Amazon's European warehouse employees are walking out on Black Friday (updated)

[Xallisto]

Why not?

So they don't strike lol.

 

[yeeeeman]

They should get in touch directly with investors, not Amazon, because Amazon as every other business in this world tries to please a few greedy investors. That is it.

 

[WilbursUncle]

Free markets say you aren't forced to work at Amazon, and Amazon can pay what they want. If conditions don't attract workers, Amazon will be forced to improve their terms or fail to staff their businesses.

Agreed - Common sense free market reality that goes back to the beginning of time. Mutually beneficial free trade, nothing evil about it.

 

[AllynS]

I don’t understand. I assume that Amazon is paying the wage that was agreed to at hiring. So what is the complaint? Did they not expect to have to work hard? Sounds like a bunch of lazy opportunists.

 

[cliffordcooley]

I don’t understand.

If you had ever worked during the holidays catering the masses. you would have a better understanding.

Did they not expect to have to work hard? Sounds like a bunch of lazy opportunists.

I'm fairly certain they were working hard before Black Friday chaos. I'm also fairly certain Amazon didn't hire enough personnel to cover the rise in work. From my perspective there really is not much to understand. And if you have upper management thinking they can get more done. Simply by standing over your head shouting instead of helping. Black Friday would then be the last straw as they say.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Why do so many people have an opinion of whether this was right of the employees to do or not when the story doesn't even say what Amazon was doing wrong?

I live near an Amazon distribution center and the people who work there work very hard. They also gets lots of overtime because it's hard to find employees who want to be on their feet all day walking around.

I can understand employees wanting to take action to improve conditions, but I'd like to hear what Amazon has done (or hasn't done).

 

[Adi6293]

Unemployment rate in Spain is 16%. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be happy with those "awful" Amazon jobs.

This is the problem with capitalism and people who own this big bisneses,

"Entitled" snowflake fast food employees whined about increasing their pay to $15/hr, and, voila', robots started showing up to replace them. Initial reports are that the burgers taste great, and guess what? Robots don't "walk out" on their jobs, and they don't get paid hourly wages or health care benefits - they just WORK.

Nobody's holding a gun to the heads of these poor, "overworked" Amazon clowns - if they don't like their jobs, they're free to seek other employment. Bottom line is that these jobs are relatively easy to automate - it's only a matter of time.

Thats true but once they automate all this jobs and sack people who is going to buy those burgers and parcels from Amazon?

 

[toooooot]

Why do so many people have an opinion of whether this was right of the employees to do or not when the story doesn't even say what Amazon was doing wrong?

I live near an Amazon distribution center and the people who work there work very hard. They also gets lots of overtime because it's hard to find employees who want to be on their feet all day walking around.

I can understand employees wanting to take action to improve conditions, but I'd like to hear what Amazon has done (or hasn't done).

They hired warehouse representatives to represent warehouse employees and provide moral support. It was in the news few weeks ago. So yes, this problem was solved. This issue was torn into dust by the mighty representatives.

 

[senketsu]

Free markets say you aren't forced to work at Amazon, and Amazon can pay what they want. If conditions don't attract workers, Amazon will be forced to improve their terms or fail to staff their businesses.

Agreed - Common sense free market reality that goes back to the beginning of time. Mutually beneficial free trade, nothing evil about it.

this is what capitalism/free market promises, not what it delivers. I see, for instance, banks in Canada making record profits quarter after quarter. I thought capitalism meant that then they would lower their fees and prices to attract business from their competitors. Not a f'ing chance. Instead the reality is that their front line employees are going to the news as their bosses are asking them to sell, sell, sell, even if to some 90 year old granny who doesn't need anything the bank is selling, but they have to do it, meet their quota or risk getting fired. These employees couldn't live with themselves selling like this. I could go on...

I'm old enough to remember when basic utilities were owned by the Canadian government. Phones, electricity and we had a special low price on petroleum products since the oil came from Alberta. We (the public) were given big speeches about how private industry can do it better, faster, cheaper....except they didn't. Gasoline? Now oil is shipped to the US and the products are sold back to us at a higher price. Good for the multinational oil company, bad for me. Cold snap in California, natural gas prices go up in Canada.

How well did giving the financial sector more freedom from regulation work out for the US? Result, the big bank crash, bailed out with public money (your taxes) while we found out execs were still getting paid the big bucks plus bonuses.

 

[Lounds]

Free markets say you aren't forced to work at Amazon, and Amazon can pay what they want. If conditions don't attract workers, Amazon will be forced to improve their terms or fail to staff their businesses.

Agreed - Common sense free market reality that goes back to the beginning of time. Mutually beneficial free trade, nothing evil about it.

this is what capitalism/free market promises, not what it delivers. I see, for instance, banks in Canada making record profits quarter after quarter. I thought capitalism meant that then they would lower their fees and prices to attract business from their competitors. Not a f'ing chance. Instead the reality is that their front line employees are going to the news as their bosses are asking them to sell, sell, sell, even if to some 90 year old granny who doesn't need anything the bank is selling, but they have to do it, meet their quota or risk getting fired. These employees couldn't live with themselves selling like this. I could go on...

I'm old enough to remember when basic utilities were owned by the Canadian government. Phones, electricity and we had a special low price on petroleum products since the oil came from Alberta. We (the public) were given big speeches about how private industry can do it better, faster, cheaper....except they didn't. Gasoline? Now oil is shipped to the US and the products are sold back to us at a higher price. Good for the multinational oil company, bad for me. Cold snap in California, natural gas prices go up in Canada.

How well did giving the financial sector more freedom from regulation work out for the US? Result, the big bank crash, bailed out with public money (your taxes) while we found out execs were still getting paid the big bucks plus bonuses.

This is very similar to the UK. BT (British Telecom) was our government owned telecommunications company and during the Mid to late 80s after it was privatised, they were the leading company in the world in Fiber optics cabling, in 1990 Margaret Thatcher made BT sell off the fiber part of the company as BT had plans to roll out fiber nationwide, as it gave them an unfair advantage in the newly created free market. That decision put the UK back 30 years in IT infrastructure... BT had plans for this roll out of Fiber from 1980 when it was still tax payer owned. Politicians don't work for the people, they're in it for themselves and big business sadly.

 

[Experimentongod]

I live in Spain and bought an OLED TV on Amazon.es during the first three minutes of "Black Friday week".
A week later I'm still waiting for it to SHIP. They said it will come from a German Amazon warehouse.
So this really hit me hard =(

 

[jackal2687]

Amazon has had people drop dead on the packing room floor. If the people there want to protest. They chose a good day to do it.

If you think that $15 an hour for this job is too much, try working there for 6 months. Most people don't make it. It is grueling work.

 

[Branoli]

"Entitled" snowflake fast food employees whined about increasing their pay to $15/hr, and, voila', robots started showing up to replace them. Initial reports are that the burgers taste great, and guess what? Robots don't "walk out" on their jobs, and they don't get paid hourly wages or health care benefits - they just WORK.

Nobody's holding a gun to the heads of these poor, "overworked" Amazon clowns - if they don't like their jobs, they're free to seek other employment. Bottom line is that these jobs are relatively easy to automate - it's only a matter of time.

And as far as I know robots don't spit in the food like some fast food workers do.

 

[Manrubio]

Unemployment rate in Spain is 16%. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be happy with those "awful" Amazon jobs.

I dont think so, I used to work for amazon and I'm telling you.... I almost died, I saw Mr. Bezos once and I wanted to kick him in the nuts so bad.

Sad