Warehouses: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

[@KGillis]

Walmart Exec: "This guy saved us at least $30 million!" Boss at yearly review: "Best I can do is a 25 cent raise"

[@desmondbrown5508]

Dude, that's exactly the kind of shit that pissed me off. I worked at LabCorp and I was pushing record medical claims out the door. They were so impressed they had me attend a meeting to rework their "SOPs". I felt pretty good, then later that year we got our raise... I only got the normal 2% raise, and we had a nice meeting about them raising the standard requirements for filed claims per day. I've never felt so used and ashamed. Honestly, fuck LabCorp and fuck corporations.

[@Encysted]

Oh, look at Mr. 25¢ over here! What'd you do, give the sup "personal guidance"? My sup told me 1.2% was the "required minimum", but she didn't have a calculator on her, so she'd round it to 10¢.

[@suserman7775]

@@desmondbrown5508 Communist

[@ALCRAN2010]

$25 Million was money saved from injured workers NOT using any steps for the tall stuff...

[@vejymonsta3006]

@@desmondbrown5508 People don't get paid more for productivity. They get paid for years of service. Only executives and shareholders get paid for your productivity.

[@shdw787]

I recently saw an Amazon ad where a young kid says when they grow up, they want to be an Amazon delivery driver. It was one of the most depressing things I've seen.

[@THDTPSEvents]

Not everyone aspires to what you aspire to. Honestly, fuck you... let the kid do whatever he wants, I don't know his story and neither do you, you elitist.

[@PochamaRex]

Kemp Kennedy I don’t think it’s because they wanted to be a delivery driver. It’s not a bad occupation in itself. But the fact that Amazon consistently mistreats and underpays its workers and tries to cover up such abuse makes it really sad that they try to convince people working for them would be an enjoyable experience and not a harsh one

[@cristianvillanueva8782]

@@THDTPSEvents it was a shitty experience I'll tell you that, rual communities and ghettos were the worst that kid will relize its dumb

[@spongeintheshoe]

@@JS-nr2ld Still, the fact that such experiences occur at all, and even moreso, the fact that Amazon _allows_ those experiences to occur, should be concerning in and of itself.

[@spongeintheshoe]

@@JS-nr2ld But the higher-ups here have a training video based around preventing unions from forming, and they've apparently let a manager force people to step around the dead body of one of their coworkers and then lied to cover that person's ass.

[@llKorperll]

I remember my time at Amazon, it was during Prime Week... I'm in my 30's and I'm built pretty well, I thrive in terrible working conditions having done yard work my whole life in the desert heat. It's a hell of an experience in those warehouses. Because of my size they would put me where all the big shit is, I never complained, and I killed my rate regularly. Going to the bathroom is a bit more tricky than what was described in Jon's video. Suddenly get that feeling that I gotta take a shit, I go into overdrive and stock everything in my cage fast and correctly, then grab another cage and do the same to ensure I've padded my rate for the hour so I CAN go take a shit. Head to the bathroom I know that doesn't get much traffic, get to a stall, and go to drop a deuce, yet I can't relax. It's like that fight or flight mode when you're working in an Amazon warehouse, so much pressure from making rate, can't goto the bathroom even though I have to go. Myself and the other warehouse associates would joke about that constantly, and if someone came back from the bathroom successfully we would cheer out for the freedom of their bowls. You could be in that situation, can't shit because of the anxiety of the pace, then just pull your pants back up and get back to work, and 15 mins later a Manager would come up to you telling you got selected for VTO(Voluntary Time Off(Unpaid)) And you'd take it in a heartbeat, and funnily enough, the second you clock out of that bitch, the pressure is gone, and your body is like, HEY YOU CAN SHIT IN PEACE HOMEY! And you shit, and life's good, til the next day and you repeat the process all over again. The moment I realized I hated working there was when one of those performance people came down to tell me about my rate. They told me usually people plateau at some point, and I'm well over the required rate expectation, but I'm actually continuing to get faster every week. It wasn't a gradual increase either, I was killing it, improving my rate by 5 and 7 points each week. I was excited to hear that, but then they told me that by doing that I increase the average of the rate in that area. It hit me quickly and I asked, "So by me increasing my rate, I'm fucking my coworkers?" And they nodded yes, and added that if I get to high, they will lock me in my own average, and I could get fired by not killing it everyday too. Fuck Amazon! Oh and when they increased the wage to $15, they took their existing associates stock options away. Amazon is abusing some of the coolest, chillest people I've ever met, Fuck you Amazon. Glad I don't work there anymore.

[@citytianyu]

Shoot. They didn't award you for your efficiency increase but actually punish you or other workers. That just doesn't sound intelligence.

[@Michyyy0210]

L4ndless word I wish they could've used more of my KZbin video in there but you know Amazon be threatening news reporters if they reveal too much

[@Sam-bm6yf]

My, my, I WISH I could afford to buy elsewhere. I'm sorry.

[@SneedyKetler]

ItsMichy it’s you from the video! TY for being a part of this. It’s good to hear from voices that were on the frontline.

[@LilChuunosuke]

The speed thing is definitely not just an Amazon thing. I work for Peapod. We are timed based on UPH, which stands for Units Per Hour. They take the average or median (idk which) speed which people perform at and make that our goal. A major problem with that is that not only does everyone operate at different speeds, but your UPH can also depend on what's in your order. If your order only has like 30 items and someone bought like 10 cans of corn, your UPH might be something like 300. But if you got a ton of 12 packs, gallons of water, cat litter, etc., it might be more like 150. Worst part is that our bosses don't tell people that's what our time is based on, so some kids will literally throw items into their totes, sometimes organizing it later, so they can hit their expected time, not realizing that doing that actually helps make our expected UPH higher. I work quickly and efficiently, but still average around 80-85% because of this.

[@samueldelatorre7752]

THANK YOU JON OLIVER!!!! I spent 8 years in warehouse jobs and the ironic part is after all those years I was interested in working for Amazon because they would pay me more than a company then a company that I worked with for 8 years driving trucks. Bottom line is we're grunts, the help, no one cares about us warehouse workers and it's disgusting we're the reason anything gets done for these companies. What I've learned is know your rights and don't ever be afraid to express them, take pride in yourself. They threaten to replace you when you put yourself first and that as well is disgusting I say warehouse workers and truckers need to band together and stand up for our rights as humans. Literally I could give a fuck less if that means stuff moves slower. I as well am in my early 20s and I feel like I'm 80 when I get home I can barely move,sleep, or eat because of the body pain I experience. Again thank you Jon Oliver, it feels good to finally hear some recognition from someone.

[@kingzach74]

I hope you can save the money you're making and work for Uber or Lyft.

[@MarceloRamos-uk8cd]

I hope you get a colege degree and can move your life around

[@stoodmuffinpersonal3144]

YOU SHOULD BE CARED ABOUT. Without you, there IS no warehouse. You should burn that place to the ground. No dildos until living wages and better working conditions. No AR15s or bear mace or whatever else they sell there until better working conditions

[@dontbeorbeevil]

What if the stuff moves so slow that the company goes out of business? I am not a big amazon fan, it probably phased a lot of companies that had better conditions. But they still do it for money, and to make sure their company keeps existing, they need to do stuff fast enough.

[@samueldelatorre7752]

@MarceloRamos-uk8cd that's exactly what I did my friend. Best decision I ever made was to go back to school.

[@christylee-suzuki6772]

I think it’s worth mentioning that Amazon raised the minimum wage while cutting bonuses and stock options for their workers so many actually make less than before - they are not the model to follow.

[@spinningpeanut]

Christy Lee-Suzuki right? I was on a trip when the announcement hit but I was told that everyone booed the warehouse manager when he told everyone the good news. We we're already at 13.50 when you work donut days. I worked donut nights so I got $14. I was so angry we lost our bonuses.

[@blanco7726]

spinningpeanut do you work 40 a week?

[@Toxodos]

looks like someone didn't have his bear spray this morning

[@bryancouillard2016]

It's not just Amazon, either. Big retail across the board is doing whatever they can to increase their pay RATE without increasing their payROLL. It makes them look better to prospective employees who don't know any better. Bags of chips are more air than ever, candy bars cost the same as 20 years ago, but have steadily decreased in size slow enough for you not to notice, and retail jobs quietly cut benefits or hours every time they raise their minimum wage. Just corporations doing what they do.

[@theMosen]

What were the bonuses exactly?

[@dottyjyoung]

Amazon has a promoted Tweet right now offering guided tours of the warehouses. Someone snarkily replied that North Korea offers guided tours too. ;)

[@JD-uj5cp]

Rhayne Lyte dude why is your essay everywhere. Tbh starting to think your a amazon bot or something. 😂

[@FlyingDwarfman]

@@JD-uj5cp That they were messing up basic facts about Amazon warehouse employment (specific facts I know from first and second-hand experience) as well as how to write percentages indicates to me that they're not some Amazon bot; but much more likely a paid troll who is near- or nonnative-fluent in English.

[@CuteAnimeGirl]

Reminder that Jeff Bezos has literally said he wants workers to come into work each day "afraid of losing their job" because that's what he thinks will motivate them the most. HE WANTS US TO BE AFRAID. We are so damn scared every single day we show up, that we have people who are starting to have panic attacks while at work, and one person actually attempted to jump off the railing in our building to commit suicide because of how stressed they were from this job. You guys don't even know how bad it is, because this video is just the tip of the iceberg. Amazon doesn't really talk about any of this, and most of this info will never get out to the public.

[@CuteAnimeGirl]

FUCKING BULLSHIT YOUR RATE WAS %300. Even our best picker at our warehouse managed a 250%, and that's a guy who literally runs in the warehouse and somehow doesn't get in trouble for it. BULL. SHIT. You are absolutely making this up, because that is literally and physically impossible to pick that fast, unless you're on a damn motorized scooter. STOP LYING. Either that or you started several years ago when rate was actually super easy and you weren't competing with your warehouse for rate, but you just needed a flat number to reach. Then maybe I'd believe you. When you're competing with 6 foot tall guys who zoom back and forth through the warehouse and the rate is set by highest achievers and averaged out, what you said is literally impossible.

[@teodoromagdaleno6325]

Fuck you Amazon lover

[@Cohult]

In orientation, we watched an interview about Bezos, in which he said he quit his job on Wall Street because "Why am I working so hard to make someone else money?" My station's nearest bathroom was 6 minutes away, had to pick items every 12 seconds, and had knee problems before age 30. You didn't even joke about unionizing because they'd use the slightest infraction to fire you. We had someone die on his drive home during peak (60 hour weeks for 3 months) because of exhaustion and our managers took that opportunity to lecture us on getting enough rest. I'd drown that man in a clogged toilet given half a chance.

[@brandonm949]

The key to success is a complete lack of self-awareness, I guess.

[@anarchisttechsupport6644]

When America has its own Guillotine Moment? I'm going to relish this video, these comments, and yours in particular. Because that's where we're heading. Only, we're probably not gonna be so nice as to design an executioner's device to limit pain and suffering.

[@JustinHasTacos]

I remember that video. I thought it was cool when i first saw it. I feel the same as you

[@neku2741]

I am so glad I did my degree, all I have to do now is work to pay my student loans for the rest of my life.

[@imnamelessdude]

Your right to drown such a man friend lol. These jobs are turning people into heartless robot s

[@EternalYorkieMom]

I wish there was a “Get it here whenever just don’t rush your staff” option when you check out. I’d feel better about that then paying for shipping

[@andiward7068]

They kinda do. Prime shipping is the default for Prime members but you can chose a slower delivery time. It unfortunately doesn't help if we don't ALL do it. Moving my package back a few days just bumps another 6+ into it's place. Lgr, if people didn't want everything as fast AND cheap as possible we'd go to the store and pick it up or order less expensive and wait a few days.

[@traditionalnative]

I agree this is a great idea, I feel like it's bare minimum feasible for smaller businesses to implement. I'm actually going to bring up this idea to my favorite small business owner.

[@georgemackintosh6247]

Also, Amazon didn't just up and raise the minimum wage out of the kindness of their hearts. They were forced to do so, and they fought to tooth and nail to avoid it.

[@alexj7440]

Bernie sanders got them that raise

[@georgemackintosh6247]

@@alexj7440 Damn straight, he did

[@metrognome197]

Also they're now using it as the excuse to be even bigger assholes to their employees. Don't get me wrong, hat's off to our hopeful future president for getting the workers a living wage, but fuck you Jeff Bezos for being such a huge piece of shit.

[@xandercorp6175]

You idiots, why do you think they are being pushed so hard? If you artificially force the wages higher than the market price, you have to work harder and give up benefits and sick days to make up the difference. Raising the wage was the worst thing for those workers who were willing to work for less and incapable of making the cut once the work got hard. Just look though the comments to hear office workers complaining about "huge 6ft tall guys just breezing through the warehouse"... it's almost like they're more built for the hard labour than you are. Imagine that. So thank Bernie for pushing you into a world of work you can't handle, and showing you just how insufficient you are.

[@telmobrito519]

@@xandercorp6175 " If you artificially force the wages higher than the market price, you have to work harder and give up benefits and sick days to make up the difference " See , that would make sense if the company did not earn far more money than used to pay employee . When your CEO gets 1+ billion$/year you dont fckin need ANY " making up the difference " for a fckin wage increase .

[@Erinator9000]

My brother worked for Amazon once upon a time, he got fired for "using the restroom too often" and he had documented gallbladder problems. I'm so glad someone's talking about this.

[@matrixman8582]

Well maybe his gallblader problem interfered with productivity.

[@DriOXZ]

@@matrixman8582 Wouldn't want his numbers to drop

[@rachelschweitzer2965]

You wont believe the things ive witnessed !!! I quit last month, couldnt take it anymore. I wont say too much though, they keep deleting my comments !!!

[@danielcarbajal6574]

I work at amazon and I use the restroom very often.

[@Kuryux]

Did he try using a potty?

[@glennwelsh9784]

"It's back-breaking labor, and thank God I went to college." Meanwhile, a vast chunk of their warehouse employees are likely breaking their backs to pay off their massive student loan debt.

[@chaoznorder6207]

They all got degrees that end in the word "studies"

[@Lyaso]

@@chaoznorder6207 Great work on your use of reasoning there. Oh, wait. Never mind. Just more BS propaganda. You "free thinkers" never do anything but parrot talking points. Maybe you should try some of those "studies" you despise.

[@Lyaso]

@A Z How would you know, having obviously never been to one?

[@longtail4711]

@@chaoznorder6207 -- No. Their degrees are all over the place from tech and medicine to _x_ Studies. They are people competing with machines who didn't go to college but also don't get tired and raped of every penny they have from people like Bezos.

[@pipertipurts5211]

Yeah no shit. I went to college. I have a masters in one field, bachelors in another. I make 12.50/hour

[@dachandewuffsteiger]

I worked for zappos an amazon company. They had a warehouse in Kentucky with no air-conditioning. They would "allow" employees to work in their underwear or bathing suits because of the sweltering conditions. They realized it was cheaper to hire 2 to 3 ambulances to hang outside the facility for when someone fell to heat exhaustion. Not IF, but WHEN. it was cheaper to pay to take a heat stroke employee off campus, dismiss them for failure to perform duties, and move on than to install appropriate chillers or reasonable breaks.

[@LaLisaUbdee]

Man that's crazy but living in USA is enough privilege in and of itself imagine what American companies are doing overseas we have it good over here in comparison. Secondly Amazon must have some good lawyers. And they know what they are doing cause it seems to be despite their BS they have loyal employees after getting promoted whatever check they are getting they would save the compaines tail in a second.

[@anthonysmith7787]

@@LaLisaUbdeebad is bad look at your situation not others that’s why nothing will change because people like u walk around saying atleast we have it good here. Bad is bad not. So if a little boy get touch and then a little girl get touch you tell the little girl hey don’t cry about it because atleast you weren’t a boy who got touch you crazy dude

[@ExploringTheTube-fd1oo]

@@LaLisaUbdee Um what? We don't need to speculate. We have data. The USA ranks one of the lowest in developed countries for safety and job satisfaction. I'm absolutely dead at "living in the USA is enough privilege. Americans are wild!

[@zarahbystrom3032]

Not loyal, desperate.

[@jeffn9952]

​​​@@JaNouWatIkVindThat's a little extreme. I don't think anyone who was held in a concentration camp, was exposed to mustard gas, or who stepped on a land mine would suppose they could do a lot worse in the USA in 2024. We're lucky, and you're lucky, obvious non-Ukrainian who hasn't experienced a shelling attack on your city.

[@athuldomichen1192]

I worked at an Amazon warehouse for two months last year and it was the absolute worst, most depressing time of my entire life. I decided I've had it when one day everyone was already packing superfast and a 'supervisor' comes behind us and says "Faster! Faster!" The only thing she was missing was a whip, I thought. Never again. Ever.

[@athuldomichen1192]

@K K I can relate to that

[@israelvasquez1652]

Its hard to see that this is the new form of slavery. Rich assholes like Bezzos making millions off of people's misery.

[@elizabetholiviaclark]

@@seanl764 So, screw the people who are the subject of this video? They didn't finish college, so who cares if they're mistreated?

[@seanl764]

@@elizabetholiviaclark Na, it just means that they didn't put in as much hard work as other people early on in life. Having a high income is pretty common if you are in the right business with the right skills. Top 1% of households in the USA has net worth of 10 million or up, top 10% have net worth of $1 million and up. It's pretty easy to be a millionaire in this day and age.

[@whitneyr6182]

@@seanl764 hahahahahahahah

[@31webseries]

This is why people once fought so hard for labor unions that they were willing to risk everything.

[@a2pabmb2]

But the old fat white guy on muh tee-vee sez unions are SOCIALIZM!!1!

[@couragekarnga8735]

I guess we have to keep fighting.

[@cindy-ml7vo]

Unions are NOT socialist. They are private party agreements with other private parties.

[@sean3533]

No, the Democrat party used to be the party for workers, now it's the party for anything else.

[@13lood13ath]

The elite want to control you. This is why they are fighting to take unions away.

[@ams7722]

I've been a manager/director in warehousing for 15 years, I've literally never had an OSHA inspector visit one of my sites. The issue isn't just laws, it's regulation to enforce those laws. In the case of places like Amazon, they can also easily afford any fine levied against them.

[@PappyMandarine]

Tell us more about your experience, man. I'm especially interested in the pressure you had from above to implement rules & guidelines that end up giving the result seen in this video.

[@jeremysiegel2961]

They tell our company that they're coming. Everything runs extra slow during the inspections. What's the point?

[@RakelDaNell]

Y'all had a Gatorade machine?!

[@helenbobo1948]

Aren't repubs trying to cut out OSHA?

[@MrStone125]

Theyll make your life shit, I hope you realize that.

[@OmegaGuess]

"There's no requirements that we provide air conditioning" is possibly the most chilling way to both avoid and answer the question at the same time.

[@kopkl1]

Warehouse manager/master of ethics: whatever the law says is what’s right

[@Xeonerable]

"We aren't anti-unions, we just value our shareholders and top earners more than everyone else."

[@markbrownner6565]

welcome to the new feudalism ...royalty / mercenaries / merchants / craftsmen / serfs.....

[@AD-cd1bx]

Shareholders always come first, and always will. If they don't make money then the business is gone.

[@Emeries40]

A D Stakeholders ought to come first. The community, the employees, and the shareholders should all be valued equally. Without any of the three, the business wouldn’t exist.

[@AD-cd1bx]

@@Emeries40 True, but we all know who the CEOs are beholden to.

[@michaelfixedsys7463]

@@markbrownner6565 feudalism was originally a fabrication, it's a shame that it came to fruition

[@WhatsYourDadSnap]

I worked in an Amazon fulfillment center for 5 months.... I can say everything he says is so true!

[@mark-jensbarton8363]

@luke wilson Boy, you sure solved all labour problems! Look at you go!

[@wickedblackheart26]

luke wilson like it is so easy to find a job

[@randomdude1191]

@luke wilson You tell him to stop complaining and get another job. He does that, now someone else fills that job. You tell that person the same thing and the replacement after that. Your advice doesn't change anything beyond an individual level, the shitty job still exists and needs to exist for you to have nice things, there's just different faces fulfilling it.

[@dudewtf1776]

@luke wilson Wow you just solved one of the most difficult employment problems of our generation. I can't wait to hear your solution for world hunger!!!?? "Luke Wilson: Just eat"

[@AbsentWithoutLeaving]

@@randomdude1191 - Some jobs are meant to be an intro into a particular company's culture, and are not meant to be careers. You're expected to do your time and then move up the food chain. Anybody who stays at a certain position and does not choose to advance gets written off.

[@cedricjohnsonreacts]

12:00 Thank you so much for including me in this weekend segment! It means the world 🖤🤗

[@petertaylor4980]

@Evan Slager, did he actually say he got it? Or was that "you" in the generic sense of "whoever the slightly less unlucky person was"?

[@Flaubert]

Thanks for telling the truth

[@laurenburghard5507]

Lucky you! Sorry you had to deal with amazon's bullshit

[@MG-sn3fk]

Just wanna say...here's a internet hug *huggies*. Hope you see better days 💖

[@averagememeenjoyer7241]

I felt so glad for you. My prize was once a lollipop.

[@coreydrew3228]

Hi everyone 👋🏻 I’d like to point out that this is the same atmosphere at usps sorting centers. While not as bad, we do regularly walk 15 miles/day, often work mandatory overtime, the turnover rate is incredible. Most of the jobs are working with machines and robots. We even have some of the automated vehicles that Amazon didn’t end up using.

[@blahara]

As a former Amazon employee the one thing I will say, do not EVER buy food from them if it is not specifically through Amazon Fresh. They have no issue storing your bag of Doritos next to a leaking bottle of insectide.

[@milthy3781]

My favorite flavor

[@dannytourigny9403]

Thanks for the heads up.

[@lukeleo9700]

Try going to work at a seafood wearhouse full of illegals ... The condition are horrible

[@milthy3781]

@@lukeleo9700 its not a competition

[@lukeleo9700]

@@milthy3781 it's not lol but you guys have it good compared to the third world country wearhouses ... You guys complaint about minor issues

[@Hymnalysis]

I'm a veteran of Amazon manual picking. This video is quite accurate.

[@KageKitsune64]

Thank you for your service. 🇺🇸

[@Fire-Manz]

My god, I'm a garbageman and I lift things by the TONS! You guys shouldn't be that tired and hurt without a union.

[@tinahesse186]

@@Fire-Manz Working at Amazon is very tiring. It's hard work.

[@dwaynejones1555]

Hymnalysis no wonder why Jeff is so rich.

[@Shackattack85]

Elitism = first world bitches complaining about first world work environments

[@BFancybones]

"Look, Amazon isn't the worst" That didn't age well lmao

[@nell1251]

@@aabc they also removed bonuses and stock options for their employees. Really a model company ;).

[@IceDragon289]

"It made me thank God that I went to college." I guarantee you, plenty of those warehouse workers have college degrees, and simply can't find work in their field.

[@evacornell1031]

I work in a warehouse (not amazon), that is true. Many others are immigrants who, in my country, at least cant get student loans making college completely out of the question

[@oreokitty333]

Yep, my partner has a master's in mechanical engineering from a "good school" and experience. Nobody's hiring for that in a pandemic. He's working a warehouse for the time being.

[@guillermocalle2184]

Preach. Same issue here. Had positions retract interviews because the pandemic forced them to close. So a customer Service job it was until things get better.

[@stoodmuffinpersonal3144]

it will be my fate, too. I'm sure of it. Nice knowing you.

[@NoOne-is2yr]

I guarantee you, plenty of people have dropped out of college because they couldn't keep up with their education while working at a place like Amazon that breaks their bodies on a daily basis.

[@Jayfeatherchan]

As a former Amazon employee I can confirm the accuracy of this. Although I do get a bit annoyed when the media praises Amazon for their $15 minimum wage without acknowledging the fact that Amazon used to give their employees stock in the company and had a monthly bonus program. Both of which were ended when the $15 minimum wage was announced. I remember the GM at my location struggling to explain why one had to replace the other and we couldn’t have both.

[@xXxCLEMSONxXx]

Lol dems don’t realize that money has to come from somewhere

[@DeosPraetorian]

@@xXxCLEMSONxXx k then

[@dnhook]

Then get off your lazy ass, go start a company and pay $20/hour. Hell, pay them $50/hour since you're so generous.

[@DeosPraetorian]

@@xXxCLEMSONxXx repubs dont realize that tax breaks for the rich dont work

[@bonelegged]

Avery Brock leave the conversation to the grownups :)

[@wadebrasher4832]

As a former Amazon Warehouse employee, this hits hard. I worked in the Outbound Shipping docks, basically loading the packages in the trucks for departure. First off, it was a $10/hr. wage for a 10 hour shift. At the beginning of the shift, we were assigned a section of the dock to "look over". Essentially that meant that we were in charge of a certain amount of doors being loaded. I don't think I ever once saw a step stool, even though they told us they were around. Granted, I'm 6'2" so I didn't need them but I was the outlier. Most of my coworkers were under 5'8", and were constantly condemned for not loading the packages in the trucks high enough. After Thanksgiving, we entered the "peak season", meaning it's a time of high demand and product output. This is the time when part-time and seasonal employees were brought in, and even that didn't seem to be enough. The way the trucks were loaded were via conveyor belts that would feed from the upstairs picking and packing area down into the trucks themselves, with us in the truck stacking packages tightly and neatly in the truck. What happens when a metric fuckton of packages came down at once? Well the conveyor would get backed up, and it would shut down the entire conveyor system upstairs, and a blue siren would flash on the conveyor belt, signaling that it was the belt that was backed up. Once that happened, all hell broke loose. Our supervisors would come over screaming and hollering that we were not loading the trucks fast enough, causing the belt to back up in the first place. How fast were we moving? As fast as we possibly could, of course. But it wasn't enough, and pretty much every belt would back up at least 10 times a shift, conservatively. Not only on top of that, I specifically was in charge of running up and down the docks helping fix the "blue light situation" as they called it. I was literally RUNNING up and down a football field length stretch of warehouse all day working my butt off trying to load up the trucks so they wouldn't shut down production. And what was my reward? Not getting reprimanded at the end of my shift. The worst part was after Christmas, when the peak season was over. They terminated all the seasonal and part time employees, some of which were promised full time employment after the season was over, along with some full time employees that were not productive enough for their standards. That left us survivors with only a bare-bones crew to handle a whole ship-dock, and that crew was about 10 people. TEN FOR ABOUT 20 DOORS OR SO! So naturally we were RUNNING around even more than we were during the peak season. All that coupled with the laughable vacation hours (we gained 15 MINUTES of vacation time every pay period) was enough for me to say adios to Amazon. #noregrets

[@sierrarobinson9893]

Wade Brasher So fucking spot on, I would have guessed we worked at the same warehouse. Something tells me we probably didn't, though. We've been hiring seasonals again for prime day (week) and more than half of every new group of people quit within a couple weeks. We really aren't gonna have enough people in time at this point, can't wait for the absolute shit show

[@GatlinShot]

holy shit 15 minutes you have got to be fucking kidding me. Somebody gotta stop Amazon from being this blatantly insane

[@rachelwillaman]

You really spent 20 minutes writing this lmao u have no life

[@gwall4603]

That’s a fucked up trip report.

[@Dylan-fd5fd]

@@rachelwillaman you must be a manager or lead at Amazon.

[@voiceofreason2674]

My friends dad who is in his 50s lost his IT job and went to work at a Amazon center and they’re always giving him negative reviews and threatening “performance improvement plans” when he physically can’t keep up because of his age. It’s hung a shadow over their family.

[@KashWill9]

I know an older woman who was fired for getting water outside of her break, she was a "scanner". Don't get me started with Amazon, I quit once they told us at a "ALL HANDS MEETING" that the company's Gatorade machine was being removed since it was no longer in our fulfillment's budget.... then immediately wanted us to celebrate Jeff Bozo buying the Washington Post. I walked straight out.

[@PamelaKopp]

Pity you didn't start a fire before leaving...

[@BognaZone]

@@PamelaKopp people would have died.

[@pleasuretokill]

At least they wouldn't have had to slave for Amazon anymore. Rather be dead!

[@pleasuretokill]

I just quit my slave job after doing that type of work for 25 years. Exaggerating? No. Being a slave is a terrible way to live and make no mistake companies like Amazon pay slave labor wages and work you to death. So, no. Not one ounce of exaggeration. I would rather be dead than go back to my slave labor job. I am now debt free and have my own small online business. I don't care if I'm broke, I will never go back to being someone elses slave. I would rather live under an underpass or eat a bullet.

[@KM-je6bf]

@@pleasuretokill you worked 25 years as a warehouse associate? It's no ones fault but your own that you arent intelligent enough to do anything other than "move box from point A to point B"

[@justinberry6411]

I work at ups and I want to personally thank you for shedding a light on the ridiculous standards and work practices at these warehouses. It’s absurd

[@marshallc6885]

Justin Berry please dont use your real name friend, just delete this comment

[@cjfromgtasanadreas]

@@marshallc6885 he works at ups, not amazon

[@danielcadwell9812]

I work for Lineage Logistics and it isn't too bad at all.

[@richardsanchez9190]

@@marshallc6885 why not?

[@marshallc6885]

Richard Sanchez getting fired, i would get fired if my past employers saw me doing this even if it was legal or not. And to fight it would cost more money than he prob has

[@burntpieceoftoast4148]

Lol, John pissed off Amazon so much they had to make a statement regarding this episode. Nice. 🤣🤣

[@alejandrogalvan7519]

burntpiece oftoast can you share a link please

[@Marethyu311]

NICE!!!!!!!

[@RedeyeRaccoon]

I went ahead and found the link for - burntpiece oftoast - it's from Variety Magazine's website... variety.com/2019/digital/news/amazon-john-oliver-hbo-segment-on-warehouse-conditions-1203257834/ I love how powerful Last Week Tonight is on their reportings. However there is two sides to every story. Amazon goes into detail how they're a huge fan of the show but they're little disappointed that LWT didn't reach out to them more before airing this segment. In my opinion, yes Amazon employees need to unionize.

[@666Tomato666]

@@RedeyeRaccoon "disappointed that LWT didn't reach out to them more before airing this segment" translation: this little ratface fucker didn't even allow us to send him a cease & desist letter!

[@borismuller86]

NOICE.

[@sorenelesher6856]

I'm 20, and I worked in an AMAZ(on)ing warehouse when I was 19. I'm a cellist now with a chronic shoulder/back injury from that work. I worked in the shipping warehouse (not picking items, just sorting boxes off conveyors and then loading them onto trucks). I have horror stories/many complaints. They had no AC except a portable floor fan. We were not easily able to call out sick (including during COVID19) and I almost got fired after missing 2 days of work home sick with a fever, I had to meet with HR when I got back and work while I was still recovering from illness. That warehouse hires people to wear them down and fire them/have them quit. Shifts were 10-12 hours and you got in trouble for moving too slowly. we had the occasional employee yell and then leave/quit during the shift. During the pandemic, we were not allowed to do team lifting (we still did anyways if no one could see), but that meant that one person could have to lift over 50 pounds on their own. I'm no body builder, but I am an active guy. I did sports in middle and high school and I enjoy being fit. I was a skinny but active 19 year old guy just trying to make enough to pay for university. Most of the other employees were also working there because of the pay or because they couldn't get another job....not very many body builders. When I worked there I worked 2am to 1pm and all I did at home was eat dinner and pass out until I had to get up for work again. It was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. I saw other people get injured as well. I strongly encourage people not to work there, but I understand those who do have to because I have been there. This video is quite accurate.

[@stevenliang3213]

And here I thought I was sad getting rejected by Amazon for a financial analyst position. Can never support a company that treats their workers like shit. I hardly use my amazon account either. I’m glad you’re much better and wishing you well for your physical and mental recovery

[@hyperbeast9678]

I’m 4 years in Amazon , they took away our bonuses , when they decided to raise the minimum wage, and no longer give people stocks for completeing 2 years. I aslo got a write up for being at 99.9 percent , they told , me I needed to be at 100%. And not to mention that the trailers in arizona warehouses get to 120+ degrees, and they have no ac just bounce house style air blowers, and favoritisms is a pain cause process assistants put easy jobs to the people they like, I think of quitting everyday but I got bills to pay I’m 22

[@FlyingDoctorC]

HYPER BEAST any chance downgrade your lifestyle get a lower paying job that gives you time to skilled up or plan for better paying job?

[@youngsnuggle9915]

So glad i have a better job than u & im 23

[@hyperbeast9678]

@@youngsnuggle9915 good for you man. People grow up with different opportunities, glad your doing better than me , means 1 less person struggling my dude

[@hyperbeast9678]

@@FlyingDoctorC right now I'm just trying to work as much as I can to support my family I dont want my brother to struggle like how we did in the past growing up I want him to focus on school so he can be better than me hopefully later on when he done I'll start my career

[@VaughnesN]

Heart definitely goes out to you.

[@shapular]

Worked in an Amazon warehouse two different times, can confirm everything he said.

[@austinmcclain3001]

I can second that. It was awful.

[@GreenElfMom]

I am SO sorry you went through that! :(

[@trajer1535]

If my out of shape, fat ass can happily work there for 5 years, it can't be that bad. I felt more exhausted after working doubles at Panera Bread.

[@Floydfan47]

@@trajer1535 You're obviously a robot.

[@cathycrago2722]

@@Floydfan47 or a liar

[@brendancolliander4438]

I worked for Amazon warehouse and we didn't walk we ran to get packages with a cart...

[@Rainaman-]

You guys should do long distance marathons and get the prize money!

[@brendancolliander4438]

@@Rainaman- I wish

[@newsnk3679]

Why don't the use scooters for the work?

[@themexis]

@@newsnk3679 or segues.

[@forthesakeofsanityandsuch9331]

Yup my friend did too, this is so true. They make you run or you get in trouble for not making time

[@RodneyG669]

As someone who's worked in warehousing for almost three decades Amazon is absolutely the worst place to work. Yeah they pay $15/hour now, but they also work people hard enough to cripple them permanently then they dump them. They don't care because as far as they're concerned there will always be more bodies to feed into the grinder.

[@CHamlin86]

Those two Walmart employees saved the company $30 million that year... and I guarantee you they didn't seem a dime of it.

[@vejymonsta3006]

That was just a PR stunt to get more investors. I don't know how it could've worked. Stools are not innovative... lmao! Walmart is retarded.

[@machinenkanone9358]

But its great drunk bar story

[@joeylopezdesign]

of course not. of course not, it's retail. as someone who had a 15 year career in retail, yes front line, yes management, yes corporate... i had NOTHING to show for it when circuit city, and then radio shack went out of business. so what did i do? i got my ass to college, as a fucking adult among a bunch of teenagers. it was worth every fucking penny. SKIP my mistakes kids - don't work retail.

[@MrSchism]

@@vejymonsta3006 it's easy. The stool is about 1/4 the size of the previous one, allowing more boxes per shipment. Higher stock density means increased profit.

[@alessandrogambino420]

NOW YOU UNDERSTAND BUSINESSES. GOOD FOR YOU.

[@ahmedshaharyarejaz9886]

Whenever a corporation makes a needlessly happy, corny and odd ad about employee work conditions just know that something shady is going on over there.

[@MrOzzification]

Its got that whole "patting ourselves on the back for basic human decency" thing going on. Celebrating something that should be a given anyway is always concerning

[@steviewonderisnotblind5833]

Dystopia, baby.

[@KeithOcean]

#UBER

[@thedatatreader]

Good ol' Joycamps

[@manuelriveros2911]

Fucking on point.

[@wint222]

The raise to $15 isn’t a raise. They took away stocks, changed the yearly raise structure, and took away VCP, which was a percentage given to employees every month for not using unpaid time. It cancels out really.

[@healthymealthy775]

Unfortunately, most people are unaware of that. But what you said is true.

[@JeffreyBoles]

Holy shit, didn't know that

[@ekdaufin1485]

John should have said that too. Wow.

[@flare78x31]

Walmart warehouses pay up to $25hr

[@cdomz3]

Nobody ever mentions this its Crazy.

[@bettyoffdead]

Watching this while working at my warehouse job. Fun fact! We don't get breaks here! My boss told me to find time to eat while working. Which works out fine for the people who are in the offices and do paperwork all day, but for someone like me at the bottom of the ladder it means shoveling food into my mouth in the few seconds I have between making bundles and stacking pallets. That is, if I even get to eat at all :)

[@traditionalnative]

Depending on if you live in America, that's super illegal. I know bosses obviously do that kinda shit constantly, but fr, if you wanted to email me about me making an anonymous tip to the labor department that "a friend doesn't get breaks" that's actually a big enough violation that an anonymous tipster with no dog in the fight might at least draw an eye to this? I know it's a long shot. I'm sorry you're going through this, fr. Solidarity from the Lakȟóta Nation ✊🏽

[@verde7595]

@@traditionalnative Unfortunately if you don't have video evidence of this happening there's not much you can do. The company will get bigger and better lawyers than you can dream of having and even if the case gets thrown out you'll be ruined with court fees. It's happened to me with a corporation and again with a landlord. And even if you did have video evidence, it's often illegal to film without consent on private property like that so you'll be punished anyway.

[@AssBlasster]

JFC I always got a 30 minute lunch with some compensation or free lunch when working at restaurants in Florida. Now I'm in Cali and they FORCE every worker to take a 30 minute unpaid lunch after 5 hrs of work.

[@Marsbert]

Hot damn, I worked for Amazon for 6 years as a picker and watching this brought back nightmares

[@TJMizu]

Marsbert holy shit!! How did you last that long? Hopefully you’re in a much better place now.

[@nicoleauroux]

@@TJMizu LOL, like heaven? Yeah, death sounds better.

[@Omnorimli]

how accurate was this?

[@davearreola2016]

Heaven awaits you you've served your time hell..

[@sergeantsmiley6897]

@@Omnorimli I worked at amazon too and can say its very accurate

[@NewMessage]

This upload was obviously not delivered by Amazon Prime.

[@lynnisawitch]

😂😂😂 someone took an unauthorized pee break

[@life9000]

also not hulu!

[@ambermilligan6336]

No shit Sherlock.

[@CBielski87]

yeah seent the full episode uploaded like 8 hours ago already

[@rsand2009]

Hah.

[@JustMe-vk4fn]

The Amazon driver who broke down on my front porch, crying, last year was all the proof I needed to see how "great" Amazon is for workers in the United States. She had made 140 deliveries before she reached my house. As she walked across the porch around 4:00 pm , I saw tears streaming down her face. I asked if she'd take a seat on the porch with me for a minute or two to collect herself before going on her way and she did. This is what I learned about one Amazon employee's life: She makes $15.00 per hour. She loads her delivery van herself in the morning. Lunch is eating a sandwich at the wheel. After the 140th delivery she made to me, she had eighty two more to go before she would be "allowed" to turn in the delivery van and go home. No breaks. No overtime pay. After she left, out of curiosity, I looked up the normal daily package delivery rate for UPS drivers and the number was: 82. Per Day. How much do UPS drivers make? There's a link below. Compare for yourself. I'll go get that toilet paper on my own from now on. www.truckdriverssalary.com/ups-driver-salary/

[@faber3969]

congrats now she lost her job

[@ZeStreD]

@@faber3969 She's probably better off without it to be honest.

[@faber3969]

@@ZeStreD I wonder if she'll feel the same when she's out on the streets

[@faber3969]

@kkaradin That's not what I meant. She said "I'll go get that toilet paper on my own from now on" when all that would really do is jeopardize the deliver person's employment.

[@TMears87]

82 stops per day??? lol not even close. I average 200 stops a day and pay rate is about $37 per hour.

[@michealhuff2299]

“I’m glad I went to college.” 🤣🤣🤣😂😅know someone who just got their second masters degree and even more recently accepted a position in an Amazon warehouse for $18.50 an hour. She’s moving to nowhere in the midwest to do it.

[@Studentspeaksout]

Tell your second masters friend that Florida needs teachers…

[@penname8441]

+

[@michaelstevens230]

2 masters and they work in a warehouse. That's on them. They had money to waste on two big ass degrees they should have learned about the work force they were studying for

[@ryanarchuleta6231]

@@michaelstevens230 Yeah man, but the thing is people who work at Walmart and shit like that are told "Well it's your fault for not going to college." It's like people are damned if they do and damned if they don't. You can't always predict the job market. Look at the trades. When 2008 happened tons of tradesmen were out of work because there was like zero new construction.

[@michaelstevens230]

@ryanarchuleta6231 it's really not. Do you know what amount of time and thought goes into getting not one but two masters. And you aren't even a supervisor at that warehouse? Someone is either lying to make the point look better or I'm sorry someone made a choice and it was a poor one.

[@CBuehler82]

As someone who has worked in the logistics industry for 15+ years, I am thankful for this story finally coming to light. So happy I left the industry.

[@HeSheXie]

I live near an Amazon warehouse. Apparently the rule of thumb for hiring is anyone with a pulse, working them to death for three months until they quit, and find more bodies. I absolutely hate them.

[@ia6619]

Same goes for FedEx

[@raynekitten]

They hold huge hiring events near my house and then call back people as they go through the list. So you may interview in February but not get called until July. But when you are at the event doing the drug test and filling out all the info it makes you think you are days away from a job.

[@meevluv]

@@raynekitten Drug testing? wouldn't one have to be on drugs to do this job?

[@raynekitten]

@@meevluv basically. They drug test you and then hire you months later. So I assume a lot of people are.

[@zookr]

@@foobarmaximus3506 *Ibuprofen, all you want . . .

[@Wolvilax]

"I am glad I went to college" does he know how many people whit college degree working in this type of places?

[@floridamann1109]

This. Had a roommate that had a masters in marketing and he couldn't get a job paying above 13 an hour, and that was after working for a company for 3 years

[@Rox123ify]

I know at least I do so that's one

[@EmilioFigueroa]

Several personally.

[@senortaco3563]

Facts.

[@ConstantChaos1]

After all the exercises and shit they do they should look at working as an EMT. It's a bit harder and a bit more dangerous but its 100000% worth it and it only takes a semester to get certified lmao

[@misspinkelf]

Anyone notice the black guy wasn’t fazed by bear mace, implying he’s been maxed enough to build an immunity?

[@jenniferpatterson4964]

Um, that’s Tarik from The Amber Ruffin Show (an actor and comedian) and there was no real bear repellent used. That last clip was satirical, so none of that was real, only a commentary on reality.

[@misspinkelf]

Yeah. I’m aware it’s satire.

[@altamashmomin4030]

ahhh yes, now i can start my morning.

[@RayasNegroOvejas]

Altamash Momin I got recommended the whole episode that someone had uploaded when I went to youtube four hours ago ;)

[@robinsonjr.b.4197]

It's evening here

[@MrJimheeren]

Altamash Momin 8 hours late

[@Dave102693]

@@MrJimheeren facts

[@josephedwardsarena9487]

It's 5 in the afternoon here lol

[@drewforchic9083]

16:17 "We're not anti-union, we're just [lists reasons why we're anti-union]"

[@noahplack9490]

Drew Forchic It’s such a crock of shit and I cant listen to this sterile, corporate defense of their own debauchery. Everyone who made that video should be poisoned

[@ChristopherTurcotte]

"We're not anti union, but..." "I'm not a racist, but..." "I'm not homophobic, but..." Generally speaking, if you have to precede what you are going to say with a qualifier, you are keenly aware that what comes next is, in fact, what you are saying it is not

[@katrinal353]

They're not even hiding it. The fact that they have to unironically argue against Unions, should illustrate the absurdity of late-stage capitalism.

[@Trezker]

We're not anti union, now we're gonna list all the people we care about. Please disregard that employees is not in that list.

[@craffaele]

We're not anti union, we're just not pro union nor neutral... you do the math! 😂😂

[@Alnd7914]

My husband worked at XPO until very recently. With the 'mandatory overtime' he was working 10-14 hours a day (starting at 2AM) and was totally exhausted. One of the guys he worked with got hit by a forklift & was hospitalized. The other guy, the one who hit him, was supposed to take safety & training classes, but since they were shorthanded, he was back on a forklift the next day.

[@TheNinthGeneration1]

Isn’t mandatory overtime an illegal practice? In Canada all overtime is optional regardless of the job you work

[@ngrader]

@@TheNinthGeneration1 It's never 'mandatory', just 'highly recommended' ;) Meaning, if you say 'No' you'll probably be fired for some 'unrelated cause' after they no longer need all hands on deck.

[@TheNinthGeneration1]

@@ngrader I work in a warehouse and I always refuse overtime, as have people who have worked here for years, overtime is never mandatory because if that because mandatory, they would get sued for violating labour laws

[@hughjazzole2037]

Call OSHA to report 800-321-OSHA (6742) ]

[@NachoCheeseDorito-Kun]

@@TheNinthGeneration1 Here in the US, you're either forced to work overtime, or aren't _allowed_ to get overtime or you'll get in trouble. At my fast food job, normal workers are heavily monitored so they don't get more hours than scheduled hours or overtime, meanwhile managers have to work overtime usually. The main store manager(chill af by the way) puts in 50-60 hours a week and not only doesn't get overtime for some of those hours, but doesn't get paid _at all_ for them.

[@katystorandt2945]

"...they told me to definitely not say that so I'm not going to..." genius!

[@benallmon5613]

I've been at a Walmart fulfillment center for almost 3 years now. All of this is 100% true. They fire people at an alarming rate. If you aren't up to speed for a few days in a row, you are gone. Then they force overtime during non busy weeks because they don't have enough staff. We walk about 20 miles a day. While it isn't AS bad as Amazon, it still is pretty bad. Unfortunately, it is the highest paid job around so I don't have much options. We didn't have AC in our warehouse until a few months ago. It was installed right before winter and wearing a mask in 90 degree temps and walking 20+ miles a day is exhausting. It is brutal work.

[@imanoldurango8213]

I work at a cold storage fulfillment center that is sub contracted by king soopers and it is BACK BREAKING work. They also have a production quota but I genuinely don’t care because as long as I show up everyday on time they can’t fire me (Union). They pay $20 an hour and over time is mandatory but it’s double time. Easily best paying job I’ve ever had but it is literally draining my life force. It sounds like all warehouses are the same in terms of working their employees like slaves

[@ahadumer418]

Hey bro I have a question like can you use your own electrical scooter or Segway so you don’t have to walk that much and match their quota

[@penname8441]

+

[@magnusgranskau7487]

good god im glad i was born in norway

[@placeholderdoe]

Hope it gets better, it shouldn’t be allowed to be like that

[@gonzalocs6757]

I have seen someone start to work at a warehouse for Amazon, and shrivel up into a husk of a person while doing so. We lived together and by the end, I prepared their meals and acted as an alarm clock because their exhaustion was so great that all they could do with every minute of non-work time was sleep. Including travels to and from work. I was genuinel scared for them. I have never in my life seen anybody look so completely.... empty. Drained.

[@lordhigglebottum8377]

@Samara V Hamilton No one should have to work to that capacity, no matter the position.

[@TheFairKnight]

Then tell them to quit, plenty of immigrants willing to take that job

[@JutoCrocell]

Best solution would be to increase hourly pay to $30/hr. with 6 hr shifts.

[@gonzalocs6757]

@Ancap2112 "Give the shit jobs to immigrants" is not a solution, just makes you sound like a dick. Regardless who gets it, such disgusting work conditions should not happening, full stop.

[@gonzalocs6757]

@Samara V Hamilton there is a problem with understaffing, since they drive fewer people like slavers to meet demands higher than they should have to manage, but there is a more fundamental issue with the way work is structured. As they said, they have to cross the entire warehouse continously at absurd speeds. I'm 100% convinced different ways could be done to achieve the same results, but theh require more resources. This is the bare minimum that works, and it works on the broken bodies of their workers.

[@davidfortney2852]

Little trouble with lawyers and Amazon representatives? Thanks for the upload.

[@RaulDukeKnife]

David Fortney naa it's the opposite. Just simple word play to prevent a chance at defamation if they wanted to. A few disclosures is all you need.

[@jasonflay8818]

Unless the plaintiff is Bob "Eat Shit Bob" Murray, then they obviously don't understand the difference. Then lose terribly.

[@davidfortney2852]

@@RaulDukeKnife It was a reference to the video being uploaded late to KZbin and still not being available on HBO Now or Go.

[@davidfortney2852]

Just some food for thought. HBO Now is hosted on Amazon Web Services lol nslookup hbonow.com Name: hbonow.com Addresses:52.24.41.24 52.4.94.166 52.87.8.153 52.205.19.251 54.200.108.238 35.167.130.181 nslookup 52.24.41.24 Name: ec2-52-24-41-24.us-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com

[@TheSkubna]

I worked for whole foods (amazon), it was a refrigerated building and i worked too hard, and injured my neck/shoulder. By the time Sedgwick got me my paperwork, it was "too late" and then i just lost my job. I was called in, which was an hour and a half drive one way with extreme pain holding using my hands, to show up and be informed i was fired.

[@tannerdenny5430]

I absolutely LOVE how John uses legalese to his advantage.

[@SaxPanther]

he does have script writers, you know

[@moarsaur]

@@SaxPanther Yes, we know. Your point? He's a comedy writer himself. Now he leads of a team of comedy writers. It's as straightforward a promotion as you'll find in any industry. Did you think you were saying something?

[@omegazync1287]

@@moarsaur Yeah that most team leader's jobs involves a lot of watching and then claiming all the glory.

[@hiltonhead5914]

OmegaZync12 i think janice from accounting would've said something by now if there was an issue. Ya know she don't give fuck.

[@JeremyChristofer]

moarsaur I agree with your statement, but I also understand where dude was coming from. There are a ton of people out there that don’t realize TDS with John Stewart, Colbert Report, and most recently Last Week Tonight are written with a room full of writers. A good analogy is to compare those shows with something like Weekend Update on SNL. Everyone watching is very aware that the actors/actresses are reading lines somebody else wrote even without the scene breaking laughter. These news type shows with a single host seem to have people thinking they are the main source of writing for the show. On a different but similar note, there has always been this idea spread around that South Park is written solely by Matt and Trey, and many are surprised to find out they hire staff writers just like everyone else. Sure, they may have a more hands on approach compared to other shows in the same genre, but even they hire writers. tldr: Fuck this was long.

[@XCHDragox115]

I’d say, screw Area 51. Let’s raid an Amazon warehouse. At least we could give those workers a well deserved break with this distraction.

[@shadowslayer205]

You'd all die of heatstroke, bear mace poisoning and cholera the moment you walk in the front door, and the workers would be ordered to continue working over your dead bodies.

[@We_Want_It_All]

@@shadowslayer205 😅😅😅

[@aperturemichelle]

look in to Cabin Creek and Paint Creek strike of 1912-1913,thanks to the nra i'm sure there employes can find everything on the shelves to use or is stealing from the employer too much?

[@Jsilverhand77]

Nice try,FBI

[@seanl764]

You do know amazon pays more than any other employer for equally entry level low skill manual labor jobs right? The other highest paying company is Costco at $13 minimum an hour, and amazon already pays $15 minimum. They are also the only company that pays bonuses in stock options to entry level warehouse employees. Amazon pays their employees more so that they have an excuse to work them hard, they have no shortage of people trying to be hired due to having the highest wages around. You libtard commies need to do more research before believing anything you hear from the fake news crybabies. There is a reason amazon has no shortage of workers you know... Because they pay the highest wages around...

[@valhoundmom]

I do not need people to die of exhaustion on the job in order to get my stuff, I can wait. I'm an adult.

[@valhoundmom]

@dog lover I also have dogs. They don't mind waiting either. They are also adults.

[@ryans450]

I was thinking, if there was a box I could click that said, "I don't need my shipment right away", would I click it? It would be a bad PR move for Amazon but I think it would be okay.

[@buttonpusher3786]

Why isn't my stuff here yet? Who needs to die?

[@potaterjim]

I live in Canada, stuff takes weeks to get here anyway. A couple days to make sure the people involved don’t shit themselves is fine by me

[@nickjordan4183]

@@ryans450 This button already exists. You can waive prime shipping and usually get a $1 credit for e-books.

[@danlaleman5733]

In pontoon beach, Illinois, in the metro east area outside of St. Louis, where I used to live, there was an Amazon warehouse that was struck by a tornado, with reports of workers being told to keep working even though there was a tornado warning in the area

[@richstoehr3247]

"Amazon - Try Not to Think About It" should be the new Prime Day tagline.

[@Tenchigumi]

I think "BEAR SPRAYYY!" could be a close second.

[@matthewnelson325]

@ 11:35 In the video ... Maybe we could all take a lesson from the Mayfly ! ha ha ; )

[@noone8477]

Have a reply :)

[@OMGYEveryNameIsUsed]

"You load sixteen tons, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt"

[@bengal4047]

"Saint Peter don't you call me, cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store"

[@hopethisnamesnottaken]

Thanks! Just when this song had finally stopped jingling in my head!

[@Orangeflava]

Classic tune

[@ohmyblindman]

proof that nothing has really changed.

[@GinEric84]

@@ohmyblindman you need to crack open some books to understand what that song is actually about. Once you get it you won't say anything this silly again. At least not on this topic

[@PickledShark]

Apparently Amazon responded to this video, calling it “Insulting” No shit, Sherlock! That was the point

[@dknight248]

When someone shits on your porch, they *deserve* to be insulted. So yes, I'm glad Amazon found it insulting. They deserve to be insulted. Sometimes insults are justified.

[@raava5648]

I will say this though, and I swear to god I'm not a paid shill or whatever. I actually work for a new fullfilment center that opened up in 2016 and it's really not that bad. 30 minute lunch sucks and some pple can be retarded like any other job but it's not slave labor like John is trying to make it seem.

[@NGEvangeliman]

Its only insulting if it aint true.

[@patricklaowoo]

Amazon said they invited John Oliver to one of their Warehouse, and he refused to go. Oliver should've have went to experience all the actors Jeff hired to talk how much they love working for Amazon.

[@raava5648]

@@squigglenutsfosheegie1994 I sound like a PA saying that 30 minute lunch sucks? Did you read my comment? I'm not a PA or an ambassador but I am full-time blue badge. Like I said it's not the greatest job on earth but watching this video you'd think that people are monitored every second and if they slow down for a second they'll immediately get fired. I'm speaking from experience when I say that it's not like that. They will literally hire anyone, which means there's a bunch of old people with physical problems, people who are just generally slow and they haven't been fired. You can take your time, our facility actually doesn't have the timer counting you down so idk maybe those places are worse.

[@jackadams3878]

"i really think a union would - " *BEAR SPRAY* "OH JESUS CHRIST!" XD

[@UncleLance67]

I worked 15 years in two warehouses for Office Depot. The emphasis on speed in insane. If you pick below a certain number of items an hour, you could be fired. And at the same time they're stressing to "clean as you go", meaning to bring items to the front of the location, and remove any empty boxes, in order to make things move faster for the next person picking from that location. And management HATES TO HEAR that cleaning takes time. Oh, and they are also VERY much against Unionizing.

[@Shackattack85]

Lance P. Complaining bitches are a very big problem in our society today. People who go from air conditioned homes to cars to work. And people still complain. You do know there are societies that have no running water right?

[@capnqueer2286]

@@Shackattack85 Just because there are problems elsewhere does not mean that there aren't also problems here that can and should be addressed.

[@TemplePate01]

I could only last two years at office Depot!

[@jasonmeadows8510]

@@Shackattack85 We are not one of those other societies. And I'm not interested in becoming one of those other societies. There are other societies that still have slaves and that's what many corporations would like workers to become.

[@Nobody-vr5nl]

@@Shackattack85 this dude really complaining about breaking down boxes? It takes like 6 seconds a box unless it's stapled.

[@MzNekoChan]

Smh, this is too real. I'm literally watching this as I crash from my 10hr shift.

[@jlotus100]

Start a union. Management will intimidate the shit out of you. So it anyway.

[@Killerk328]

@@jlotus100 you heard him get to it, MzNekoChan

[@ikillbumsoften]

I ship medical, 7th hour lunch rn and got 4 more to go

[@soap6939]

@@jlotus100 lol, there's a reason Amazon rents all their warehouses instead of buying them. If an union even starts to take off you can bet your ass that whole warehouse will disappear overnight.

[@GreenOnionBrother]

@@soap6939 And so will the workers. Which is why in my country unions exist by default.

[@alexandertownsend3291]

"That just sounds like slavery with extra steps." - Morty Smith

[@corbeau-_-]

our functioning economy basically is just that. We're all running around powering the battery of upper society... They don't have to lift a finger - exempified by college guy in the beginning. I've worked for a German distributor (3 letters) - it is a hard job and it doesn't pay well. But, you don't need any education and the job itself is quite steady... You can make many hours. I've also seen the 50-60 year olds working there. It's basically not a job for them... You need to be very fit. The job demands constant lifting and walking, the contract is pretty clear about that, it is the nature of the job... It is what it is, I suppose we should be happy there are still jobs... Like with the battery, we better keep serving a purpose... Robots and automisation will make us, the ones who power the battery, obsolete. I'd rather have slavery with some steps, than no future at all. Like the battery universe... Quite a fitting metaphor of how we're basically screwed. Our world is maintained and guarded by the upper layers of society. Yin and yang... 'Peace among worlds' as we flip the finger to one another.

[@alynames7171]

Except that in the real world, the elites can't just toss the battery and install a new one like Rick, so we have actual leverage. And of course, that's completely sidestepping the complex moral argument of, umm, slavery is bad. To quote Charlie Chaplin in a nearly hundred-year-old movie: "Greed has poisoned men's souls... We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without them life will be violent, and all will be lost."

[@cykasoviet4604]

@@alynames7171 wow didn't know charlie said that, thats an awesome quote/speech.

[@devforfun5618]

@@cykasoviet4604 also his first quote in a movie, as he only speaks fake german through out the movie until the end and in a previous movie he only sang in gibberish

[@patrickiamonfire965]

@@corbeau-_- machinery hasn’t made us obsolete. It did produce more jobs. It’s just that the loud minority (elites) can shift it easily. Turns out the more you have the more leverage you display. Humans always has the ability to adapt to new conditions. It’s just that it requires creativity and problem solving skills which lots of schools don’t focus on. While gaining knowledge is useful but knowing how to apply them is far important. They are people who just doesn’t want things to change and might convince others to follow it. It’s like this you have high amount of power and money and than you see someone made something that changes the norm. People will do anything to hold the power. Whether through adapting or not. Greed makes people blind. Machines are not in fault it’s just we haven’t did anything to prepare. They’re people who have constantly gave solutions after solutions but we focus on the small radical ones so we could make fun of them. We could tackle this from both sides but requires us to get up from the cushy life the elites leads us to believe. Like was it ever normal or were we just got use to it. Like having nuclear bombs to these types of jobs.

[@shannoncook1108]

thank you i love your subject matter and you steadfast ability to keep us in touch with our sanity. so appreciated.

[@suzannechazin7393]

You know what would be a good video? Jeff Bezos doing a whole day of work in one of his warehouses--without a bathroom break.

[@sharongillesp]

Nah...give 'em at least five minutes if he's on the opposite end of the warehouse.

[@GoDrex]

Nonsense

[@Zeuts85]

Needs to be more than a day. Let's make him work there for at least a month so he can start to feel the effects of exhaustion build up. Then let's have him keep working, and working... and we'll keep filming it. It'll be like earthcam livestream, but instead of showing the New York skyline it'll just be Bezos working, and then some guys whipping his body when he collapses from exhaustion. I could watch that all day every day. With popcorn.

[@seblastoise9332]

Make it a month, specifically December and you got a great reality show.

[@dewaynethomas3122]

The first person to quit Undercover Boss.

[@Cruzer91]

As a former warehouse worker I can confirm all of this is true at a lot of places. Warehouses are basically the new American sweatshops and it's only getting worse :[ Edit: I myself and most of my friends working there also suffered injuries due to the high workload and constant pressure to meet quotas.

[@Makyura43]

@Evan Slager How do they find people to work anyway ? Who would work in such a place longer than a month ?

[@Ivan_Cornelius]

Former Petsmart Warehouse Worker with two permanent injuries; I couldn't have put it any better myself.

[@16driver16]

@@Makyura43 i had a kid to feed, thats why i stayed.

[@thothheartmaat2833]

They overwork you till you slowly start deteriorating physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually..

[@16driver16]

Absolutely, Kroger warehouse had me work 72-84hrs in a week. I had to buy an automatic car because i would cry from the pain of putting the clutch in after working 12-17hrs at once

[@elizabethhill816]

Having literally broken my back at Amazon, I'll have to agree with his commentary.

[@MC-xx4fd]

I'm so sorry about your injury and I genuinely hope you're on the way to healing.

[@rippspeck]

I bet at the same time you broke your back hauling some pointless luxury item in Amazon's Rube Goldberg machine of human suffering, Bezos was receiving a massage inside his phallic rocket ship, pondering if he chose the right massage oil. Sorry for sounding like a cynical asshole here, but unchecked capitalism is just too much fun.

[@larrywest4130]

i made comment that they should give them electric scooters or carts like at the grocery store and think it might also increase the amount of things they are able to load in day. what do you think having worked there?

[@plm569]

Fake account

[@NachoCheeseDorito-Kun]

@@plm569 Okay, weird baseless claim but go off I guess

[@kcskoolz8312]

I worked at a CFC (customer fulfillment center) aka Giant Warehouse called MSC Industrial Supply for 5 years. Watching this...its pretty spot on. They time your every move. I walked about 13-15 miles a day.

[@Engineer_Who]

I was an Amazon Picker, pulling items off shelves and sticking them in a cart. It was very common for the handheld scanner to tell me to pick an item on row 298, then an item on row 4, followed by another item on row 298 in the slot right next to the first item. It sank my rate like a stone, and supervisors couldn’t care less. Sure, they said that the IT people would look into rearranging pick orders to group adjacent items, but nothing ever changed. If you’re looking for work, don’t be suckered in by Amazon’s $15/hour pay. It’s not worth it. Also, I have a college degree. Screw Mr. Plaid Lilac.

[@jesseoakrise]

Why don't they have dedicated people working each row?

[@Tustin2121]

Amazon shouldn’t be allowed to consider itself a technology company if they can’t even pretend to solve a traveling salesman problem, one of the most basic problems in computer science. My freaking introductory course to computer programming had us solve that problem, and my freshman year homework assignment is somehow more efficient at working out the shortest route between several points then one of the biggest tech company’s algorithm on a warehouse floor?! Like even putting aside the fact that it’ll make the warehouse workers jobs easier, wouldn’t they want that from a logistical standpoint anyway?? Sort stuff so that their employees aren’t wasting time running back and forth across the warehouse floor?? Meanwhile, what are their tech employees actually working on? Another iteration of their in-home listening devices?? What the actual fuck?!

[@krisithemperor2410]

too late lulz, however in my case i switched to amazon from a worse company than them. Im doing picking which based on what you said they either changed it by a whole lot or maybe thats how its done in one their older smaller warehouse perhaps? but i usually stand in one spot and the robots will bring me items to pick to put into totes which you would think it would be easy except they want you to grab the item within a second if you don't your rate starts to drop fast, usually im able to do it but when theres a delay with the robots either they get stuck somewhere or theres an item that fell on the ground that gets in their way, the timer doesn't stop and your rate plummets and apparently according to my manager "i have to work around it" what absolute bullsh*t that the only thing that pisses me off when your being blamed for something you can't do anything about.

[@simpaticode]

@@Tustin2121 Um, well there is no good non exponential solution to the traveling salesman problem. It's a classic NP hard problem. You can brute force for small problems (like the one in your class) but large ones can't be solved in general even by modern computers.

[@Tustin2121]

Josh Rehman - Given the sheer amount of computing resources Amazon has (you know, they sell most of it), I’m sure they could give the problem a try. I imagine they can already cut the scope of the problem down to “number of items that can be put in a worker’s basket” and use one of those non-optimal algorithms from there if need be. It sounds like they’re not even trying right now, or whatever algorithm they might be running right now is probably run in some back room computer of the warehouse. They could devote a lot more time to the problem instead of shit like another feature for Alexa. Maybe they could come up with a machine learning algorithm for it! Google loves those! Maybe they can contribute too! Tech companies love coming up with weird solutions for these unsolvable problems, so why isn’t Amazon?

[@TheNightquaker]

"I am glad I went to college", he said, as massive numbers of people work at Amazon to pay off their student loans.

[@solidandsoiled]

He probably meant I am glad I was born in a rich family with the financial backing and network to ensure that I am breed into high society and be paid many more times than I am actually worth because of my rich upbringing

[@Monochromicornicopia]

Most people who claim its too hard to find a job in their field of study are just too lazy to look outside of their homestate. You have to be willing to move out of state

[@TheNightquaker]

@@Monochromicornicopia First of all, for the Brotherhood of Nod! Second of all, is moving out of state really that necessary? Maybe there are specific states that are particularly... troubled when it comes to finding certain jobs?

[@thepaperwar00]

The cost of moving to a new state while paying off a mountain of student debt and living paycheck to paycheck would certainly make that difficult. Even if the job pays well, moving to a new location can sometimes be impossible, unless the new job pays for the cost of moving. Also, low-wage jobs are usually the most tiring. When you’re tired and poor and stressed from being tired and poor, moving out of state is usually not even a passing thought. People get stuck doing jobs they hate, because they have no energy left to get unstuck.

[@simplyincorrigible7708]

Loans or not, you need that degree. You're fucked if you don't have it.

[@AaronLaZox]

As a former amazon "associate" that sorted boxes on thanksgiving i can confirm this is definitely how it is...

[@arturodelarosa4394]

Seems fair to me. Although Robots wouldn't care if is freaking hanuka. Just saying. (support automation!)

[@kingzach74]

No, it's so much worse than this. They didn't describe well enough.

[@avigutierrez8948]

Wow 😲. You guys work overtime on holidays holy crap how does one not go insane😔 tragedy there.

[@krisithemperor2410]

@@avigutierrez8948 not on the day but around it, it gets hectic they start adding days and making them longer like im working 4 days 10 hour shift they would add either 1 or 2 more days while increasing the shift from 10 hours to 12 differs for different positions.

[@janethockey9070]

DJ A.aron Go you!

[@Prizzlesticks]

I was here like, "Wow, this episode released early tonight," then got all the way to the end feeling severe deja vu, only to realise... Ooooh. I watched this two and a half years ago, and it remains entirely relevant.

[@virginiacarlson9353]

Jerk in the pastel: you can have a Ph.D. or a Masters degree, and still end up working in an Amazon Warehouse.

[@GreenElfMom]

No kidding about that! I have a bachelor's degree in literature and a master's degree in English, and would you like fries with that?

[@admontblanc]

@@GigglingPickle at some point in the future even your more useful degrees will amount to the same nostalgic value. Pray it doesn't affect you while you need to work for a living.

[@jameswhite3415]

Ignaty Pelkonen It's funny you bring that up. My uncle has worked at McDonald's since 16, and my dad is an ivy league MD. My uncle now is worth/makes more than my dad every year and owns many McDonalds. Sometiems it works out well

[@admontblanc]

@Erik Schmunzeler btw, Jared Kushner has a degree in liberal arts, of all the people lol. Degrees are not the most determining factor in what jobs you will be able to do or the success you will achieve.

[@johnathancash1250]

Well, people should do their research before majoring in stupid fucking degrees. I appreciate those of you who major in things like liberal arts and gender studies by the way. Your stupidity allows people like me who make correct decisions to get a higher salary because there are less people competing for the good jobs. Keep on plebbin losers.

[@Cuteness_overload-g3g]

Being "not the worst" slave owners is like being "not the worst" serial killer

[@ElderStatesman]

What's worse, John Oliver neglected to mention that Amazon's bragging about $15/hr is more awful than it sounds. A report from 2017 found that Amazon's $15/hr wage is 15% lower than the prevailing wage for other local warehouse companies. As a result of Amazon undercutting their wages, other warehouse companies have to lower their wages to compete.

[@Cuteness_overload-g3g]

@@ElderStatesman Yeah the power of slavery allows companies to produce goods and insanely low rates and conquer their competition. Just like the Nazis in WW2 and their insane rates of production relative to scale.

[@Cuteness_overload-g3g]

Fanboy away but it'll just hurt you in the long run

[@HowToChangeName]

@@ElderStatesman say that again after that awful warehouse worker who got covid please

[@blessedowo1958]

Doesn't matter had sex

[@edyoneder]

I work for Amazon I've destroyed two tendons so far in 4 years. It's hard

[@somethingclever4563]

Damn man. Fuck them

[@luischeco3009]

I work at FedEx, and we don't get breaks.

[@matthewmcallister9354]

Is this for real? If so that's sick dude

[@janethockey9070]

Eduardo Ponce Was horrible

[@janethockey9070]

Eduardo Ponce Get in on a lawsuit

[@towermoss]

I had a college degree and worked at Amazon because I couldn't find a job in my field. I went back to school, and after 1.5 years, my body was destroyed. I had to work with one arm and they didn't care. Then I caught them coming behind me and sabotaging my work so they could put points against me because they needed a reason to fire me. Then my mom died from ALS and I had to fight with them to get some time off. Afterward HR told me I had to pick between school and my job. I made my decision. Bonus fact: Amazon officially refers to warehouses without robots as "legacy warehouses".

[@P_Yeve]

I've worked at different warehouses, and I currently work at one for a big name store. This is all true. They don't care about us, we are just numbers to them. We don't even get $15 as our base pay. We need unions

[@zdcyclops1lickley190]

Everybody that had good paying jobs had unions. Then China, Mexico, India, and other countries increased their industrial base, and companies started moving to these countries. Many said it was because unions in the U.S. priced our labor to high. This is only one factor, mandated health care, paid vacations, retirement accounts, corporate taxes, and other factors all played a part. The way to fix it is to put tariffs in place, on goods produced by labor in countries that do not provide these same benefits for their laborers. The cost of goods will rise, the sales of imports will rise. At some point it will become cheaper to pay a decent wage/benefits package than to import. Everything will cost more, but WE WILL HAVE JOBS!!. Some of the idiots running for office say that we should have a UBI, Universal Basic Income. Pay people so they can buy stuff, and keep the economy going. Lets just tax everybody so everyone has the same amount left after taxes. We could pay off the National Debt, and split the rest of the money equally.

[@hoochfroosch6281]

it's a business with high turnover. Nobody in the right mind want to work like that for long. It;s not even on SLAVE level, but ROBOT level where you don't eat, drink, pee and sleep

[@jobokidd]

Wal-Mart Stores’ chief executive officer received a 13% increase in total compensation to $22.4 million in the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday We need Yang #yang2020

[@tristanmoller9498]

You’re going to need the warehouses in the US. A warehouse in China is no good, if the package needs to arrive in New York. They’re not going away. The jobs will go away anyways though, due to robots.

[@LilChuunosuke]

Same here. I'm just a number in a system. Units per hour, order efficiency. I worked at this warehouse for probably like 8 months before management starting calling me by my name instead of "you there"

[@capitanhilde3655]

I work for a fantastic company that starts their workers at $16/hr with great benefits and they don't make Amazon money, no one can tell me Amazon can't do better, they can totally do better they just won't.

[@faber3969]

What is "Amazon money"? They run their entire e-commerce business at a loss.

[@capitanhilde3655]

@@faber3969 and somehow Jeff Bezzos has Spaceship money.

[@Waitwhat469]

@@faber3969 Being able to run the largest commerce site in the world at a loss money.

[@YomYestreen]

@@faber3969 Found the person who doesn't know what accounting is.

[@hizzlemobizzle]

@@faber3969 actually on this faber is right. Amazon receives federal subsidies they also pay less than anyone else for shipping. Many items are sold at loss in order to force out competition.

[@RiceShouldBeFluffy]

I just left Amazon a few weeks ago. I love this video and it is both 100% fact and not at the same time. The way that Amazon has set things up so that these are the things that workers have to go through whilst also being able to deny that they require them is ingeniously clever and evil. I'll break this down. If you tell an Amazon shift lead about the bear spray story, they'll probably tell you, "that is because the employee who stowed it into it's bin didn't stow it properly, it fell from the pod carrying the bin containing it, and then another pod ran it over." Why did the employee in question make that mistake? That's where Amazon will probably deny any liability and leave it at, "that employ sucks. Fire him/her." SOUNDS reasonable doesn't it? Now HERE is where they lie whilst technically not lying by simply ommiting crucial details about that employee's job and the jobs of their co-workers. Product goes through a lot of different stations. It stowed in it's bin by a stower; It's sent to an inventory counter's station to be counted and logged, and to a picker's station to be extracted from its pod to go to a tote that will bring it to a packing station. Those people are all given a rate to make and that rate is IMPOSIBBLE to make without errors. Your required rate never stops being raised. See, management at amazon warehouses emphasize quantity over quality but they do this in the sneakiest and snakiest way fucking possible. Every one of those positions is told over and over again, "FOLLOW AND ENSURE BIN ETTIQUETTE." This means to, as you go along, make sure that items in the bins you interact with are placed in such a way that they are not at risk for falling out or being damged by other items. You want them set up neatly for pickers to not have to sift through like scavangers to find (bins can have all kinds of contents like, for example 4 individual giftcards, 2 pop sockets for your phone, 7 pairs of earings all of different varietys and with differenet skew and upc numbers, etc...) So let's go through the travel path of the product, employee station to employee station. A stower gets the product in it's bulk packaging and unpacks it to stow. Their station's computer screen tells that employee what bin of the pod that has been brought to them to stow it in. How does the computer know what bin it will actually fit in? Receiving supposedly took care of that when they took in the product to be brought to stowers by logging it all. They have a rate to make and that rate works the people there to exhaustion and gurantees plenty of errors. If they just haul ass and do an ass ton of receives though, their productivity to error ratio will be such that they wont get a write up so that's what they do to protect their jobs and income. (remember this result because you're going to see a pattern) "oh cool" you might say, "so if stowers are slowed down by receiving errors when they cant stow something too big for its assigned bin or if something is so small that it could easily fall out no matter how they stow it, the error falls on the receiv-" NO. NO. It slows their rate down and if they have too many errors to deal with, (and they never don't) they wont make rate. They simply can't fix every mistake and make rate. Even if they did that and pushed as fast as they can, they won't manage to set their productivity to error ratio to where it needs to be. So they have to just cram stuff into pods. Then it gets to a counter: the inventory guy who logs shit. They have to count shit and set the bin ettiquete straight when bins are messy.....they TOO have a ridiculous fucking rate to make and again, quantity over quality (that's how investors get their money). You get write ups if your productivity to error ratio isn't optimum so they just haul ass counting away too. Then there is the picker and, again, same thing: haul ass. Counters and stowers are the ones told to worry about bin ettiquette the most but there is a "last touch system." If you were the last associate to interact with a bin, the item that fell out or was marked damaged by the next person is on you wether you are a counter, stower, or picker." So EVERYONE gets fucked if shit isn't stored right and falls out but NO ONE can afford to take the time necessary to do their shit to a perfect-T as company policy would require.... and then, shitty things happen. Bathroom breaks? You can go whenever you want but you'll get logged for time-off-task limited to 20 minutes to a ten hour shift (depending on where you are relative to a bathroom, what you need do, and if you're having some digestive imperfections that day, you are looking at about 10 minutes per trip or as i'll put it, 2 poop breaks or 4 piss breaks.) Oh and it's actually less cus you might have 20 minutes to spend but using them all could be the difference between making rate or not. So basically, Amazon can technically say , "we dont force employees to make choices like this" but the requirements of the job choke employees into making them. That's how they dodge liability. They don't explicityly tell you to value quanity over quality but thats what you have to do to stave off write ups. They don't deny you bathroom breaks but you'll fuck yourself over if you take them. They don't tell you not to stop to stretch if you need to but you'll fuck yourself over if you do. They don't tell you not to go home if you feel sick but you'll exhaust your Unpaid time off or personal time off doing so (you have 15 hours of upt per yearly quarter and when you go -1, you're fired) Oh yeah, did I mention that? Amazon doesnt excuse sick absences or take doctor's notes. You have to use your time-off options. The consequence for punching in 3 minutes late for any punch (coming in or coming back from lunch) is losing a full hour of upt by the way. yeah, fuck amazon.

[@jason3714]

This is insane man. I cannot believe how shitty this company is I have spent tens of thousands of dollars on Amazon.

[@TaillowMarill92]

I'm currently doing "contract" work in the tech industry for HCL and they do this exact same shit. Everything is the employee's fault, and we have no ability to do the job without making mistakes. They also find every single loophole they can to fuck us over, including outright doing illegal shit and getting away with it because the employees don't know any better. This is the 5th tech contract company I've worked for, and I can absolutely say this has happened at all of them. This is the new norm.

[@janethockey9070]

Jake Gam I would join the class action lawsuit

[@RiceShouldBeFluffy]

@@TaillowMarill92 I think Amazon doesn't want to issue yearly raises or retirement so they'd rather make it an employee mill. I heard that phrase a lot amongst both employees and former emplyees. The system, I think, is designed to eventually break you down. They get all the work they can out of you and are ready to replace you as soon you start to burn out.

[@DrNothing23]

Thanks to Gamipedia for this article...

[@mariamisandry623]

I do not shop with Amazon or watch their streaming service and I’m always shocked that nearly everyone I know that has a strong moral compass continues to support them.

[@eIon_for_dinner]

I worked at Amazon a year ago at the MKE1 building in kenosha, wisconsin. I started right at "peak season" which goes from thanksgiving to Christmas. It was mandatory to work 60 hours a week during peak. I worked 5, 11 hour days and 1, 5 hour day every week for a month. Back then min wage was 12.50. I was a picker and sometimes felt like I was gonna puke from the physical and mental stress. I needed to meet a 4000 uph (units per hour) with a pick time of 6 seconds or less. I'm a skinny 19 y/o (18 at the time) 160 lb boy who's 6'5". And I was winded every day. I can only imagine if your heavier set or up there in age. Those poor people. You would always here the older people getting talked to about their numbers. The only downtime you really had was lunch and you had EXACTLY 30 minutes. Any more and you had pay deducted. If you had to go to the bathroom you would have to wait in line for about 10 mins of your 30 (again that was in the mens room, can only imagine the womens). I was on the best team there and I was always bringing our average down. Eventually got fired after working there for 7 months. Got an injury from picking once, (the robots really did try and kill us a few times. Think they were still in they're beta stage) and the health people taped my shoulder up a little (could barely lift my arm) and made sure I was back to picking within about 10 minutes. Most of which was walking. The place is HUGE and most of the little free time you do have is spent walking to a break area. It was horrible. After a while I noticed I had loss a lot of feeling of emotion. I would come home and just sit and fall asleep until I woke up and went to work the next day. I didn't laugh at things I usually find funny. My girlfriend noticed it too. Would come home to the apartment and was practially a zombie/robot thing. Had thought a lot about leaving and when I got fired was actually really relieved. Took me a while to get back into feeling emotions normally but finally did and proposed to my girlfriend last summer and her and I are getting married this October so happy ending I guess. So many people I started with left before me. I stuck it out a while and it was horrible. Now I hear from a friend who still works there that of you take a bathroom break and are not on a scheduled break (2 over the course of 10 hours) then you have to stay and make up the time after your shift ends. Basically, DO NOT WORK IN A WAREHOUSE. You lose your sense of being a person. It's horrifying. Edit: wow didn't think this would get so many comments. Thanks for taking the time to read my story everyone. So my building is a newer facility and I got lucky because I got to use the nike stations for anyone that works there and knows what they are. Basically the robot pods (Amazon calls them kiva units) bring stuff to you and not not you going aisle to aisle. So I got kinda lucky but I knew people who worked in other buildings that said they walked 25 miles a day. But with the better station means it was expected that I had a much higher rate. The rate before was a typo. Apologies. I needed 4000 units a day for a total of 400 uph. Once my manager wanted our pick rates up to 500 uph. So I slammed to red bulls and got lucky with some multiples and actually did it. When I got home at 6:30 pm I could barely move and fell asleep almost immediately until I had to get up at 6:30 am for work the next day. The reward was I got to listen to music for an hour. BS. I got fired for picking too slow but really I just trying because I wanted to quit. So not that upset I no longer work there. I'm not saying don't ever order off of amazon. Every other warehouse I'm sure is the same way. My best friend there I think actually kinda likes it. But most people that work there are just average people trying to make it in the world and end the day completely drained. Physically, mentally, emotionally, you name it. You sort of feel yourself become a robot. I'll still order things on Amazon if I absolutely have to but really try not to. If you do still use amazon i ask you to consider doing these things that will help the people working there: 1) Select the slowest shipping you can. I know sometimes you need things fast. But most things you can wait the extra day or two 2) Buy your christmas gifts as far in advance as possible. Like buy them in like september if you can. Before thanksgiving. Peak season is already horrible. 3) Do not take advantage of prime day. I get it, it's tempting. But do you really need anything that day or are you just taking the deal they're giving you and buying useless stuff. And do you really need it that soon? Thank you to everyone who stuck around this long. I hope you all have a great day :)

[@SarahSkinnyJeans]

What's your name? Did you go to job corps?? In Blackwell??

[@yeseniavelasco4841]

Why did they fire u?

[@unanuevapecula]

Dang...wish you all the best in future endeavors.

[@cashee5260]

4000? That's impossible unless it is known for your facility to pick a lot of small items when you get to each bin. As a pick ambassador, I showed people how to pick 115 uph and they still had trouble. I don't buy the 4000 uph. That sounds like a crock of shit. Good luck fighting that.

[@busfahrer09]

Reading that, I just decided I'll never buy at amazon again. I don't want to profit from slave work. The only reason is actually that I'm a lazy social incompatible fuck why avoids talking to people in stores, end to that!

[@Xtra_Medium]

As a warehouse worker myself I REALLY feel for those Amazon employees

[@rexusthevaliant6311]

Trade school, be a Plumber. Check your local unions.

[@gregkrueger8811]

Mail handler for the usps here. Job ain’t so bad, it’s just some people here that make it irritating.

[@dougcasey6117]

@@rexusthevaliant6311 Unions cannot hire everyone there is a limit and those jobs need to be done, as such should be regulated like with a bill of labor rights that apply to all Americans. Since when did standards regulation and demands on the powerful, become some sinister idea? Sensible expectations and demands of just common human decency and fairness in conduct in my thinking is the difference between a first world nation and a third world banana republic.

[@rexusthevaliant6311]

@@dougcasey6117 yeah but working an unskilled monotonous job isn't going to get you much or fulfill any of your human desires of accomplishment or self worth. Always worth a shot to apply to a union and if not trade school isn't going to bankrupt you and doesnt take long to be making over $20 an hour doing it.

[@dougcasey6117]

@@rexusthevaliant6311 I agree that it is worth the doing, but it isn't any solution for our nations economic flaws. I have a nice career myself and I'm happy with my life, I realize that I'm lucky and that I'm not the measuring stick by which our system is measured. We do need to address these issues and get a better job is no solution to that issue, I wish it was that simple.

[@SomeOne1121]

I think this is why we don't have Amazon in Sweden yet. Usually, we're one of the first countries that companies like to test new tech solutions in because we have a very strong IT infrastructure and generally have digitized our lives and economy a lot. But no Amazon in Sweden. I think it's because our regulations and unions would kill their business model of using workers like disposable batteries.

[@justinberry6411]

SomeOne1121 I believe that may be the case. They know they wouldn’t be able to get away with the same practices and policies

[@xsrigh7e0uzfury33]

No Amazon in Switzerland either! We have Digitech wich is sort of a Swiss Amazon don't no about the working conditions there though! In Germany as far as i know its just as bad or worse since Amazon outsourced a lot!

[@dolganthecute]

Just wait until it's fully automated, with a few technicians checking the processes.

[@mueffe1357]

Maybe paying 10 people to pick stuff is probably cheaper than paying a high-tech technician? Its more like they can get away with anything they do.

[@commonsense31]

The same in Denmark. No amazon here neither.!

[@yamnayaseed356]

20:29 Jackie is literally how the average Amazonian feels on the job (that includes corporate staff). Same vibes. This is a company with an evil heart.

[@dylanchouinard6141]

That Jeff Bezos comment made the ghost of Marie Antoinette go “Christ man! How can you be THAT out of touch?”

[@CJ-uo5cl]

You win the comments section! HA

[@FahmeedRokon]

Oversimplified fan here ^

[@CockatooDude]

He's right though, as hateful as he is, that was a very damn good answer.

[@kronus12kirin]

😂😂😂😂

[@dylanchouinard6141]

Fahmeed Rokon you found out I’m an oversimplified fan. There’s a tax for that.

[@threelittlebirdz]

I noticed Employees wasn't on the list of people Amazon cares about.

[@renr17]

@@Randint73 The company I work for calls us teammates and makes us call the CEO the mayor -.-

[@theevildrummingsithlord1492]

@@renr17 Is that company actually any good?

[@1H4NDC14PP1N6]

Nope. And it's very apparent when you work for them. Even in the more "cushy" office jobs. It's always about the customer, "frugality", and making the most money. We are merely seen as "resources".

[@arturodelarosa4394]

Robots don't care if you care about them. Just saying. (support automation!)

[@Malcadon]

@@Randint73 Also, "Human Resources", AKA "The department design to save the company's ass from legal liability and royally fuck any 'associate' who lodges a complaint."

[@kusanagiflame]

As a UPS employee, it would do my heart SOOOOO much good to hear a piece on them, around black friday

[@xXFoxyGrandmaXx]

Our Black Friday lasts from October to January, its called Peak

[@kusanagiflame]

@@xXFoxyGrandmaXx at ups, they "officially" start peak on black friday. But lasts through until about new year's day, few days after. But honestly there are sooo many damn similarities in treatment and such between both companies. Its insane. And we HAVE a union, but not much seems to matter :/

[@alysiamerdavid-wasser9165]

You (USPostal)came to mind immediately.

[@WarpSkaven]

As a fellow UPSer, I fear Cyber Monday far more, now...Working in one the company's busiest buildings, you'd think they'd put more effort into making sure everything is up to speed and we have enough trained people. Last year they were hunting down people almost literally off the street to fill temp slots for even a week, after spending the previous 3 months doing everything they could to fire anyone with any level of seniority. Company used to be about the people, now we're just numbers on a spreadsheet :(

[@kusanagiflame]

@@WarpSkaven Honestly, all of us who do any kind of shipping/mailing/warehouse/storage work need to speak out on how unjust these systems really are. It's insane for us to work outside in ridiculous heat, inside in ridiculous heat, outside in crazy cold weather, or inside in crazy colf weather. And what sucks more about UPS is the fact that if you get injured, youre questioned up the ass about how in 200 ways, it's your fault. I personally am an unloader for the freight trucks and such. And I cant begin to count how many times Ive left work barely able to walk because my legs are giving out or because my back is tensing up uncontrollably

[@cdunlap0008]

Working in a local warehouse a couple years ago, I was logging 26 miles a day of walking. 8 hours of essentially non stop walking, sometimes running. Horrible. And the heat was topping 100° daily

[@LaLisaUbdee]

And yet I'm still fat 😭

[@LaxAndWatch844]

Amazon didn't increase minimum wage out of the kindness of their hearts.. people had to organize.

[@coletrickle1775]

Bernie Sanders and Ro Khana did a lot of work for it.

[@kendralewellyn2654]

Not to mention, that they raised minimum wage....while cutting bonuses or other benefits. So, all they did was find a way to rename something, move it around, and potentially give workers the same or less. It's just misdirection. Without unions, basically any "new trick" is totally legal and on the table. Whatever it takes if it means maximizing profits and optimizing operations on a large scale. All the while, losing sight that HUMANS are small scale (esp. individually), and that humans matter. Companies just don't answer to us or their local communities anymore. And when blowing up companies to that large of scale, there are a lot of details that can get lost...or that can stay hidden. Terrifying...

[@brianthinkeventsllc5776]

15$ minimum wage enforced on the country will be a bad thing. The winners are companies that are not weighed down by labor costs, Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon) said of that move : " I challenge our top retail competitors to match our employee benefits and our $15 minimum wage.” Amazon advocates for the minimum wage because they know it bleeds their competitors dry. Retail companies like Target, Costco and Walmart, which collectively hire more than 2% of the American population, struggle to compete without laying off their employees or automating away jobs. For a single individual who currently makes $10/hr, working 40 hr/week at 50 weeks a year, increasing the minimum wage to $15 will increase their gross income $10,000. 6.2% of this, or $620, will go to FICA tax. Another 1.45%, or $145, will go to Medicare tax. Another 11.6%, or $1169.50, will go to federal income tax ($30,000 - $12,000 standard deduction = $18,000. First $9525 taxed at 10%, next $8475 taxed at 12%. $8475 * .12 + $1525 * .10 = $1169.50). Under Bernie Sander's plan, an addition 2.2% or $220 will go to Medicare for All. This leaves $7845.50 per year, or about $650/month, ignoring state income taxes. Under Yang? +12,000$ that is non-taxable and is not used to increase your tax brackets. UBI > 15$minimum wage everyday.

[@likeherod27x9]

@@brianthinkeventsllc5776 one day robots will be spewing libertarian bullshit in comment sections and you'll be out of a pretend job

[@IncognitoSprax]

McZawa This is beyond stupid

[@ThoriberoCaroli]

Why does so many of the stories about american work places sound like something out of a Charles Dickens-book?

[@janethockey9070]

Thoribero Caroli Cheap bastards

[@intellectracoon]

i disagree they are much darker.

[@auto_ego]

Because the US is the England Dickens lived in. We haven't progressed at anything except exploitation for a hundred years unless lots and lots of people literally died for it.

[@RegsaGC]

What does modern America and Dickends era Britain have in common? No unions.

[@ericgaius8791]

Because our unions got greedy in the seventies and corporate America exploited that to nearly legislate them out of existence in the eighties. Now we're in a (slightly) less horrible rehash of the gilded age.

[@talyahr3302]

Honestly I'd rather just not have the 1-Day delivery option at all if it meant these workers could slow down. Like legitimately

[@charlesthomas135]

It won't mean that at all. It will mean less workers.

[@yamspaine]

If one needs 1 day delivery, one should be willing to pay for it. Sounds like their sales people or algorithm adjusters get ahead of capacity.

[@artemiswoodfin1590]

Maybe don’t shop at amazon?

[@aurtisanminer2827]

I dont ever use amazon unless it’s my last resort. Bezos doesn’t need any of my damn money.

[@devforfun5618]

@@aurtisanminer2827 the shitty part is that small business owners also use amazon, because handling their own dellivery has a cost, and defunding public postal services make it worse

[@gedaman]

I once tried working in an Amazon warehouse in 2011. I lasted 3 days until I had enough and quit. One of my coworkers said he could only keep up the work with painkillers.

[@mikeross4937]

I hope they hooked those guys up with a bonus for saving Walmart 30 million dollars. I know deep down that they didn't, but I hope they did

[@rylian21]

Probably fired them for missing work that day. Frankly, I was shocked that he actually made physical contact with one of us plebians.

[@JohnyScissors]

A lot of retailers state in their contracts that anything you develop for the company is automatically owned by said company. So as soon as they came to their walmart bosses with that idea they didn't own it before

[@ericaschner3283]

Many companies have innovation bonuses. I'm sure they got like $200 of that $30,000,000.

[@powbang852]

I've worked at so many warehouse/distribution places and almost all have these "suggestion boxes" for employees to leave ideas. Some might say if they implement someone's idea they'll get a prize or a gift-card. I've worked at numerous places were I just started doing my own thing vs what someone might have said was the "proper" way or technique. and some supervisor or manager might stop and ask a question about why i'm doing something a certain way, and I'll just explain real quick and go back to what i'm doing. Most will just like shrug their shoulders and be "umm, ok." All they care about is reports and numbers. Receive it in as fast as possible, put it up as fast as possible, and then pick it as fast as possible and pack it and ship it back out as fast as possible.

[@dwaynejones1555]

Mike maybe a $100 Amazon gift card.

[@The_Bashar]

I like that when Minhaj did his "Amazon" piece, he said that Oliver would come along & do it better. Oliver has indeed come along but simply done a very different brilliant take!

[@JaBarge303]

... and better

[@The_Bashar]

@Hulk Hogan Why have you brought your *HATE* on my post? *smh*

[@The_Bashar]

@@JaBarge303 *WINK* you said it!!

[@The_Bashar]

@Hulk Hogan *SLOW CLAP* You think that irrevocably witty?! Again; *SMH*

[@FloatingSunfish]

The people who forced their workers to keep working around their co-worker's dead body deserve to have their Human Being Licenses revoked.

[@BlueEyesWhiteTeddy]

@Zack Smith Nah, those managers need to be put down.

[@Rox123ify]

They already did. How do you think they moved up in that industry?

[@RpiesSPIES]

They'd be fired from the building and lose their income/insurance. Don't blame the floor associates.

[@ems3991]

Uh how were they forced? Slavery is illegal.

[@juch3]

@@RpiesSPIES when your job security is more important than a human life

[@halo6842]

I didn't work for Amazon but I might as well have. Amazon was our biggest client and all of our policies revolved around them shipping clothes and shoes on their behalf. Worked there for over 2 years. So glad i escaped. My heart goes out to any people stuck working a warrhouse job to support themselves and/or their families

[@inscythe]

I love the subtle touch at the end: the pee-in-his-pants dude was the only one who were unaffected by the bear mace. During WW1, the soldiers used urine-soaked socks to try to counteract chlorine gas.

[@Claymoresmash]

Huh, the more... I... know...

[@justrosy5]

@@Claymoresmash Ditto!

[@Ravi-xf8dw]

damm

[@thelastspartanS117]

Actually there is an even better reason for this, uria (the chemical responsible for urine) naturally bonds to chlorine, turning it into a non-reactive compound called trichloride, the same stuff that makes swimming pools murky! Its also the same thing that gets the chlorine smell so strong in your pool.

[@megakoirakoira]

Uh like on their feet? Or using them like a mask??