Amazon workers just voted to join a union

[DoggyDaddy]

Define good management. I define it as protecting my job and benefits. Our management does a good job of that sometimes.

I thought it was the employee's job to protect their job and benefits by making themselves valuable to the employer.

 

[actaeon277]

We've had noob managers get reamed out at discipline hearings, by THEIR superiors, because the noob manager F'D up and almost killed someone or cost the company millions of $$

 

[Ingomike]

When doing piece rate work the company sets the rate not the union.

Ok, then why is it set so low if the company sets it? They are really that dumb? I am not…

 

[Bosshoss]

He ended up shutting down the entire line and calling his foreman over on me. After speaking to the foreman and explaining the issue, he refused to do anything about it because... "union". So I guess it was more acceptable to have to re-work hundreds if not thousands of transmissions than to **** off a union employee by making him do it the correct way.

This is a management problem the fact that they didn't do anything is because they were to lazy to go through the steps.
There are crappy workers in Union shops and non union shops. Seen many union workers disciplined for not doing a job correctly or safely.
Don't know how things are today as I retired in 2009 but the union at Marion GM at the time knew for them to survive the company had to make money.

 

[Ingomike]

LMAO! You start by saying, "no one is disparaging union workers". Then you proceed to disparage union workers. ?

I told a true story. That us disparaging union workers? Not by my definition…

 

[Jaybird1980]

I thought it was the employee's job to protect their job and benefits by making themselves valuable to the employer.

Not all jobs are created equal. Yes an employee should be valuable, but they shouldn't have to worry about their livelihood when they refuse to do something that will get them injured or killed.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

This is a management problem the fact that they didn't do anything is because they were to lazy to go through the steps.
There are crappy workers in Union shops and non union shops. Seen many union workers disciplined for not doing a job correctly or safely.
Don't know how things are today as I retired in 2009 but the union at Marion GM at the time knew for them to survive the company had to make money.

I thought the foremen were also union, just in a supervisory position? But I do agree with your first two sentences.

 

[Jaybird1980]

We've had noob managers get reamed out at discipline hearings, by THEIR superiors, because the noob manager F'D up and almost killed someone or cost the company millions of $$

Hell it's not even noob managers for us, it's managers with 5+ years experience.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Not all jobs are created equal. Yes an employee should be valuable, but they shouldn't have to worry about their livelihood when they refuse to do something that will get them injured or killed.

Understood, and I don't disagree!

 

[Bosshoss]

Ok, then why is it set so low if the company sets it? They are really that dumb? I am not…

No clue but I have seen a lot of piece rate work where I worked and if they were good and honest they could get that days quota out in 5 to 6 hours. Sometimes a problem with a press or forktruck going down would mess it up for them but never seen or heard of anyone running a whole weeks worth in 4 hours.
The rate was daily based at GM and even if someone ran ahead the counter started again the next day.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

5+ years experience.

I've never considered myself "experienced" until I've been at a job for 10 years at a minimum. I've been at my current job for 12 years and I still feel "new".

 

[actaeon277]

Hell it's not even noob managers for us, it's managers with 5+ years experience.

Anyone less than 10 years, is a noob

 

[actaeon277]

No clue but I have seen a lot of piece rate work where I worked and if they were good and honest they could get that days quota out in 5 to 6 hours. Sometimes a problem with a press or forktruck going down would mess it up for them but never seen or heard of anyone running a whole weeks worth in 4 hours.
The rate was daily based at GM and even if someone ran ahead the counter started again the next day.

We had incentive, based on tonnage going out the door.
Production guys would get mad, because they didn't want to shut down something, to do 15 minutes on a repair. Instead, the machinery got tore up, and they lost 8 or 16 HOURs of incentive.
I just shook my head.

 

[Jaybird1980]

Anyone less than 10 years, is a noob

Well then by that definition we very rarely get a supervisor that's not a noob. I think we have one that would meet that. There's a pretty big turnover in the frontline management.

 

[Ingomike]

These bizarre examples you give are the result of poor company management. That's not the fault of the union.

They are the result of unproductive work rules of a union shop. Management may be stupid but not that stupid.

 

[Ark]

Couldn't have happened to a nicer company.

Eh. The Amazon warehouse is kind of the archetypal example of a workplace where unionization may be appropriate. The workers will, of course, discover a whole new world of headaches on top of the regular job-related ones, but if nothing else perhaps negotiations will bring some consistency to their work lives. Everything I've heard points to a churn-n-burn philosophy at Amazon in regards to their workers, maybe some of that will improve. Or not.

 

[Jaybird1980]

They are the result of unproductive work rules of a union shop. Management may be stupid but not that stupid.

If you actually think it was in their contract that they had to be allowed so much time for card playing then this conversation is a waste.

 

[actaeon277]

Well then by that definition we very rarely get a supervisor that's not a noob. I think we have one that would meet that. There's a pretty big turnover in the frontline management.

I lost count of bosses after my 20th one.
I told them I wasn't even going to bother learning a name, till they'd been there a year or so.

 

[Twangbanger]

New union = More campaing revenue for the Democrats.

No union = more profits for Amazon, providing even more breathing room to turn away paying customers and drop conservative voices on social media platforms.

But the workers are never going to force Amazon into accepting a union. Shutting down one warehouse is more than a worthwhile cost to send a message to the others.

That company has the money to send rocket ships into space. They're going to do what they want.

NYC Union Organizers vs. Amazon is like Michigan vs. Notre Dame. I'm happy either way, because somebody has to lose.

 

[bwframe]

How many union guys have good management and are proud of their work? Don't seem to hear about that much.

Yes, UPS is #1 because the union workers are horrible awful people. We should execute them.

My friend, you have made a good example of what I'm trying to get across.

I gave you the the perfect oportunity to brag about your unionized company and how it's run. Instead you attempt to turn it back on me, as if I had said ANYTHING negative about your company, management or the union involved. I said none of those things.

I wouldn't dare paint union folks as continual complainers, but...???

BTW, since you brought it up, I see a whole lot more Amazon trucks delivering down here in BFE than UPS these days. Two of them today, on a Sunday. Just sayin' you guys might want to be concerned?


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