A Prime Example
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced another round of layoffs recently. The online retailer will shed another 9,000 jobs soon, on top of 18,000 job cuts announced earlier this year. The reduction will affect white collar employees in the administrative sector.
Founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, often cited as the world’s richest man, Amazon employs more than a million workers, and added substantially to its employee ranks during the pandemic. According to Jassy’s announcement memo, however: “Given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount.”
The downsizing is not the only unpopular employee issue with which Amazon is contending. Workers at its Staten Island, NY, warehouse successfully organized a labor union last April. Unfortunately, the nascent bargaining unit has had no success in securing a labor contract for its members. Neither has it enjoyed success in engaging the corporation in negotiations. What’s more, the union has struggled to expand.
Amazon has been accused of union busting activities, and reportedly filed some two dozen legal objections to the union election. There has been a series of OSHA citations filed against Amazon in just the past few months, from unsafe warehouse conditions to injury reporting failures. These reports, added to historic complaints of Amazon workers being shorted in their paychecks to being placed in demanding situations that prioritize parcel delivery over employee regard.
A year ago, my doorbell rang on a weekday afternoon, and my dog dutifully sprang into his “protect my house” mode. By the time I collared him and opened the door, the 20-something Amazon driver was cautiously positioned about 15 feet away from the front step. He was profusely apologetic. His vehicle had become stuck in the mud at my neighbor’s house. No one was home there, his personal cell phone had poor service in our rural area – and he’d been chased before by dogs.
Leaving the dog behind, I grabbed a shovel and walked with him to his Prime van. Because was hoping to turn around rather than back up several hundred feet out the driveway, his rear wheels slipped on the asphalt and he became stranded. Attempts to recover only made the problem worse. My shovel was useless.
He was normally assigned to an urban route but was assigned to my area that day. The roads were long and unfamiliar, the homes far apart and he was behind schedule. I offered him use of my phone, but the dispatcher was noncommittal about a service call. He asked whether I knew of someone locally who could pull him out.
I phoned the nearby auto repair shop. The owner was on a call but the receptionist said she'd route him our way on his return. When his pickup pulled in the Amazon driver recounted his story and the repair shop owner departed to retrieve his tow truck. While we waited, the young man lamented the tow charge would be $100, but he had no other option.
When the wrecker operator arrived, he had the Prime van back on hard surface in minutes. The young driver immediately grabbed my shovel and began filling in the ruts left in the springtime earth by his van tires. I helped him to finish the task and told him I’d inform my neighbor as well. He walked to the front of his van and noticed the tow truck was gone. When he asked how he’d pay for the service, I said it was paid and told him to get back on the route. Despite his anxiety he couldn’t have been more thankful. I have no doubt he’ll pay it forward someday.
That same repair shop has two prime vans in its storage lot today, no doubt towed there and awaiting action on pickup or repair. I hope the owner nets a prime sum in storage fees while awaiting the decision. By the way, he only charged $50 for the tow.
I haven’t seen the Amazon driver since. I see the Prime vans constantly but, unless someone directly ships me a package, not in my driveway.
Amazon provides a valuable service, and was a boon for many during the pandemic, especially for rural dwellers like me who are miles and miles from a shopping plaza. Having spent some time learning about its labor conditions though, I’m content to purchase elsewhere.
The ASP holds firmly to the ideal of an ownership economy, which is far from this man’s status with Amazon. The reality of breaking up corporations of this size in hopes of refashioning our economy from the top down is beyond ambitious. Fostering incentives for small and collaborative startups to embrace this approach is very real.