Current Events > John Oliver on Amazon warehouses.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9m7d07k22A" data-time="

Honestly pretty great segment. I had heard vague stories about the conditions in those warehouses, but I had no idea about just how bad it truly is. It's an interesting watch if you have some spare time.
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Are those jobs worth the $15/hr wage or was that just a gaslighting ploy to get Bernie off Bezo's back?
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Jagr_68 posted...

Are those jobs worth the $15/hr wage or was that just a gaslighting ploy to get Bernie off Bezo's back?

Honestly, from that video, they probably deserve more.

It's honestly worth watching, but some highlights:

People walk for several miles a day to get items, sometimes with only seconds between long distances that they need to cover. Slower workers are quickly replaced. The work is so strenuous that even workers in good shape and in their 20s can't keep up the pace. Bathroom breaks are discouraged and also factored into worker speed. The warehouses are hot and miserable. One woman died while working after being denied a break, and other workers were told to keep working with her body still on the floor.
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I would recommend not doing any job where your productivity is micromanaged in this way.

I worked for Amazon once and honestly I've worked in other warehouses before that and in my opinion if you want to work warehouse don't work for Amazon, there are other high paying warehouse and factory jobs out there. Get a forklift drivers license and work at a normal warehouse and I promise you you will make a lot of money and it will be better

dotsdfe posted...

One woman died while working after being denied a break, and other workers were told to keep working with her body still on the floor.

Watched last night, can't listen to the video now. Wasn't that one at another company, not Amazon? Then they brought it around to how Amazon has driven the insane demands across the industry.
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dotsdfe posted...

The warehouses are hot and miserable. One woman died while working after being denied a break, and other workers were told to keep working with her body still on the floor.

How does this not get more attention?
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Mizznox posted...

dotsdfe posted...

One woman died while working after being denied a break, and other workers were told to keep working with her body still on the floor.

Watched last night, can't listen to the video now. Wasn't that one at another company, not Amazon? Then they brought it around to how Amazon has driven the insane demands across the industry.

That may be the case. I watched last night as well, but I may have missed a line mentioning that it was elsewhere. My bad if so. Either way, it's quite bad.
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The segment on YouTube is called just Warehouses so it's not strictly about Amazon either.

dotsdfe posted...

Jagr_68 posted...

Are those jobs worth the $15/hr wage or was that just a gaslighting ploy to get Bernie off Bezo's back?

Honestly, from that video, they probably deserve more.

It's honestly worth watching, but some highlights:

People walk for several miles a day to get items, sometimes with only seconds between long distances that they need to cover. Slower workers are quickly replaced. The work is so strenuous that even workers in good shape and in their 20s can't keep up the pace. Bathroom breaks are discouraged and also factored into worker speed. The warehouses are hot and miserable. One woman died while working after being denied a break, and other workers were told to keep working with her body still on the floor.

Fucking disgusting how that shit goes on and yet the turnover is always constant with no change because there will always be newcomers needing jobs.

Also that fake orientation video or whatever at the end was way too grim to actually be funny.
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dotsdfe posted...

Mizznox posted...

dotsdfe posted...

One woman died while working after being denied a break, and other workers were told to keep working with her body still on the floor.

Watched last night, can't listen to the video now. Wasn't that one at another company, not Amazon? Then they brought it around to how Amazon has driven the insane demands across the industry.

That may be the case. I watched last night as well, but I may have missed a line mentioning that it was elsewhere. My bad if so. Either way, it's quite bad.

That was XPO Logistics, a freighting company. Here's an article partially about her death:

https://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/21085/xpo_logistics_labor_teamsters_death_abuses_memphis
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Amazon should unionize. UPS has pretty much the exact same setup for their inside operations. It's still a tough job but you get decent raises, medical, pension, management cant fire you for stupid shit like needing to pee, you get scheduled breaks, etc. That also comes with only working ~4hr shift so I'm not sure if employees would love working two jobs though.
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Thanks, I enjoyed it

Now I know what to keep away from robots when the uprising starts
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Cpt_Pineapple posted...

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Wtf I checked last night at 12 am and there wasnt a new episode.
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He also did a good expose on WWE. Too bad WWE didn't give a shit.
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Jiek_Fafn posted...

Amazon should unionize. UPS has pretty much the exact same setup for their inside operations. It's still a tough job but you get decent raises, medical, pension, management cant fire you for stupid shit like needing to pee, you get scheduled breaks, etc. That also comes with only working ~4hr shift so I'm not sure if employees would love working two jobs though.

it does work if can deal with people and drive while delivering. pretty much what it is.
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I worked in an amazon warehouse for 6 months and fucking hated every single minute of my day.
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EverDownward posted...

He also did a good expose on WWE. Too bad WWE didn't give a shit.

They did....they even invited him over and he didn't show up. His info on the subject was outdated as well.
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El Mexicano Texano posted...

EverDownward posted...

He also did a good expose on WWE. Too bad WWE didn't give a shit.

They did....they even invited him over and he didn't show up. His info on the subject was outdated as well.

Well, I'm sure the next time I watch Vince McMahon openly harass a journalist for pushing the subject a little too hard that it was surely Vince who was in the right and not the uppity dude just wanting to understand why Vince's superstars aren't given the same rights most other workers are.
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El Mexicano Texano posted...

EverDownward posted...

He also did a good expose on WWE. Too bad WWE didn't give a shit.

They did....they even invited him over and he didn't show up. His info on the subject was outdated as well.

So he rejected an invite to become a human PR stunt for McMahon on one night to make it all better again.

Sure. What a fucking pompous asshole, who the hell does he think he is...
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I've been working in a UPS warehouse for 5 years and previously I worked in a FedEx warehouse for 2 years. UPS has a union and FedEx didn't. That makes such an absolutely massive difference.

The job doesn't pay enough though. Tuition reimbursement and health insurance is pretty nice though. I also get free tickets to pro sports games through my union.

We basically can't get fired for poor job performance. Nobody can tell me when to and not to use the bathroom. Sometimes I just stand in a stall and fool around on my phone for five minutes.

I'm on a safety committee though. We cover all injuries that occur. The way management handles some of this stuff is embarrassing. Basically, they are very transparent in how their concern is the cost to the company and not the health of the injured.
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Their in house picking system sounds atrocious. Wouldn't it be more cost effective to assign people to specific color locations instead of an individual pulling from one side of the warehouse to the other? Especially when you consider most of Amazons warehouses are the size of 3 football fields.
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Jiggy101011 posted...

Their in house picking system sounds atrocious. Wouldn't it be more cost effective to assign people to specific color locations instead of an individual pulling from one side of the warehouse to the other? Especially when you consider most of Amazons warehouses are the size of 3 football fields.

Most(?) or many Amazon warehouses have the employee stand in one spot and robots bring the item to them. Afaik those where the person actually walks are in the minority now
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I worked warehouse jobs before and they mainly involved standing in the same spot or two for 8 hours

Painful, but for different reasons
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RebelElite791 posted...

Jiggy101011 posted...

Their in house picking system sounds atrocious. Wouldn't it be more cost effective to assign people to specific color locations instead of an individual pulling from one side of the warehouse to the other? Especially when you consider most of Amazons warehouses are the size of 3 football fields.

Most(?) or many Amazon warehouses have the employee stand in one spot and robots bring the item to them. Afaik those where the person actually walks are in the minority now

That's definitely good to hear, and should be the practice everywhere. The conditions in the video are just inhumane.
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Nall posted...

Its great that he discussed these issues, but does anything ever come of it?

No, it doesn't. That's the reason I quit watching his show, he points out a problem,there's no real solution to this problem, so he encourages others to solve it. That's kinda something comedy central guys like him do it's too depressing so I just quit watching that shit all together. All it does is reinforce the idea that the rich and powerful own us, kill us and treat us as less than human with absolute immunity
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tremain07 posted...

Nall posted...

Its great that he discussed these issues, but does anything ever come of it?

No, it doesn't. That's the reason I quit watching his show, he points out a problem,there's no real solution to this problem, so he encourages others to solve it. That's kinda something comedy central guys like him do it's too depressing so I just quit watching that shit all together. All it does is reinforce the idea that the rich and powerful own us, kill us and treat us as less than human with absolute immunity

Well its news, exposing the information and getting it our there would be the first step to fixing it.
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X8Azazel8X posted...

tremain07 posted...

Nall posted...

Its great that he discussed these issues, but does anything ever come of it?

No, it doesn't. That's the reason I quit watching his show, he points out a problem,there's no real solution to this problem, so he encourages others to solve it. That's kinda something comedy central guys like him do it's too depressing so I just quit watching that shit all together. All it does is reinforce the idea that the rich and powerful own us, kill us and treat us as less than human with absolute immunity

Well its news, exposing the information and getting it our there would be the first step to fixing it.

Yeah. Honestly, I do get the sentiment of being depressed by his show - I've seen a ton of his segments that just show me how much greed there really is out there. Hell, he did one on mobile homes recently, and I never really even considered just how greedy that industry that is, nor how trapped some people in mobile homes truly are. It's really easy to see stuff like this and just get cynical.

But at the same time, I do think it helps to spread awareness. If people start talking about it and it becomes a big enough PR issue for the company, they'll feel pressured to change it, at least. It may not always happen, but spreading awareness helps, even if there aren't bigger steps that we can directly take.

It's definitely iffy on how much these segments truly help at the end of the day, though, sadly. I know that John has started at least a few conversations on some pretty obscure issues, and I've seen some of them getting buzz despite being pretty ignored beforehand.
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dotsdfe posted...

X8Azazel8X posted...

tremain07 posted...

Nall posted...

Its great that he discussed these issues, but does anything ever come of it?

No, it doesn't. That's the reason I quit watching his show, he points out a problem,there's no real solution to this problem, so he encourages others to solve it. That's kinda something comedy central guys like him do it's too depressing so I just quit watching that shit all together. All it does is reinforce the idea that the rich and powerful own us, kill us and treat us as less than human with absolute immunity

Well its news, exposing the information and getting it our there would be the first step to fixing it.

Yeah. Honestly, I do get the sentiment of being depressed by his show - I've seen a ton of his segments that just show me how much greed there really is out there. Hell, he did one on mobile homes recently, and I never really even considered just how greedy that industry that is, nor how trapped some people in mobile homes truly are. It's really easy to see stuff like this and just get cynical.

But at the same time, I do think it helps to spread awareness. If people start talking about it and it becomes a big enough PR issue for the company, they'll feel pressured to change it, at least. It may not always happen, but spreading awareness helps, even if there aren't bigger steps that we can directly take.

It's definitely iffy on how much these segments truly help at the end of the day, though, sadly. I know that John has started at least a few conversations on some pretty obscure issues, and I've seen some of them getting buzz despite being pretty ignored beforehand.

Yes this is true but his segments inform me what's going on that directly affects people I know and around me as well, like his segments talking about verizon wanting to replace the copper phonlines, or the reason why disaster insurance companies are making money of it and the source ultimately being congress, the amazon thing too as people have been taking about that they were hring with some people talking about applying there, same with walmart and many other things. They were very helpful and I gave an informed opinion on it to people while other wise I may have given mis information about it if I had not watched. A neighbor was even talking about starting some petition to go against the insurance rates which would ultimately be about removing this jery mandering the republicans have on congress that some petition or casual protesting about the insurance companies really isn't going to fix.

So it saves alot of time and effort and efficiency to know what you are up against and where the real problems lay.
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I didn't watch the video because it's irrelevant compared to actual experience, so I'm going to touch on a few things that are exaggerated in this topic. I worked in an Amazon FC for 1.5 years back in 2011. The facility was brand new.

There are 5 main job positions in a warehouse:

Receiving - Just as it sounds. They unpack everything and prep it for being stocked by placing items into large yellow totes onto tall standing carts for the stockers. The work area is decent sized, but most of these guys aren't busting their asses walking around.

Stockers - They wheel the big carts with totes on them up and down the aisles, filling empty bin locations with product for Pickers. They walk a decent amount, but tend to stand in the same location for longer periods of time because they fill any bins they can find with product. Stockers have quotes, but they aren't terrible to maintain from what I remember.

Pickers - Physically the hardest job in the warehouse. You push a really small cart with up to 2 yellow totes on it in an area with bins that's around a football field size and 3-stories tall. There are generally 2 of these picking areas in a facility. No, you do not constantly go back and forth from them. That is not how the system assigns pick paths because it's inefficent and makes for shitty productivity. Generally if a Picker gets shifted to the other side of the warehouse to pick it's because there is currently nothing left to pick in the specific area they were picking at and the other Pickers on that side already have the other products yet to be picked, covered. In some cases there are just bad pick paths made by the system because of how the product is spread out or because it's a slow day. Managers can tell when Pickers are having to constantly shuffle around from side to side or even from floor to floor and a Manager worth their shit will say something to the IT department without the Picker having to bring it up with them so it can be looked into.

Pickers have the worst quotes to make and things like pick paths and the kind of product you are picking (large items as opposed to small items) can either make or break you. The quota back when I was on was 100 items per hour. Overall, it's not that hard to make the quota unless you're out of shape or don't give a shit about making quota, but you will be walking a lot. I know some people walked 10+ miles on any given day as Pickers. It's rough on the feet. (Just for reference, I made quota the 2nd day on the job. They slowly build you up to 100 per hour. I think its like 70 first week, 80, 90 then 100)

Packers - These guys probably have the 2nd hardest job. Despite standing in one place for most of their shift, packing is extremely tedious and their quotas are pretty high, but not as bad as Pickers.

Shipping - Easiest mainstream job hands down. You load the shit into trucks. What more needs to be said? lol

Most Amazon FC's now a days are a mirror image if you split it in half. So there are 2 receiving, 2 picking areas, 2 pallet areas and 2 forklift areas in the warehouse and then generally there's a large elevated concrete "floor" in the middle where all the packing is done with shipping at the back of the warehouse behind the elevated flooring area.

With that being said, I'll address a few things mentioned in this topic.

People walk for several miles a day to get items, sometimes with only seconds between long distances that they need to cover. Slower workers are quickly replaced. The work is so strenuous that even workers in good shape and in their 20s can't keep up the pace. Bathroom breaks are discouraged and also factored into worker speed. The warehouses are hot and miserable. One woman died while working after being denied a break, and other workers were told to keep working with her body still on the floor.

- Yes you generally will walk several miles a day doing this job, especially picking. No, you aren't timed between picking product. The hand scanners they give you to pick product will generally give you an estimated time to arrive at the next bin location, but it's not going to make or break your productivity. It's meant to help you gauge the kind of pace you should be working to make a decent rate.
- If you don't make quota, you get counseled several times and after x amount of time, yes your job will be in jeopardy. More so if you are a temp worker as their standards are much higher.
- Anyone in their 20's in decent shape can do this job just fine. The work isn't "strenuous" by any means. You just walk a lot. If you consider that strenuous, then that's your opinion.
- Bathroom breaks are not discouraged unless you have shitty Managers. Even then, they can't stop you. If you are making rate and not in someone's radar, you can take however many bathroom breaks you want. Does that time count against your productivity? Yes, but if that 5-10 minutes you spend in the bathroom is going to put you under quota, then you should probably try harder.
- Warehouses can get a little warm in the summer time because of how much air the systems are trying to cool, but it's not hot and miserable (unless you're in Phoenix, maybe). AC is standard in Fullfillment Centers and all old warehouses were being retrofitted as of 2012 - https://www.theverge.com/2012/6/5/3065141/amazon-warehouse-work-environment-improved-air-conditioning

Their in house picking system sounds atrocious. Wouldn't it be more cost effective to assign people to specific color locations instead of an individual pulling from one side of the warehouse to the other? Especially when you consider most of Amazons warehouses are the size of 3 football fields.

I've already addressed this and it's not how the picking system works.

Fossil posted...

I didn't watch the video because it's irrelevant compared to actual experience,

lol they gave workers first hand accounts and reports. So this is actual experience just reported by john.

That's like saying some one came inside wet they showed on tv saying its raining but you needed to go outside and get wet first before you believed it.

Much of what you say is refuted by actual workers accounts, and I would be more apt it taking the credibility of that over your experience.
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X8Azazel8X posted...

Fossil posted...

I didn't watch the video because it's irrelevant compared to actual experience,

lol they gave workers first hand accounts and reports. So this is actual experience just reported by john.

That's like saying some one came inside wet they showed on tv saying its raining but you needed to go outside and get wet first before you believed it.

Much of what you say is refuted by actual workers accounts, and I would be more apt it taking the credibility of that over your experience.

I'd say it's more that it varies from warehouse to warehouse, really. From what I'm seeing, some aren't as bad or are getting better, while others are still quite abhorrent.

It's good to know that they aren't all bad, but yeah, it is still disheartening to see the accounts in the video.
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Honestly i think everyone sees JO as a comedy show and literally takes the serious issues he brings up as exaggerations and jokes.
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VandorLee posted...

Honestly i think everyone sees JO as a comedy show and literally takes the serious issues he brings up as exaggerations and jokes.

I've definitely seen this mentality, but I disagree with it as a whole. Honestly, John Oliver does better journalism on average than most traditional news networks, just for these segments on lesser-known issues. I find his style of comedy to be pretty hit-or-miss, but I watch more for the informational aspect than anything.
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dotsdfe posted...

VandorLee posted...

Honestly i think everyone sees JO as a comedy show and literally takes the serious issues he brings up as exaggerations and jokes.

I've definitely seen this mentality, but I disagree with it as a whole. Honestly, John Oliver does better journalism on average than most traditional news networks, just for these segments on lesser-known issues. I find his style of comedy to be pretty hit-or-miss, but I watch more for the informational aspect than anything.

But the general media seems to not take what he says literal and i dont really see any change to issues he brings up or any specific responses.

The issues he brings up ignore his show which adds to people thinking its just jokes and exaggerations.
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X8Azazel8X posted...

Well its news, exposing the information and getting it our there would be the first step to fixing it.

I'm sorry, but if you think the current working conditions of Amazon Warehouses is something new, then you're the type of person who does nothing regardless of knowing.

Considering this has been an issue back since 2016/2017.

https://www.newsweek.com/amazon-drivers-warehouse-conditions-workers-complains-jeff-bezos-bernie-1118849

Sanders introduced a bill on September 5 that would tax employers, like Amazon, when their employees need federal benefits, like Medicaid and food stamps, to help cover the cost of those services. The bill is called the "Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act" or the "Stop BEZOS Act," just like the Amazon CEO's last name.

Mysterio400 posted...

That was XPO Logistics, a freighting company. Here's an article partially about her death:

Eh, well there's this one that happened at Amazon

https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/ct-met-amazon-worker-death-lawsuit-20190125-story.html


A Lockport woman is suing online retail giant Amazon, saying the company delayed medical attention for her husband after he suffered a heart attack while working at an Amazon warehouse in Joliet.

After clutching his chest and falling to the ground while on the job in 2017, Thomas Becker begged his co-workers, do not let me die, according to the lawsuit. But the 57-year-old was pronounced dead a short time later.

In spite of Amazons policy of having its own supposedly qualified medical first responders, not a single Amazon first responder came with a functioning AED to Thomas Beckers aid, the suit states, further claiming that AED boxes located around the giant warehouse did not actually have the devices inside.

After Joliet EMTs were called, they were further delayed by security guards who chatted at the front desk before giving paramedics access to the facility, the suit claims; EMTs also had to walk through the mammoth facility rather than being given access to a rear loading dock adjacent to where Becker was in distress. This further delayed their response time another five to seven minutes, according to the lawsuit and reports from the Joliet Fire Department.

The lawsuit also says Amazon officials asked Beckers co-workers for personal information such as his Social Security number and date of birth before they called 911.

But yes, Bezos is a good guy, because he stands up to Trump.

Lmao. Liberals.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000119312518121077/d514607ddef14a.htm
The 2017 annual total compensation of our median compensated employee other than Mr. Bezos was $28,446; Mr. Bezos 2017 annual total compensation was $1,681,840, and the ratio of those amounts is 1-to-59.

HiddenRoar posted...

I'm sorry, but if you think the current working conditions of Amazon Warehouses is something new, then you're the type of person who does nothing regardless of knowing.

Considering this has been an issue back since 2016/2017.

https://www.newsweek.com/amazon-drivers-warehouse-conditions-workers-complains-jeff-bezos-bernie-1118849

Sanders introduced a bill on September 5 that would tax employers, like Amazon, when their employees need federal benefits, like Medicaid and food stamps, to help cover the cost of those services. The bill is called the "Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act" or the "Stop BEZOS Act," just like the Amazon CEO's last name.

Actually I'm not the one arguing that this is inaccurate or that it just happens in some amazon warehouses and not others. So there are plenty of people who still think this doesn't go on as much as it does. So that doesn't mean I'm the default label you gave me.

John Oliver's report isn't just about workers rights like you posted it give more first hand accounts of the conditions that I didn't hear about and gave much more detailed information than what Bernie gave so this is something new and gave more added information on this.
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X8Azazel8X posted...

lol they gave workers first hand accounts and reports.

... and I just did the same thing.

X8Azazel8X posted...

That's like saying some one came inside wet they showed on tv saying its raining but you needed to go outside and get wet first before you believed it.

Wrong. A proper analogy would be me not needing "proof" it is raining because I would already be aware it was raining.

X8Azazel8X posted...

Much of what you say is refuted by actual workers accounts, and I would be more apt it taking the credibility of that over your experience.

Ya, I'd totally believe some random joes they interviewed for some TV segment too. *eye roll*

Look bro that's on you if you don't want to believe me. Doesn't change anything I've said.

finally seen it all. pretty enlightening and i enjoyed it.

sure we can all laugh about it because of its presentation. but getting an audience to interact with laughter and information is a pretty sweet way to get the news. the over the top skits in the segment often drive the point of whats happening. tbh john olivers format for delivering news is hilarious and gets people engaged that wouldnt be. if this was a news special report, it would get glanced over by many.
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Nall posted...

Its great that he discussed these issues, but does anything ever come of it?

Probably not because nobody is there who doesnt want to be.

My Amazon warehouse is a Sort Center, and its pretty relaxed. Were not supposed to bring our phones inside, people do it anyway.

They had a presentation on heat stroke today and said to watch out for other workers who look like they might be suffering, let them know if you need a break or are feeling lightheaded or something. You can use the bathroom whenever you want, as long as you make rate (Which is not difficult). A lot of workers are fast enough that they can take a shit ton of bathroom breaks and they love it. Although if you're picking, then you need to let someone know before you go, so they can take your place. Otherwise things get really messy and dangerous (packages on the floor).

Fossil posted...

X8Azazel8X posted...

lol they gave workers first hand accounts and reports.

... and I just did the same thing.

X8Azazel8X posted...

That's like saying some one came inside wet they showed on tv saying its raining but you needed to go outside and get wet first before you believed it.

Wrong. A proper analogy would be me not needing "proof" it is raining because I would already be aware it was raining.

X8Azazel8X posted...

Much of what you say is refuted by actual workers accounts, and I would be more apt it taking the credibility of that over your experience.

Ya, I'd totally believe some random joes they interviewed for some TV segment too. *eye roll*

Look bro that's on you if you don't want to believe me. Doesn't change anything I've said.

Also these.
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Fossil posted...

... and I just did the same thing.

Wow really? So then you see the point, your first hand account is the same as the report.....actually its inferior because it give multiple first hand accounts. That is why I brought it up, so its not only not irrelevant like you said, its a better account than yours.

Fossil posted...

Wrong. A proper analogy would be me not needing "proof" it is raining because I would already be aware it was raining.

Yea woooosh again over your head. Its the exactly right analogy bud.

Fossil posted...

Ya, I'd totally believe some random joes they interviewed for some TV segment too. *eye roll*

Look bro that's on you if you don't want to believe me. Doesn't change anything I've said.

LOL joes? wtf?!? who the hell are you bro? I know they are documented employees not just some random guy on a message board. Even if you produced some identification of working there its still inferior to the quality of a group of different people from separate locations giving different accounts and corroborating what others said than your account period.

Yeah you keep rolling those eyes but its means nothing.
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two bearspray attacks by robots
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How are Amazon warehouses different from any other retail warehouses?
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FFVII_REMAKE posted...

How are Amazon warehouses different from any other retail warehouses?

Watch the video
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