‘They Treat Us Worse Than Animals’: Working Without Water at Amazon
‘They Treat Us Worse Than Animals’: Working Without Water at Amazon
Exclusive: Amazon bosses forced staff at the company's Bristol warehouse to work without access to drinking water and toilets — the latest example of the company's hyper-exploitative employment practices.
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Okay I’m gonna get absolutely blasted for this, but here it goes.
Water went out in the warehouse at 3:45am, the last workers on that shift went home at 5:00am it sounds like. And the next shift which was to start at 7am was called and told not to come in because there was a water issue.
They were called back into work when the issue was fixed.
I see absolutely nothing wrong with this at all according to the facts as stated in the article.
They were without water for about an hour before they were scheduled to go home. It would take about that long for management to even recognize the issue, contact the city and get a timeline for repair. In the meantime, just keep working until they figure out how long it’ll take to fix, and when it is clear that it’ll take awhile, call the next shift and tell them they will reopen when the water is fixed.
Sounds absolutely reasonable to me.
But I know everyone loves shitting on amazon, so this post is gonna get murdered
I will cheerfully shit on Amazon every day, which is why shit articles like this piss me off. Amazon does plenty of real harm, but articles like this give this make people think "well, if this is their workplace mistreatment, then it's not that bad."
It is that bad, but this isn't an example of that. This could happen anywhere, to anyone, even the most ethical company/co-op/whatever on the planet. They handled it well. So let's go after them for actual shit instead.
No access to water or toilets for an hour and fifteen minutes is a lot if you really need either.
A vast majority of people sit through movies, meetings, waiting rooms, appointments, etc. for longer than that with no problem.
Bit of a false equivalence. One is a choice (with the option to avail themselves if needed). The other is not.
Are you suggesting that working at Amazon is comparable in exertion and water loss through sweat as sitting down and watching a movie?
I'm often carrying boxes in excess of 30lbs to the movies. Isn't everyone!?
So everything you listed is something scheduled. Something people prepare for. Water suddenly not working is neither of those things. Ignorant take
The vast majority of waiting rooms have water coolers and toilets available
You're not wrong, I work for the government and if our utility services shut off for more than an hour I think we go home. People are saying that time without water would suck but I mean they are pissing in bottles and shitting in buckets. Does that make it right, no. But unless you have a medical emergency an hour fifteen is not going without water.
Well yeah they are pissing in bottles, but that's every day.
Yes but amazon has shown a history of not giving a shit about its workers
See, the real trick amazon does is that no one is ever without a drink.
because if the water goes out, the workers can just pick up the piss bottles from the previous shift who had to piss in the aisle since they arent allowed to go to the bathroom.
Just imagine how many pissy fingerprints and straight piss might be on those packages your getting, having plenty of time to dry between boxing and delivery.
The issue continued during the day shift. ‘They emailed dayshift workers at 7 AM to not come to work when the starting time is 7:45 AM, so many were already on site or on their way to work,’ explains Hannah.
Many workers travel to the Bristol site from the Newport area, roughly an hour and a half away. GMB union organiser Marie McDonald says workers were told to go home and advised that they would be paid for the day. But at about half past twelve, they received a message from the site saying that the water was back on, and they were expected to be on-site by one o’clock. ‘You’ve got to bear in mind that a lot of our members travel great distances to get to work. The bus stop in Newport is not centrally located. They have to walk for half an hour, so many couldn’t get on the bus in time to get back to Bristol,’ she tells Tribune.
One of our members, who couldn’t physically get to the site, was told they would have to take annual leave if they couldn’t get to the site. She doesn’t have any annual leave, so she’s being penalised for an issue completely out of her control. As far as I’m concerned, Amazon is putting productivity over staff safety.’
That sounds “absolutely reasonable”to you? Really? I hope I never work for someone with standards like that.
The article says the water went out at 3:00, not 3:45. The shift ends at 4:45, again from this article. That's nearly 2 hours without drinking water or toilet facilities. That's a fairly long time.
Your also wrong about the next shift and the notification. Again, in this article....
The issue continued during the day shift. ‘They emailed dayshift workers at 7 AM to not come to work when the starting time is 7:45 AM, so many were already on site or on their way to work,’ explains Hannah.
They sent an email, not a phone call, 45 minutes before the shift started. I'd be surprised if any of the employees checked their email at the last minute before leaving for work. It goes on to say that many employees come from a town an hour away. The email was sent while many employees were already on their 1-1.5 hour commute. The. They told them just go home.
Then, at 12:30, they messaged the employees that the water was on and they needed to be back at work in half an hour or they would not be paid for it.
Your description of events does not at all match what the article describes. Do you really think Amazon's behavior is acceptable ad I and the article describe it?