some of my uni friends in Swansea worked in their warehouse, everything they did was timed to the second. Its was dire.
Okay, before reading the article, I could already tell that, it being a pizza place, it was trying to be like saying picnic with an Italian accent. The only reason people were calling it racist is because of the watermelon and fried chicken thibg, which is stupid itself. What? Can only black people enjoy watermelon and fried chicken? Shits got arugula, sunflower seeds, and blue cheese? Should vegetarians be up in arms too? This isn't racism in the part of the restraunt, it's people being hyper sensitive to the point t of seeing racism that ain't there. The racism equivalent of monsters in the closet.
The chicken and watermelon thing doesn't mean you can't like it, or there's anything wrong with liking it, but it is a racist stereotype. The Watermelon thing goes all the way back to Minstrel shows, and the fried chicken thing goes all the way back to the famous film "Birth of a nation", a turn of the century american drama that shows the KKK as heroes. You can understand, I'm sure, why people might be a tad touchy about it.
I'm not saying it isn't one, but I still think the idea of any food being a racist stereotype pretty absurd. I mean you don't hear this type of thing about Asian people eating rice, or Mexicans eating tortillas. Like oh wow people in different places and cultures often eat different foods.
I never understood why everyone called me a curry-muncher when I was a kid.
However I agree with Victor a bit more however I don't live in a society where underhanded racism is more prevalent than explicit racism. The inflammatory motion is the the pizzeria owner apologising (admitting guilt or understanding the perspective) but continuing to not change the name because the pizza is popular. (I want to taste it now).
I'm not saying it isn't one, but I still think the idea of any food being a racist stereotype pretty absurd. I mean you don't hear this type of thing about Asian people eating rice, or Mexicans eating tortillas. Like oh wow people in different places and cultures often eat different foods.
While it's common in stereotypes generally, the use of them as racist stereotypes is pretty uncommon. I'd almost venture it's unique to the US, though I'm far from sure.
However I agree with Victor a bit more however I don't live in a society where underhanded racism is more prevalent than explicit racism.
Yeah, we're fucking weird. Casual racism, at least, when it's without malice, is generally accepted, people don't get too bothered by it depending on the company. If you're an actual I-don't-like-people-based-on-race sort of racist, people are far less accepting, and tend to be openly hostile. It's seen as a mark of being a low-class shitheel - the most common stereotype associated with it is "bogan", and as the poem goes, nobody likes a bogan.
Also, this just came up on reddit again, and now's a good a time as any to mention it again - How to talk Australians.
I know it's unrelated but this talk of Australians makes me want some cheeky Nando's, and unfortunately that hasn't percolated out here to the South-mid-east-west.
I know it's unrelated but this talk of Australians makes me want some cheeky Nando's, and unfortunately that hasn't percolated out here to the South-mid-east-west.
I know it's unrelated but this talk of Australians makes me want some cheeky Nando's, and unfortunately that hasn't percolated out here to the South-mid-east-west.
MESSAGE RECEIVED, EMERGENCY PERI-PERI EN ROUTE.
Had peri peri extra hot sauce on my omelette this morning alongside getting a pep from my Vegemite toast.
To be fair the Australian peri-peri sauce has been dulled down since it first showed up here. (The original extra hot baste and sauce could make my eyes water, these days I could drink it. Still the best chicken place in a hurry.
So, obviously, everyone at work is talking about that article today. General response? "Boy, I'd sure hate to work at that company." Jeff Bezos even sent an email out to everyone in the company, encouraging people to read it. He followed up saying that if people really are experiencing conditions like those in the article, they should email him directly about it or contact HR.
The article basically took the anecdotes of a handful of people and expounded the problems to make it seem like it was company culture. I'm not going to say that there aren't problems. You get to be over 100,000 employees and you're going to end up with bad managers and bad teams who run people into the ground. But to say that it is a result of policy or culture is misleading.
People can draw whatever conclusions they want. But I can say that, personally, after being here for almost two years, I have never worked more than 40 hours in a week, I have never been asked to stay connected with the office on my days off, and I have never once seen (or heard of) a co-worker get "torn apart" over an idea or stance. This has been, bar none, the best job I've ever had, and I intend to stay as long as that remains true.
By the same coin, I know a lot of people who either worked there or have friends who worked there who took the article at face value as being representative of the climate.
By the same coin, I know a lot of people who either worked there or have friends who worked there who took the article at face value as being representative of the climate.
As the adage goes, your mileage may vary. The point I'm getting at is that the company itself does not promote or force unreasonable conditions on anyone. If I felt like I was being pressured to work my ass off, I would leave in a heartbeat. It's not like I don't get enough recruiters trying to pull me away as is.
You did see all that stuff that came out about the warehouse working conditions right?
Yes, I've seen that stuff. I should clarify that I was referring to the conditions of office workers, as that was the focus of the article. I cannot speak to conditions in the fulfillment centers so will not try to refute those claims.
I have my own opinions about Amazon as a company but I do get a bit annoyed when people talk about how Amazon (which they actually mean more software companies in Seattle) is killing the culture. Yes there is some gentrification, but also a lot of the people who are complaining about it are people who barely make a living as it is. I'm sorry you can't live in the hip neighborhood and work as a barista part time and want to pursue your music career. Any marginally popular city is expensive to live in. Seattle is expensive, but nowhere near some other cities.
I wanted to buy a music video for the purposes of a music essay from iTunes and forgot how much of a pain in the ass that system is. You have to download and install a big ass program.
It's literally a two or three click process to buy anything from any other online store and takes seconds.
The Steam and Play stores also just have online stores not requiring you to download a program at the time of purchase. I ended up pirating it because it took less time and hassle.
Comments
Edit; respect is the wrong word but I cant think of a word to describe "takes into account that you a human and have a live outside of work, and that their whole like does not revolve around their job".
Nah I'm not bitter.
The other problem is that many of these elements are present all throughout the tech industry: especially the expectation of working long hours, putting work so far ahead of family and personal time, always remaining connected 24/7 even on "vacation". If these are explicitly expected/required at Amazon, they are simply the way to get ahead and look like the rock star and guarantee job security almost everywhere else. This is bad for the whole tech industry as people don't get up and leave their employment as much as they should to punish companies' bad behavior.
And of course, the expected reaction.
It is absurd - it's a stupid urban legend that's been going around since at least the early 2000s.
However I agree with Victor a bit more however I don't live in a society where underhanded racism is more prevalent than explicit racism. The inflammatory motion is the the pizzeria owner apologising (admitting guilt or understanding the perspective) but continuing to not change the name because the pizza is popular. (I want to taste it now).
Yeah, we're fucking weird. Casual racism, at least, when it's without malice, is generally accepted, people don't get too bothered by it depending on the company. If you're an actual I-don't-like-people-based-on-race sort of racist, people are far less accepting, and tend to be openly hostile. It's seen as a mark of being a low-class shitheel - the most common stereotype associated with it is "bogan", and as the poem goes, nobody likes a bogan.
Also, this just came up on reddit again, and now's a good a time as any to mention it again - How to talk Australians.
To be fair the Australian peri-peri sauce has been dulled down since it first showed up here. (The original extra hot baste and sauce could make my eyes water, these days I could drink it.
Still the best chicken place in a hurry.
The article basically took the anecdotes of a handful of people and expounded the problems to make it seem like it was company culture. I'm not going to say that there aren't problems. You get to be over 100,000 employees and you're going to end up with bad managers and bad teams who run people into the ground. But to say that it is a result of policy or culture is misleading.
People can draw whatever conclusions they want. But I can say that, personally, after being here for almost two years, I have never worked more than 40 hours in a week, I have never been asked to stay connected with the office on my days off, and I have never once seen (or heard of) a co-worker get "torn apart" over an idea or stance. This has been, bar none, the best job I've ever had, and I intend to stay as long as that remains true.
You have to download and install a big ass program.
It's literally a two or three click process to buy anything from any other online store and takes seconds.
The Steam and Play stores also just have online stores not requiring you to download a program at the time of purchase.
I ended up pirating it because it took less time and hassle.
WTF it's like they don't want money.