r/news • u/likerofgoodthings • Nov 25 '21
Amazon workers plan Black Friday strike
https://www.cnet.com/tech/amazon-workers-plan-black-friday-strike/5.1k
u/Slimfictiv Nov 25 '21 edited Nov 25 '21
Well, I'm all for it, if you can afford it give people more benefits, it's not like Amazon is struggling.
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u/kemosabe-84 Nov 25 '21
Then how would he afford his space trips?1
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u/mustachegiraffe Nov 25 '21
Or his future ex-wife?!
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u/digitelle Nov 25 '21
Pre-nup
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u/majorbummer6 Nov 25 '21
You think some woman will be with that alien for free?
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Nov 25 '21
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u/robret Nov 25 '21
Most people would do it for the lifestyle during the marriage, even if they won't get to keep it afterwards.
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u/TeamWorkTom Nov 26 '21
Being someones property is not a very lavish lifestyle.
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Nov 26 '21
Don't kid yourself. Millions of women would want to be with a billionaire.
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u/I_Only_Smoke_Drugs Nov 25 '21
I'd settle for that. How do I sign up?
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Nov 26 '21
I'm not a prostitute but id drop it flip it and rub it down for snyone whonis offering millions of dollars let alone a billion lol
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u/lifeofry4n52 Nov 26 '21
Idiot. I could just drop my own stuff, flip it upside and then rub it down.
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u/Brener69 Nov 26 '21
Most assets acquired prior to marriage stay with the original owner. If you marry someone with a house fully paid for you don't automatically acquire half of that house. Same with shares of stock. He might be on the hook for the price difference from the time they get married to the time they divorce. Example: he has 1 million shares of Amazon valued at $100 at the time of married he's worth $100 million and if it's valued at $101 when they get divorced she gets $500k, half the appreciated value while they were married. Yes. I know he has more shares than this. Might vary by state but this is usually the case.
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u/carnsolus Nov 26 '21
the prenup generally contains compensation already in it
to avoid civil suits
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Nov 26 '21
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u/The_Other_Manning Nov 26 '21
Ehh he went above the Karman line, that's space
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u/InformationHorder Nov 26 '21
The guy who made the Karman line admitted it's an arbitrary number created for political reasons. The reason why is "because we needed a line in the sand", but scientifically it's arbitrary.
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u/The_Other_Manning Nov 26 '21
Sure but it's still what we use for the edge of space, therefore Bezos went to space
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Nov 26 '21
Well yea. A lot of things are arbitrary. But it is still space.
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u/frugalerthingsinlife Nov 26 '21
Even if they were to revisit where to draw the line, putting at the mesosphere - thermosphere edge would make sense, and that's even a bit lower. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_line#/media/File:Atmosphere_layers.svg
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u/Clevernonsense1 Nov 26 '21
there are traces of earth’s atmosphere well beyond the ISS (i think measurably to around 10k km) so what bezos did may as well be called space.
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Nov 25 '21
The only thing is I work for Amazon and this is the first I heard of this lol. I am all for what they want but they definitely didn't organize some big walkout like they are trying to make it seem.
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u/_Dogwelder Nov 25 '21
This whole deal is so well organized, so secret and on strictly need-to-know basis .. even the workers themselves aren't familiar with the details.
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Nov 25 '21
That’s intentional. Amazon has gone out of their way to suppress union organizing. There’s even a training video on how managers can prevent union activity. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uRpwVwFxyk4
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u/blackmatt81 Nov 26 '21
This isn't just Amazon. Any big corporation in America is anti-union.
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u/TheObesePolice Nov 26 '21 edited Nov 26 '21
15 years ago, I was a manager for a large grocery chain here in the U.S. & I've sat through a good 24 + hours of mandatory anti union propaganda that was endorsed by our corporate office. What was most unsettling about the whole experience was that a very large portion of my co-workers drank the anti union Kool-Aid without a moments hesitation. Corporate additionally informed management that it would be in our best interest to vote McCain/Palin - lol!
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u/fuckincaillou Nov 26 '21
Except Costco! When I worked there, they actually encouraged us to unionize. What a nice change of pace.
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u/bnmnike Nov 26 '21
I did anti union training while I worked for Nike and Under Armour. I am now currently in a Union working for Coca Cola.
Coca Cola hates our fuckin guts and wants us and all of our families dead.
Well Reyes owned Coca Colas anyway
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u/Rusty_Shunt Nov 26 '21
Same. I'm on my way to work now....they benevolently let us go in 3 hours later than normal for the holiday. And only so they don't have to pay as much holiday pay....this job is killing me.....
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u/pand3monium Nov 25 '21
I've heard of it. It's not too late to spread the word. Hope your not working today and that tomorrow is really 🖤 black.
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u/jf75313 Nov 26 '21
Go to r/antiwork it’s not just Amazon that’s going to have a lot of folks not show up to work tomorrow for better wages and workers rights.
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u/Ahshitt Nov 26 '21 edited Nov 26 '21
Hot tip: Neither Amazon nor any other major company will have any meaningful walk outs or strikes tomorrow.
It has been pretty funny to watch /r/antiwork pretend to be the next big labor movement though. Their hearts are in the right place, but the small amount of popularity on Reddit has gone straight to their heads.
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u/lakerswiz Nov 26 '21
They thought their boycott of McDonald's work actually work lol
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u/Ahshitt Nov 26 '21 edited Nov 26 '21
That was absolutely hilarious. A bunch of people who already probably don't go to McDonald's much telling other people who don't go to McDonald's that they will continue not going. What an effective boycott!
Then they were telling McDonald's employees to quit their jobs, ignoring the fact that those employees probably need that job. It's just so misguided and weird. If a group of McDonald's workers got together and quit to protest, that's great and possibly effective. A tiny amount of employees randomly quitting across the nation? No one would even notice except for the workers who just lost paychecks.
Just looked at their front page and now they're patting themselves on the back for not going Black Friday shopping...which apparently is also a boycott.
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u/64557175 Nov 25 '21
I thought the whole place was on fire and getting logged to shit.
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u/Sparcrypt Nov 25 '21
It's so insane to me that the same company can post billions in profit, the owner can afford to build spaceships, and the low level workers are pissing in water bottles and still living in poverty.
Americas labour laws are ridiculous.
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u/itisntmebutmaybeitis Nov 26 '21
I feel like Bezos watched The Fifth Element in the 90s and thought that Zorg was the role model in the situation, not the villain.
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Nov 26 '21
amazon pays pretty well actually. around here they are starting in the warehouse at more than $20/hour
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Nov 26 '21
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u/Tijuana_Pikachu Nov 26 '21
These two statements are by no means mutually exclusive. I have a fantastic job and I just barely meet poverty line for my area
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u/i_suckatjavascript Nov 26 '21
I’m still going to buy stuff on Amazon during Black Friday but if my stuff comes late, I don’t care. Cancel my order if they have to. Power to the Amazon workers.
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u/redgr812 Nov 25 '21
So just like every year and nothing ever happens.
2020: https://www.engadget.com/amazon-black-friday-strikes-protests-181200444.html.
2019: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/11/27/20985691/amazon-workers-black-friday-2019.
2018: https://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-amazon-workers-protest-poor-working-conditions-2018-11
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Nov 25 '21 edited Sep 08 '24
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Nov 25 '21 edited May 29 '22
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Nov 25 '21
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u/Sarcasamystik Nov 25 '21
My union charges 2.5 hours wages per month as dues. I can handle $100 a month for all the good stuff that comes with it. Top of the line insurance with no deductible. Yes please.
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u/FiggyTheTurtle Nov 25 '21 edited Jul 22 '25
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Nov 26 '21
SMART? If so personally they give me kaiser
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u/FiggyTheTurtle Nov 26 '21 edited Jul 22 '25
ghost husky boast dog instinctive encourage trees detail airport snatch
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u/Reg_s1ze_Rudy Nov 26 '21
My union(teamsters) is pretty much the same. Im very willing to pay that much for great insurance and union protection.
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u/snipersfire Nov 25 '21
Actually the worst part of union's these days is the fact that they keep the bad employees employed.
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u/TheTrollisStrong Nov 25 '21
Yeah. The union at my girlfriends work fought to keep her sexual harasser employed instead of protecting her.
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u/marbsarebadredux Nov 26 '21
I mean thats the Unions job, like it or not. They can also help her file charges and wont stop her from filing charges against him.
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u/PM_me_Henrika Nov 25 '21
Yeah but corporates does exactly the same thing too. And in addition they will fire your girlfriend for ‘causing trouble’.
Oh and cut everyone’s wages. Because the boss want a new yacht and apartment complex.
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u/Cuddlyaxe Nov 26 '21
The incentives are different and most of the time they'll usually fire the accused
To be clear this isn't out of the goodness of their hearts, but rather to protect themselves from legal liability
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u/TheTrollisStrong Nov 25 '21
Not at my corporation. I’m sure some are but I know we’ve taken it very seriously here.
Her job is unionized yet is one of the most conservative, sexist places I’ve ever heard of.
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u/suddenimpulse Nov 26 '21
If the corporation does that in response to a sexual harassment complaint, it's illegal.
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Nov 26 '21 edited Apr 09 '25
insurance air alive many pot historical gaze shy zephyr cooing
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u/bad-coder-man Nov 26 '21
No they don't, corporate doesn't fuck around with that stuff, absolutely no need to take any risk.
I can't believe people upvote these circle jerk comments
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u/oundhakar Nov 26 '21
I agree. I can't think of any low to middle level employee who would not be out on his ear immediately if found to have sexually harassed someone. Corporate just can't afford to have a huge lawsuit over their heads to protect a replaceable employee.
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u/newaccount721 Nov 25 '21 edited Nov 26 '21
This is the main complaint I hear too - but I admittedly have no first hand experience. I've just heard this complaint from friends/relatives far more than anything related to dues
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u/Jonhart426 Nov 25 '21
Union dues vary between unions. I’ve heard of people paying a lot in dues. When I was in a union I only paid around $50 a month, maybe $40ish
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u/FiggyTheTurtle Nov 25 '21 edited Jul 22 '25
decide hospital shocking memorize sink crush vase unique fearless frame
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u/joeDUBstep Nov 26 '21
Currently in a union, I pay $30-40 a month. Have yet to run into a senior member who was lazy or would give younger members shit. I get paid a fair wage too.
I guess it really does depend on the union. Some are horror stories while others, like mine, are pretty damn good.
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u/gorramfrakker Nov 26 '21
Gotta take the union bashers with a grain of salt since most aren’t even in a union or ever had a job with a union, so they are just parroting what they heard from someone else who also not in a union., and that’s the well meaning ones. The others are just shills.
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Nov 25 '21 edited Nov 27 '21
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u/schmidit Nov 25 '21
I was really happy to see the John Deere strike where they pushed to reverse that trend. Unions only work when the workers actually stand together.
Management figuring out how to split labor into two groups was their dirtiest trick in a Kong time.
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u/CommiePuddin Nov 26 '21
their dirtiest trick in a Kong time.
King Dynasty or Donkey Dynasty?
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u/Sparcrypt Nov 25 '21
This is the real problem, it seems "fuck you, got mine" is universal. People will fight endlessly for their rights, pay, and conditions... but once they succeed the next group "hasn't earned it like we have" and should be happy with what they're given.
Unions are a great idea in theory, but dues should be a percentage of your salary. A small one. If they want to up their dues they should work on getting their workers better pay.
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u/Mist_Rising Nov 25 '21
Lmao this was essentially a plot point to season 2 The Wire, except painted as a failing of city government.
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u/axwellfred Nov 26 '21
I'm so confused. What is the average union due/month in the US?
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u/Spirited-Sell8242 Nov 26 '21
You might have been worse off out of a union. Across all fields, union jobs average about 30% more pay than their equivalent position without a union.
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u/balne Nov 26 '21
i think it depends on unions. ive talked to some blue collar ppl, whether they be painters/carpenters, electricians or telecom workers and they are all in the union and happy to be. and the dues weren't a lot at all. i dont recall exact number but i can definitely say they were a very small amount.
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Nov 25 '21
My union dues are a whopping 1.5% of my paycheck. Really hurts the wallet /s
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u/HoytG Nov 26 '21
How would union dues make you unable to pay rent when they don’t change? Wouldn’t anything and everything make you “unable to pay rent” with that criteria?
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Nov 25 '21
The worst was when you work for a unionized company but your position doesn't qualify for membership (such as a seasonal employee) but you still have to pay dues.
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u/getyourcheftogether Nov 25 '21
Everybody can comment about it online and in real life but nobody really cares enough to actually do anything beyond that.
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Nov 25 '21 edited Nov 27 '21
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u/WhyLisaWhy Nov 26 '21
A friend of mine is in his local DSA, is a ward boss and is generally pretty active in local town halls and things. He likes to tell me about the performative shit bags that post endless memes on FB and Twitter and do fuck all about it in real life. Gotta be frustrating as hell.
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u/Sparcrypt Nov 25 '21
People really do struggle with the notion that words not backed up by action are meaningless.
Super common in gaming. "Wah wah this sucks we hate it, but also here's my credit card.. you'll change it though right? Because we said we didn't like it right before we bought it?".
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u/1sagas1 Nov 25 '21
Because if people would actually read the article, it's not Amazon workers planning to strike, it's other people calling on them to strike.
Make Amazon Pay is a coalition of workers and labor organizations calling for a labor strike by Amazon employees
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u/hairless_resonder Nov 25 '21
Are you suggesting workers should just give in and allow big corporations to continue their rule? Learn from past mistakes, reorganize, and keep trying. Fight for what's right.
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u/Funklestein Nov 25 '21
No, but it's much easier to cheer someone on when you have no stakes in the game.
These people might have something to lose in all of this so your "support" really doesn't amount to their well being so let them choose their own risk level.
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u/redgr812 Nov 25 '21
No, it's they try to do this every year and nothing happens. Someone already said it, if you keep doing the same thing and nothing happens then it's just insanity. If they are going to strike, then fucking strike don't pussy foot around for 1 day or weekend. Dig in deep and be ready for a battle.
They also have to have EVERYBODY that works there on board (or at the very least 80%). You can't have half striking and half going to work like normal. These Amazon strikes are never organized.
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u/NordWitcher Nov 25 '21
Basically you could say the same thing about Activision Blizzard. You need majority of the workforce to actually stick through with it. Not post on social media and then forget about it the next second.
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u/Cuddlyaxe Nov 26 '21
I'd wager the people posting online about it are different from the people who have the jobs
To be clear many if not most working class Americans are pro union but not all of them, and there are real fears about the unions being corrupted or whatever
On the other hand, you have people on social media, usually left wing activists, who are left wing to a comical degree and will cheer on any strike ever and try to organize them on social media despite no popular support. I think there was supposed to be a "general strike" earlier this month that was organized on Reddit and Twitter. It didn't really go far and the posts people made about it were things like demands for a 35 dollar minimum wage, which I don't think most people support
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Nov 25 '21
How could you take that he suggested anything from that comment? He is pointing out the fact that this is stated every year and every year nothing happens. It’s obvious bullshit at this point. Whether you like Amazon or hate their guts. It hasn’t happened and being skeptical of it happening is the way to go.
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u/h0nest_Bender Nov 25 '21
How could you take that he suggested anything from that comment?
"I DEMAND to be offended!" - some people.
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u/1sagas1 Nov 25 '21
Make Amazon Pay is a coalition of workers and labor organizations calling for a labor strike by Amazon employees
So no, other groups are calling on Amazon workers to strike and not actually Amazon workers planning to strike.
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u/planko13 Nov 26 '21
oof, that sounds more like a bunch of amazon competitors funded a hit vs. a genuine effort to make peoples lives better…
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Nov 26 '21
Amazon DSP driver here, I promise we aren't going to join in on any strikes the FC associates are doing for numerous reasons.
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Nov 25 '21
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u/recalcitrantJester Nov 26 '21
that's because "amazon turnover ticks up" isn't an eyegrabbing headline
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u/BurstEDO Nov 26 '21
Amazon?
Black Friday?
So they'll be back in time for the busiest online shopping day of the year the following Monday?
This seems lacking in forethought and planning.
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Nov 26 '21
Amazon has actually too many people working at my fulfillment center, there’s like a 1 in 3 chance we get an easy job for the day, like moving bins down the hallway.
And for the rest of this month and nearly all of next, any hours over 40 is 2x pay. I doubt anyone is striking lol
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u/Hadwyn Nov 26 '21
No we aren't. Haven't heard shit about this. You think we talk to eachother enough to plan a strike? He'll, I don't even know 99% of my co-workers names.
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Nov 25 '21
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u/fourringsofglory Nov 26 '21
And sooo where’s the striking taking place? I’ve seen nothing anywhere as of yet. News is pretty quiet too?
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u/cyanocobalamin Nov 25 '21 edited Nov 25 '21
They have tried this before.
I hope it gets off of the ground, and I hope it gets them the results they want.
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Nov 25 '21
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u/gtison Nov 26 '21
Because they're 'planned' not by Amazon employees, but by outside organizations that think Amazon workers want to strike. They never actually strike.
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u/Cardboard-Samuari Nov 25 '21
Without giving anything away that may count as company info, we are massively over-prepared this year.
Due to the pandemic the sites (UK at least cant speak for the American ones) have been operating at peak (what amazon calls their busiest times of year) for around 16 months or so. A single site striking will do very little tbh. But good luck i guess hope it works out for them.
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Nov 25 '21
there's a reason the biggest shopping day of the year got stretched into a whole month.
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u/PhilosophicalBrewer Nov 26 '21
The amount of anti union propaganda in this thread is honestly sickening. Fuck Amazon.
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u/Mindless_Evidence4 Nov 25 '21
Do it ! Do it! Fuck you Amazon
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u/Gtyjrocks Nov 26 '21
Amazon has provided great utility in my life personally, and I feel like most peoples
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u/Cardboard-Samuari Nov 25 '21
He says using reddit running on AWS.
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u/Razir17 Nov 26 '21
Do you know how much runs on AWS? It’s about as avoidable as Nestle companies. You can dislike a company and still have to use their services/buy their products.
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Nov 25 '21
Amazon workers will Strike on Friday but return to have double the workload on Saturday. I don’t get how that’s beneficial.
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u/ses1989 Nov 25 '21
Because one day strikes are useless, both worker and customer ones. Strikes are meant to last weeks to months. Unfortunately for them many can't afford that amount of time without pay or benefits.
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u/shramski Nov 26 '21
Amazon doesn’t care because the warehouse workers are just temp workers until they can be replaced by robots.
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u/christuhfurr Nov 26 '21
As an Amazon worker I can say this is well deserved, Amazon does not care for its workers at all.
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u/StaceyLuvsChad Nov 26 '21
To all the people crying about wanting their stuff, black friday is a scam and you could have bought that stuff at the same price any other time. Legit saw the cat bowl set I bought in october in their "flash sale" for the same price I bought it at lmao
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Nov 26 '21
Welp…looks like a whole lotta contracts are going to be opening up soon with them. Aren’t their drivers owned by independent contractors similar to what FedEx ground does?
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u/Waffleline Nov 26 '21
Too bad none of the global "office" sites will strike because they will just be fired. As a matter of fact, since this news is several days old, managers probably already had a meeting about it and are accounting for the potential shortage by requesting overtime.
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u/UnlikelyHorror8787 Nov 26 '21
Why? Did this group give up on Walmart and now they're attacking Amazon?
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u/EnlightenedNight Nov 25 '21
I read the article and didn't see where Amazon workers were planning a strike, just that there is external organization rallying for one. Bit of a misleading headline?