{"id":9843,"date":"2018-10-04T13:15:19","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T20:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=9843"},"modified":"2018-10-04T13:17:19","modified_gmt":"2018-10-04T20:17:19","slug":"amazons-aggressive-anti-union-tactics-revealed-in-leaked-45-minute-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/amazons-aggressive-anti-union-tactics-revealed-in-leaked-45-minute-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon’s Aggressive Anti-Union Tactics Revealed in Leaked 45-Minute Video"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bryan Menegus<\/a><\/div>\n

9\/26\/18 11:35am<\/a>\u00a0(gizmodo.com)<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Screenshot: Amazon training video (Amazon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Amazon, the country\u2019s second-largest employer, has so far remained immune to any attempts by U.S. workers to form a union. With rumblings of\u00a0employee organization at Whole Foods<\/a>\u2014which Amazon bought for $13.7 billion last year\u2014a 45-minute union-busting training video produced by the company was sent to Team Leaders of the grocery chain last week, according to sources with knowledge of the store\u2019s activities. Recordings of that video, obtained by Gizmodo, provide valuable insight into the company\u2019s thinking and tactics.<\/p>\n

Each of the video\u2019s six sections, which the narrator states are \u201cspecifically designed to give you the tools that you need for success when it comes to labor organizing,\u201d take\u00a0place in an animated simulacrum of a Fulfillment Center. The video\u2019s narrators are clad in the reflective vests typical of the real-world setting. \u201cWe are not anti-union, but we are not neutral either,\u201d the video states, drawing a distinction that would likely be largely academic to potential organizers. To expound on what non-neutrality might look like, the video adds in plain language (emphasis ours):<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not believe unions are in the best interest of our customers<\/strong>, our shareholders, or most importantly, our associates. Our business model is built upon speed, innovation, and customer obsession\u2014things that are generally not associated with union.\u00a0When we lose sight of those critical focus areas<\/strong>\u00a0we jeopardize everyone\u2019s job security: yours, mine, and the associates\u2019<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Amazon\u2019s anti-union training video comes to light amid an image crisis for the company. Years of reporting on low pay and poor working conditions reached a fever pitch late this summer when Senator Bernie Sanders\u00a0proposed legislation<\/a>directly challenging the company\u2019s reliance on social subsidy programs. Likewise, Amazon lost more than it gained in a charm offensive ploy that rewarded its warehouse ambassadors for tweeting nice things about the company\u2014like how they are\u00a0free to use facility restrooms and are not slaves<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gizmodo has opted to not publish the video itself in order to maintain source anonymity.<\/p>\n

Throughout, the video claims Amazon prefers a \u201cdirect management\u201d structure where employees can bring grievances to their bosses individually, rather than union representation. However, a number of warehouse workers have expressed to Gizmodo in past reporting that they believed voicing their concerns led to retaliatory scrutiny or firing. \u201c[Amazon] preaches that they have this open-door policy and then when you try to go through that open door, instead of being allowed in, you are now set up,\u201d a former Fulfillment Center worker in Indiana told Gizmodo. \u201cYou\u2019re somebody that talks and you\u2019re somebody they\u2019re gonna absolutely make the job as difficult as humanly possible for.\u201d Another Floridian Fulfillment Center worker told Gizmodo he sent complaints of low pay to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos\u2019s public-facing email address (jeff@amazon.com) and claims management was \u201charassing me since I sent that email.\u201d He said he was terminated shortly afterward.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve reached out to Amazon for comment regarding its response to employees who raise concerns and will update when we hear back.<\/p>\n

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T.I.P.S. are the tactics Amazon advises management not to use, according to the video.<\/figcaption>
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Screenshot: Amazon training video (Amazon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The video provides some background on the\u00a0National Labor Relations Act<\/a>\u2014the 1935 law that guaranteed workers the right to organize, take collective action, and strike\u2014and the various protect activities employees can engage in. But the meat of the video begins in section four, entitled \u201cWarning Signs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are a few of the (extensive) examples \u201cthat can indicate associate disengagement, vulnerability to organizing, or early organizing activity,\u201d according to the video:<\/p>\n