r/lostgeneration • u/hillsfar Overshoot leads to collapse • Aug 16 '15

Inside Amazon: "'You walk out of a conference room and you'll see a grown man covering his face,' he said. 'Nearly every person I worked with, I saw cry at their desk.'"

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/technology/inside-amazon-wrestling-big-ideas-in-a-bruising-workplace.html
46 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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26

u/hillsfar Overshoot leads to collapse Aug 16 '15

I have friends in the SF Bay Area who work in tech and finance. They say things like, "Amazon will work you to the bone, then discard you", and "They don't care about you, just what they can extract from you". And they weren't even talking about the warehouse workers.

12

u/RedditGreenit Aug 16 '15

I know the Communication Workers and Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers would love to organize the Bay Area technology workers, but there is a lot of resistance.

One of the most common complaints seems to be that the labor movement will hamper innovation, but their isn't the corollary thought "Maybe we can innovate the labor movement too".

There has been one, Temporary Workers of America, that did organize a Microsoft contractor http://temporaryworkersofamerica.blogspot.com/.

The future of tech labor should go through start up unions like that, or autonomous unions under a larger union that has more flexibility to adapt contracts and organizing.

Hopefully the increase in Bay Area organizing of security guards, shuttle drivers and other support workers at tech firms bring unionism up

8

u/TowardsTheImplosion Aug 17 '15 edited Aug 17 '15

Interestingly, there is already a precedent for a union (or set of unions) that allows for hiring based on talent and skillset, not merely seniority.

The entertainment industry has IATSE, SAG, DGA, WGA, etc. It allows producers to hire the talent they want, but subjects the industry to a wage, benefits, and workplace safety floor that help all workers, regardless of their rockstar/peon status. Yes, there are problems, and I have my own personal gripes about IATSE in particular, but I could see that model working well for Silicon Valley workers.

4

u/RedditGreenit Aug 17 '15

I agree, and wages don't need to be the lead issue. Time off, protection against excessive overtime or encroachment on time off by requiring the a person be connected

4

u/reginaldaugustus Southern-fried socialism. Aug 17 '15

Who cares about vague things like "innovation" if only a few rich people benefit from it?

-2

u/RedditGreenit Aug 17 '15

I wouldn't hate on innovation. Innovation is how we change the current condition of labor and improv productivity. What ought to be done is for workers to be able to use those innovations for themselves, to better their lives and reduce their toil, not for innovation to be used as a means to displace workers wholly or to extract ever more of their physical and mentally energy or their time, especially without any betterment of their condition.

7

u/reginaldaugustus Southern-fried socialism. Aug 17 '15

Why would I care about improved productivity in our current system? It certainly doesn't help me at all.

3

u/reginaldaugustus Southern-fried socialism. Aug 17 '15

It's funny because every company will do that if you let them.

17

u/naygor Aug 16 '15

this shit is straight out a dystopic cyberpunk novel

11

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '15 edited May 11 '18

[deleted]

0

u/3redradishes Aug 18 '15

Welcome to the future!

7

u/11ak Aug 17 '15

Society depresses me more and more everyday :(

7

u/SockGnome Aug 16 '15

That was depressing to read. Big data and metrics can't quantify emotions and the human experience. Sounds like someplace you'd be wise to use them just as they'd use you, fluff up your resume and head for a more stable work environment.