Amazon kicked off an offensive bit of social media by kicking off the holiday weekend in the wake of the historic historic unionization vote decay. Previous comments came as Jeff Bezos was pushing for more offensive tactics. In addition to fighting Senators Barney Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, the Amazon News Twitter account went to meet with Congressman Mark Mark Pocan.
Wisconsin Democrat Consumer CEO Dave Clark, in response to comments, quoted the narrated story of Amazon workers urinating in bottles. “You don’t really believe in peeking at bottled things, do you?” Ask for account. “If this is true, no one will work for us. The truth is we have one million incredible employees around the world who are proud of what they do, and have had great wages and healthcare from day one.’
The Congressman’s initial reaction was shocking and this statement: “[Y] S, I trust your staff. Don’t you?” Subsequent reports help cement those stories. One Amazon driver called the urination problem “widespread” and added that defecation was also a problem.
Last night the company offered a Mia Kalper type, saying it “apologizes to Representative Pocan.” Things broke down a bit from there. Amazon’s apology acknowledges that it’s one thing for workers to peek into bottles, but it’s understandable that it’s limited to the driver, not the staff at the fulfillment center at the center of this large-scale unification effort. From there, the company added that drivers peeking into bottles is an “industry-wide problem and it’s not specific to Amazon.”
The company includes a list of links and tweets, which are, at the very least, commonly used to treat gig economy and blue collar workers. Basically, Amazon is acknowledging it as part of the problem, and working to spread the fault within the recognized flawed system. Reports of workers urinating in bottles also surpassed drivers, including stories of warehouse workers resorting to the law to meet strict quotas.
“A typical Amazon fulfillment center has dozens of restrooms and employees are able to move away from their work station at any time,” the company wrote in a responsible post to anonymous Amazon staff. “If an employee at a fulfillment center has a different experience, we encourage them to talk to their manager and we will work to fix that.” Bessemer, a warehouse firm in Alabama, began counting votes for the union last week. The results could have far-reaching implications for both Amazon and large industries.
