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Struggling Workers Found Sleeping In Tents Behind Amazon's Warehouse (thecourier.co.uk)
"At least three tents have been spotted in woodland beside the online retail giant's base," reports a Scottish newspaper -- hidden behind trees, but within sight of Amazon's warehouse, and right next to a busy highway. An anonymous reader writes:
Despite Scotland's "bitterly cold winter nights" -- with lows in the 30s -- the tent "was easier and cheaper than commuting from his home," one Amazon worker told the Courier. (Though yesterday someone stole all of his camping equipment.) Amazon charges its employees for shuttle service to the fulfillment center, which "swallows up a lot of the weekly wage," one political party leader told the Courier, "forcing people to seek ever more desperate ways of making work pay.
"Amazon should be ashamed that they pay their workers so little that they have to camp out in the dead of winter to make ends meet..." he continued. "They pay a small amount of tax and received millions of pounds from the Scottish National Party Government, so the least they should do is pay the proper living wage." Though the newspaper reports that holiday shopping has created 4,000 temporary jobs in the small town of Dunfermline, "The company came under fire last month from local activists who claimed that agency workers are working up to 60 hours per week for little more than the minimum wage and are harshly treated."
Amazon responded, "The safety and well-being of our permanent and temporary associates is our number one priority."
"Amazon should be ashamed that they pay their workers so little that they have to camp out in the dead of winter to make ends meet..." he continued. "They pay a small amount of tax and received millions of pounds from the Scottish National Party Government, so the least they should do is pay the proper living wage." Though the newspaper reports that holiday shopping has created 4,000 temporary jobs in the small town of Dunfermline, "The company came under fire last month from local activists who claimed that agency workers are working up to 60 hours per week for little more than the minimum wage and are harshly treated."
Amazon responded, "The safety and well-being of our permanent and temporary associates is our number one priority."
Nobody is forcing them to stay in tents, or to even work there at all. It's their choice. If it's so horrible surely they would leave for greener pastures. It sounds like this individual chose to do this out of convenience, nothing more.
You should be ashamed you pay so little for the goods and services that free-market economies provide. Calculate all the money you've saved and remit that total to the workers' salary augmentation fund.
"The safety and well-being of our permanent and temporary associates is our number one priority."
When a big stink was made about all the counterfeit products on Amazon, maintaining customer confidence that all products are legitimate was your number one priority. When 80,000 Kindle users' passwords were dumped online, the security of your customers was your number one priority. Now you claim the safety of your employees is your number one priority.
This is all bullshit. You can only have one number one priority, and we all know that's MAKING MONEY.
with that. This is only going to get worse too. One of the big things companies have been waiting for is the opportunity to bring the trillions of dollars they've had socked away in tax havens back into the global market without all those pesky taxes. The US, and specifically Obama, have been blocking this. Welp, we done just f'd that up. And what are they planning to do with all that money? Mergers and Acquisitions. Lots of 'em. Expect the amount of competition to drop like a rock.
/. None of us will.
Now, in the face of all that, what you _you_ going to do? You, Mishotaki. What, specifically will you do when there's nowhere else to buy bread except Amazon and it's $10, $20 a loaf? Maybe when you finally don't have enough to eat, maybe when it's you in one of those tents you'll finally wake up. But ya know what, by then it'll be too late. You'll be too busy surviving to do anything about it. You won't even have time and money to waste posting drek to
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The whole story is bullshit whining about nothing, pushing a political agenda by pretending any of this is news. So yeah, all the talk about it spikes the bullshit meter.
Negotiate? How much power do you think an individual has as compared with the corporation currently? There is no negotiation... you take it or leave it.
It's neither strawman nor bullshit. If individuals are permitted to control their costs by selecting the lowest-priced goods and services available to them then why would a corporation not be permitted to do the same?
In late-stage capitalism, living indoors is optional for workers.
"They live in tents because they've chosen to live in tents. Now pass me some more frog legs and foie gras."
CEOs and gangster capitalists are going to be so shocked when they see mobs building guillotines outside their office windows. The recent elections - Brexit and Der Trumpen - have moved us toward that day. What will voters who said, "Fuck it, I'm voting for Trump to burn the whole motherfucker down", say when Trump doesn't improve their lot (like the 1100 Carrier workers whose jobs are going to Mexico despite Trump's much-trumpeted "deal")? Hell, they're going to skip right to, "Let's burn this motherfucker down ourselves."
You are welcome on my lawn.
Price alone isn't a justification for such conditions. If anything, price-related justifications show a callous disregard for those that do work (or seek it).
If anything, this is a reason why permatemping (what Amazon is doing), classification abuse (hiding behind a third party), and zero-hour work (the ultimate in precarious work when combined w/ UK-style workfare) needs to DIAF and the remains be shoveled into the nearest black hole.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
The summary says "he stuff was stolen". But the article itself is much less clear:
He added that he had opted to stay in a tent as it was easier and cheaper than commuting from his home in Perth, although his camping equipment had disappeared by Friday afternoon.
Did he say it had vanished? Or did the article writer find it had vanished on Friday? Not at all clear.
Also no aspect of the interview really asking the guy if he "had to" camp as the Willie bloke claimed, they just want you to assume that is the case. The actual guy who was camping just said it was cheaper and easier - if you are just going to be there a few week or two for seasonal work why wouldn't you prefer this to any kind of commute? Back when I used to work insane hours programming I slept under my desk for a week. It wasn't because I had to, it was just way easier at the time.
Also low 30's (assuming F) is not "battery cold", it's just mildly chilly and most sleeping bags would handle that temperature easily. I've camped before in sub-zero (again F) temperatures before and that's not at all uncomfortable with the right equipment.
Basically the whole thing seems written with a pre-determined viewpoint in mind and hardly any real research or interviewing done.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
It's neither strawman nor bullshit. If individuals are permitted to control their costs by selecting the lowest-priced goods and services available to them then why would a corporation not be permitted to do the same?
Ask any Irish friend you have about the "Penny Walls" in Ireland, and you'll have your answer.
Yes, in part, it is Amazon's fault. But only in part. The problem is complex with many parts so it's only natural that the solution will be as well.
Because of the asymmetry in levels of influence. Don't you remember the 19th-century industrialization process and the civic problems it spawned I until proper worker protection, unions etc were invented? Geez, don't you guys learn anythingnin school over there?
No you where told that Brexit was a risk to the economy and could jeopardise the fragile recovery from the financial meltdown of 2008.
The reality is that with our currency down the shitter since Brexit that you will be worse off as a result, probably to the tune of hundreds of pounds a year. For me personally it will be over one thousands pounds by my calculation. Fortunately I am well off enough to be able to manage. The bulk of the morons that voted for it (aka the uneducated just about managing's) will struggle.
As a side note 60 hour weeks would be illegal in the UK, but of course Farage and Johnson both independently wealthy individuals who would not care if everyone was £2000 a year worse off, just so long as they could stick it to the EU, are rubbing their hands at repealing the working time directive.