Non-Union Job
If you think that your union does nothing for you I would like you to read this article that I read online about the way Amazon treats its workers which of course is a non-union job! A former Amazon warehouse worker has described how he was stopped in his tracks by "awful smells" emanating from the trash cans. The stench, he said, was unmistakable and it led him to one conclusion: His coworkers were so worried taking a bathroom break, they had resorted to urinating in the bin. "I never witnessed anyone in the act, but have witnessed the aftermath," the US staffer said in three instances I had noticed an awful smell, pinpointed the location (trash bins that are scattered throughout the multi-tiered mezzanine) and reported it.
From what I heard afterwards camera evidence got these associates fired. The smell was unmistakable." Amazon said it doesn't time employees' bathroom breaks and that it's a short walk for most people. "Amazon ensures all of its associates have easy access to toilet facilities which are just a short walk from where they are working," a spokeswoman said. "Associates are allowed to use the toilet whenever needed." "Since I currently work for Amazon in the US, I can tell you that is simply not true: They have always and continue to use that points-based system," one US worker said. "As for bathrooms being a short distance from anyone in the fulfillment center, that’s just not true. There aren’t enough of them, and they are always a good distance from you."
Since publishing the story, the author was contacted by more than 30 people claiming to be Amazon workers in the US, UK, and Germany with their horror stories from working in warehouses. They paint a picture of constant surveillance and a crippling fear of missing targets. They described how Amazon equips its "pickers" with handheld scanners. Pickers move around the warehouse on a predetermined route, or "path," collecting items for delivery. Each item must be scanned as they retrieve it, and their handled monitor’s time how long it takes between scans. Pickers must hit a certain number of scans per hour and if they start missing their targets, a manager will show up to see what they're doing.
Employees said spending time talking to co-workers, going to get a drink, or even just taking too long to find a package is billed as "time off task." Too much time off task, and employees will accrue penalty points. Get enough points, and you're fired. With no union the employee has no recourse to the grievance procedure and to the just cause principal.
One employee, who worked in an Amazon warehouse in Germany, described exactly what it was like to go to work. She said how employees had to put their wallets, mobiles, and other possessions into small lockers, so not to distract them from working. Without a union you have no privileges or rights! Once their possessions are stowed away, employees then walked through a metal detector. If an employee brought something in they shouldn't have, they were sent back to the lockers and made to queue again to go through the metal detector.
One employee’s task was restocking, putting 15 to 20 carts' worth of new products onto Amazon's shelves. "It was doable with zero breaks and no chatting with co-workers," she said. I was not allowed to stand and or talk with co-workers, if you got caught doing that, you would have to listen to a monologue about how important it is to do your job."If you got caught too many times chatting, you would get a point on your scorecard, after five points you would have to talk to your supervisor about your poor performance. Three of these talks meant that you got a report. Three reports and you are fired." Again no recourse to the grievance procedure because there is NO union to represent you!
Even the breaks were stressful, she said. "Lunchtime was just as stressful as everything prior. You would rush to the metal detector, stand in line, wait, grab a smoke or something to eat, there wasn't enough time for both. Sit down for a few moments, and rush back to the detector. The breaks lasted maybe 10 minutes, the other 20 minutes you spent standing in line." "Water consumption is a concern because leaving [your task] to go to the toilet might take 10 to 15 minutes," said another. "These time off task events are tracked, and warnings are issued."
Others were irked that daily warehouse pressures have helped Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos become the richest man in the world. "The metrics are brutally aggressive and most of my colleagues are in a state of constant anxiety that we could be fired at any moment for not meeting metrics," said one current US employee. No wonder why Jeff Bezos doesn’t want a union at Amazon. He is getting rich on the backs of his workers who he has in a state of panic and stress over being terminated without any recourse to the grievance procedure or the just cause principal. "Amazon needs union representation globally. It is modern slavery. Jeff Bezos has become the richest man in the world off the backs of people so desperate for work that we tolerate the abuse."
The article that I was referring to was written by Business Insider. There are more horror stories in this article that I could not mention because it would go on and on. So the next time that you ask yourself what has your union done for you read this article or ask someone that you know who works in a warehouse for Amazon what it is like to work in a non-union job with no recourse to the grievance procedure or just cause principal with no benefits and no security about your job! God bless the unions!
