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Amazon Workers in Europe Stage 'We Are Not Robots' Protests on One of Its Busiest Shopping Days (techcrunch.com)
Some of Amazon's workers in Europe are protesting against what they call unfair work conditions, in a move meant to disrupt operations on Black Friday. From a report: They've timed the latest protest for Black Friday, one of the busiest annual shopping days online as retailers slash prices and heavily promote deals to try to spark a seasonal buying rush. In the UK, the GMB Union says it's expecting "hundreds" to attend protests timed for early morning and afternoon at Amazon warehouses in Rugeley, Milton Keynes, Warrington, Peterborough and Swansea. At the time of writing the union had not provided details of turnout so far.
Protests are also reported to be taking place in Spain, France and Italy today. Although, when asked about strikes at its facilities in these countries, Amazon claimed: "Our European Fulfilment Network is fully operational and we continue to focus on delivering for our customers. Any reports to the contrary are simply wrong." The demonstrations look intended to not only apply pressure on Amazon to accept collective bargaining but encourage users of its website to think about the wider costs involved in packing and despatching the discounted products they're trying to grab. In a statement on Wednesday announcing the Black Friday protest, Tim Roache, the GMB's general secretary, said: "The conditions our members at Amazon are working under are frankly inhuman. They are breaking bones, being knocked unconscious and being taken away in ambulances. We're standing up and saying enough is enough, these are people making Amazon its money. People with kids, homes, bills to pay -- they're not robots."
Protests are also reported to be taking place in Spain, France and Italy today. Although, when asked about strikes at its facilities in these countries, Amazon claimed: "Our European Fulfilment Network is fully operational and we continue to focus on delivering for our customers. Any reports to the contrary are simply wrong." The demonstrations look intended to not only apply pressure on Amazon to accept collective bargaining but encourage users of its website to think about the wider costs involved in packing and despatching the discounted products they're trying to grab. In a statement on Wednesday announcing the Black Friday protest, Tim Roache, the GMB's general secretary, said: "The conditions our members at Amazon are working under are frankly inhuman. They are breaking bones, being knocked unconscious and being taken away in ambulances. We're standing up and saying enough is enough, these are people making Amazon its money. People with kids, homes, bills to pay -- they're not robots."
installing more robots.
;)
Just my 2 cents
Corporate greed has no boundaries.
First, let me say that everybody deserves to be treated well and have a good life. The question is how that can be achieved. The classical ideal of getting everybody a job they can live on is not going to cut it anymore.
The reality of the situation at Amazon (and other places) is that humans are a temporary solution, because they are indeed not robots. They will be replaced by robots as soon as that is cost-effective, a state not far in the future for most of them. Hence the tag-line they use may be about the worst they could have chosen. Don't get me wrong, they have a legitimate issue here, but they are barking up the wrong tree.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Step 5: Cut the military's budget by 90% so that we can afford to send everyone to college. Then maybe we can all get some of those high-tech jobs this economy is supposed to be running on, instead of importing H1-B visas.
"Prediction: within 10 years, Windows will be a Linux distribution." Me, 7-6-2016
Step one: implement a truer free market by reducing barriers to employees switching jobs
1a) untether health insurance from the employer by granting universal coverage, with the current premiums going to fund national healthcare instead of for-profit companies increasing the cost of coverage
1b) increase social welfare so employees working for abusive employers feel comfortable quitting, and not fearful for starving their families
Step two: Encourage business to return to passing on profits to the employees who make the profits happen
2a) Increase taxes on corporate profits
2b) Cap executive salaries and bonuses based on a multiplier of the lowest 10% of employee salaries
2c) Tie minimum wage to employee productivity so that gains are shared by the employees that generate that productivity
Step three: Create an environment where people can get a better job
3a) Eliminate for profit higher education providers who cannot show comparable results to a state backed university
3b) Provide curriculum to all students based on science and fact, and not religion
3c) Require school board members to have degrees in education and years of actual teaching, along with an equal representation of fields e.g. if comp sci is offered, the school board must have a member in that field
I'll stop there for now.