It's also worth pointing out under (the old) normal conditions Amazon warehouse workers already had to put their health and wellbeing at risk every shift. I'm not familiar with health benefits for the average Amazon distribution center worker but I hope they get something more than BezosBux to spend at whatever urgent care operator happens to be a sister company.
Amazon has always exploited its labor force; that's why they are in the position to dial things up as needed to meet demand surges.
I'd like to balance all of this concern for the worker with a broader perspective.
Consider that business isn't charity.
If Amazon made a promise to deliver in 2 days, and I'm paying for that benefit, doesn't that mean I have the right to demand that benefit or be compensated? Does a pandemic mean that Amazon has the right to profit at my expense?
Isn't it a bit self-centered to say "Well, I can afford to toss money away on Prime membership without reaping the benefits, therefore anyone can"? What about those who rely on Prime membership and use it heavily but aren't rich enough to waste money on a service that isn't provided?
Now if normal delivery endangers the health and lives of deliverymen, then would it not make sense to ask for compensation from Amazon?
Why would I pay Amazon's workers for not delivering on managements promise? The entrepreneur should pay. Management should pay the workers to work, and only take money from customers for services delivered as promised. If Prime prices go up after current contracts expire, that's fine. Jeff Bezos doesn't need my charity.
Amazon's treatment of its physical laborers resembles a high tech version of early 20th century factory labor. It is frankly surprising they have not had some kind of modern equivalent of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire.
It's the height of demagoguery to support your argument with evidence that you freely admit doesn't exist. Do you have any evidence that Amazon is anywhere near as dangerous as a crowded locked room with no fire safety machinery?
Yeah, I do. But you seem to be more interested in preemptive accusations and frankly I don't have time for that kind of a "discussion". I don't expect to convince you, and I don't care to. Cheers!
Racing around a hot warehouse for miles a day while a handheld device counts down the seconds before you risk losing your job while you try to hold it in because you can't afford a bathroom break does not sound like a good blue collar job to me.
If the worst thing you can say about a job is that you might lose it, maybe it's a good job -- probably the best job. They aren't trapped in a farm in a company town getting ripped off by the company store where they can't leave for 3months. They aren't visa hostages. It seems your criticism of Amazon should be leveled at every single other employer offering worse.
Amazon's health benefits are actually quite good for entry level positions. Those benefits are a big reason Amazon's warehouse workers put up with the low wages and exploitation, at least in the US.
We can’t switch jobs or start a business because our health and well being is tied up with an employer. It’s possible that switching jobs means switching doctors or foregoing care.
And I’d say that the worst part about employers subsidizing healthcare is that they gladly do it because it’s essentially untaxed salary.
If my employer wasn’t allowed to subsidize healthcare, they’d have to pay me more and that extra pay would be subject to payroll tax.
So the whole system incentivizes employers to lobby for this terrible system of employer-based private for-profit health insurance. Big companies love it because it’s a way in which they can trap employees and snuff out competition from smaller businesses.
I'm not sure how glad. Health insurance is a cost center, your employer probably has no competitive advantage in getting it, and employees seem to undervalue it (everyone who starts COBRA is shocked how expensive the coverage always was).
Amazon has always exploited its labor force; that's why they are in the position to dial things up as needed to meet demand surges.