Amazon Workers Share Their Warehouse Horror Stories

[appalachiablue]

A former Amazon warehouse worker has described how he was stopped in his tracks by "awful smells" emanating from the trash cans. The stench, he said, was unmistakable and it led him to one conclusion: His coworkers were so worried taking a bathroom break, they had resorted to urinating in the bin.
"I never witnessed anyone in the act, but have witnessed the aftermath," the US staffer told Business Insider. "[In] three instances I had noticed an awful smell, pinpointed the location (trash bins that are scattered throughout the multi-tiered mezzanine) and reported it. From what I heard afterwards camera evidence got these associates fired. The smell was unmistakable."

His story has echoes of an investigation by author James Bloodworth, who went undercover as a picker in an Amazon warehouse in the UK. He told Business Insider how he found a bottle of urine and said it was due to people being afraid of going to the bathroom and missing their strict targets.
Since publishing Bloodworth's story, Business Insider was contacted by more than 30 people claiming to be Amazon workers in the US, UK, and Germany with their horror stories from working in warehouses. We verified some of their accounts through employment documentation and interviews. They paint a picture of constant surveillance and a crippling fear of missing targets.

Most people see Amazon as a near-magical entity that delivers your online shopping with amazing speed — often within the hour. That's achievable only because of Amazon's relentless focus on efficiency at its warehouses, the beating heart of its operation. The company has 16 warehouses in the UK alone, and thousands of employees are tasked with picking products off shelves, packing them into the right boxes, and getting it all out to customers.
But that efficiency comes at a cost, according to employees' anecdotes. ~ Continued...

Business Insider, "Amazon Workers Share Their Warehouse Horror Stories," May 3, 2018
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/amazon-workers-share-their-warehouse-horror-stories/ar-AAwGd5l

[Kittycow]

1. I'm disabled from shopping.

I physically can't do it. Full stop. And can't afford regular shipping.

But I always feel so torn about Amazon because of its practices. Do I switch to Walmart? They destroy small town businesses and often leave afterwards.

[Kirk Lover]

4. You shop where you need to shop and don't you worry about at thing! nt

[appalachiablue]

6. Luckily I'm at a point where my shopping needs are nil except for the basics

and occasional gifts, and books and films which I love. Barnes & Noble, and occasionally Amazon is it for some of these purchases.
I hear you, in too many communities now there's only Walmart, or else ordering from Amazon. What to do? Both monopolies have made the owners and shareholders extremely wealthy but are dangerous as Hell for the economy as a whole and workers.

The Sherman Anti Trust Act, enacted years ago for good reason has been pretty much ignored since Reagan, and duopolies and consolidation have since run amuck in many US industries- only 4-5 major media conglomerates now, same with banks, airlines, and now retail. I don't know that this will change, but something has to give. More recent increase in buying local (If you can!) and people trying to foster independent businesses provide some hope in the meantime.

[JI7]

9. How about Target ?

[irisblue]

12. I'm getting there too. I feel conflicted as well

[Exotica]

14. there are tens of thousands (100's of thousands?) of online shopping choices

[appalachiablue]

15. Do what you have to for shopping absolutely- nobody's keeping score. Best!

[OregonBlue]

16. You should go on doing what you are doing. If they have what you need at the right price, it would

be silly for you to change. On the other hand, the one thing I have started doing is marking the items as non-rush or whatever it says as the bottom when you order. I almost never need it overnight or in two days so I just try to let them know there is no hurry for anything I order. I figure if we all start marking our orders (the ones that we really don't need right away) that way, it will give the employees more breathing room?

[csziggy]

17. For a lot of the stuff I buy online I might locate it on Amazon

Then go to the website of the company that is selling it through Amazon and buy direct from them.

That way the other companies get the business and don't have to give Amazon a cut of their profit. I especially do that for bookstores.

[TheDebbieDee]

2. My daughter worked at Amazon in the Kansas City area for 14 months...

She said she nor any of her co-workers had anxiety about their production falling due to bathroom breaks.

But maybe every Amazon warehouse doesn't have the same production goals...

[appalachiablue]

7. Very glad to hear that about your daughter and other Amazon workers.

Reports of these negative situations have appeared for 5 or more years and no doubt have real basis. And given the tremendous, rapid success of Amazon you'd think Bezos would address some of these claims/circumstances, lighten up some and contribute more to community projects and worthy causes like the Gates and other peers as many people have suggested. Time will tell.
Btw, I've ordered from A., books & films mostly, for convenience and necessity from not having good local outlets nearby which sux.

[pansypoo53219]

3. needs some changes. like UNIONS. remember those?

[appalachiablue]

8. Sure do. Unions, Democracy in the Workplace! Must bring them back, there are

people working very hard on this and achieving some success. But it's a very hard haul in these adverse times, Gilded Age Part II.

[JI7]

10. I think one reason it doesn't work is people see these as temporary jobs

They don't have any intention of staying there long.

[lpbk2713]

5. Too bad we don't have an OSHA any more.

What's left of them only works in favor of Big Binness.

[appalachiablue]

11. Lots of rollbacks for worker protections and benefits, very destructive after

so many years and decades of hard work, struggle and sacrifice..
Hard to believe that many young people don't even know what a union is, through no fault of their own.

[milestogo]

18. I am trying to move away from Amazon toward smaller specialty businesses.

I don't think a shopping monopoly is good for anyone.