Amazon Workers Unionize!

[Crovax]

Bezos won't care. He has designed his business to utilize easily replaceable workers.

I doubt that, a company like Amazon that has fast evolving tech probably already has a lot of legacy tasks and info that works have built in value for. The question is will the supervisors at the warehouse see that.

 

[Peacenik]

Unions drive up labor costs, and drive US companies overseas or to Mexico for cheaper labor

We should tax imports from companies which treat workers badly. Union demands need to continue to become law. If it wasn't for unions there would be no 40 hour work week and we would still have child labor.

We owe weekends to unions!

 

[Cope]

He can't do that.

That Amazon facility was just recently built and opened in 2017. I'm sure Bezos is still paying for the building.

It's also the largest Amazon facility in New York.

Bezos isn't stupid enough to just close that facility and build a new one in New Jersey. He would lose a ton of money.

The facility is unionized and there is absolutely nothing you or Bezos can do about it.

If you think that Bezos can and will do what you suggested you don't seem know much about business. If you think that closing that facility after spending millions on a brand new facility and the biggest one in the state of New York is a good business move just because the employees voted to go union, you would deserve the result of the extremely bad business choice you suggest above.

The over-riding "tone" of this post is why most liberals just cannot fathom some things:
Like Bezos potentially losing millions of dollars to make a point. He COULD. You see a new facility as him having no options because it cost money, but he certainly has that option (and likely the smart move long term for him) because if all his plants become union shops, his rates will go up and he then must increase prices or lose profit (you guys just seem to think that the lost profit is the way they go) LOL

Good Business is good business, and some of you just can't seem to know good business. He will make that determination.

 

[Crovax]

Obviously Bezos has a large margin or he would not be worth as much as he is.

Margin and Bezos' worth are not really related, Amazon lot money for years and Amazon's stock still climbed.

 

[Peacenik]

Bezos just invested hundreds of millions of dollars on the largest facility in New York with state of the art equipment in it.

Bezos didn't get to be one of the richest men in the world with Amazon being one the largest employers by making stupid choices resulting in losing hundreds of millions of dollars.

I've heard such threats all my life at Boeing. Yet Boeing is still in Washington. They built the largest building by area in the world right here in Washington and they did it decades ago.

They can't move. They can and have opened new facilities in other states but they can't move the bulk of it from Washington.

It would cost too much to do so. It would interrupt business and manufacturing way too much. They stopped threatening to move decades ago.

Bezos has the same problem.

Yes he may be rich and powerful but money is more powerful and he's not stupid. He didn't invest hundreds of hundreds of millions of dollars in a facility just to abandon it.

He also knows that there is nothing to stop anyone in New Jersey from unionizing too. So he would be back to where he started.

Bezos will stay in New York and the union will flourish. It has the chance to spread to other Amazon facilities too.

Conditions for workers have changed. Employers are begging for workers. Bezos will work with the union in New York and may end up having to work with a union in other Amazon facilities.

Time will tell.

I hope the union lasts and grows. It is what has been missing in America. An organized voice for labor.

 

[SMTA]

I would not be surprised. Bezos is ruthless and cold. He doesn't care about people. Only money. Nobody who cares about people should do business with Amazon.

Exactly
Never understood why he never just threw a couple of billion dollars to his employees
It would be an excellent investment for him

 

[Slartibartfast]

Exactly
Never understood why he never just threw a couple of billion dollars to his employees
It would be an excellent investment for him

He wants robots instead (this is evidenced by the bracelets and other gadgets they have to wear for movement data) and I am not certain he is rational when it comes to this aspect of his business.

 

[Peacenik]

A possibility would be to tack on a ‘union surcharge’ to be paid by any Amazon customers served by that facility. This could work much like the tiny print disclaimers “prices may vary in AK and HI” seen in some TV ads.

To which, the union could have a say in opposing such a move.

 

[Peacenik]

Exactly
Never understood why he never just threw a couple of billion dollars to his employees
It would be an excellent investment for him

Worked for Ford.

 

[RaleBulgarian]

He can't do that.

That Amazon facility was just recently built and opened in 2017. I'm sure Bezos is still paying for the building.

It's also the largest Amazon facility in New York.

Bezos isn't stupid enough to just close that facility and build a new one in New Jersey. He would lose a ton of money.

The facility is unionized and there is absolutely nothing you or Bezos can do about it.

If you think that Bezos can and will do what you suggested you don't seem know much about business. If you think that closing that facility after spending millions on a brand new facility and the biggest one in the state of New York is a good business move just because the employees voted to go union, you would deserve the result of the extremely bad business choice you suggest above.

On top of that, closing the warehouse would be a PR nightmare for the company that purports to care about it’s employees.

 

[Nomad4Ever]

Unions drive up labor costs, and drive US companies overseas or to Mexico for cheaper labor

Exactly, that's what I'm saying. We need to make our labor as cheap as possible so companies don't offshore. If we can achieve the worst working conditions with the lowest cost of labor of any country companies won't leave the US anymore. Hell, maybe Chinese companies will even start offshoring to the US if we can make even lower paying sweatshops than them.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Congratulations!

Yes, labor unions are necessary.

A boss is not going to increase salaries and give various benefits unless he has to.

That's just part of the capitalist system.

Labor unions are also (a larger) part of the non-capitalist system - see public employee unions.

 

[notquiteright]

Unions drive up labor costs, and drive US companies overseas or to Mexico for cheaper labor

Shortage of workers have driven up labor costs a great deal for over a year. Has that driven companies overseas??? The vulnerability of the supply chain has companies bringing production in high paying jobs back to the good ol' USofA. More factors in where a factory locates I do believe...

 

[element94]

Jeff Bezos will not like this.

Let's see how non-partisan he remains on this.

 

[RaleBulgarian]

If Bezos is smart, and he is, he’ll close the warehouse immediately
Then there will not be another union drive at any other Amazon facility because of pure fear
It would be a very smart move by Bezos

Another pro employee abuse vote.

 

[Peacenik]

Okay, I'll jump back in here with something more substantial than a shot on Bezos.

What does everyone think will happen when this new union tries to bargain for pay rates and benefits entirely out of sync with other Amazon locations and operations? Does everyone think this will really make a dent in how Bezos runs that company?

That remains to be seen. When Walt Disney's workers unionized, he treated them very badly.

 

[ttwtt78640]

To which, the union could have a say in opposing such a move.

They could try, but that is not bargaining for better employee pay, benefits or working conditions. That is simply demanding that the employer reduce profit - IMHO, an unreasonable demand.

The term "bargaining" may be misleading, as it brings to mind two people haggling at a flea market. In reality, the goal of the union in collective bargaining is to improve the status of the worker while still keeping the employer in business. The bargaining relationship is continuous, rather than just a one-time affair.

Labor, like any other factor of production, is a cost that employers factor in when producing goods and services. If employers pay higher wages than their competitors, they will wind up with higher-priced products, which are less likely to be purchased by consumers.

Unions: How Do They Help Workers?

Unions are worker organizations that negotiate with employers to improve pay and working conditions.

www.investopedia.com

 

[Peacenik]

Their value to the company and offers from other companies.

The problem is no education/no skill jobs most workers don't want to do what it takes to expand their value as an employee

Or they find it dauntingly impossible because of previous debt and/or family obligations to pursue higher education or job training. Have children too young and be stuck in a monetarily limited lifestyle of rent-paying and inability to build wealth. IOW, right where Bezos wants them in order to take advantage of their constraints.

Bezos must be treating them pretty badly for them to uniionize.

 

[SMTA]

We should tax imports from companies which treat workers badly. Union demands need to continue to become law. If it wasn't for unions there would be no 40 hour work week and we would still have child labor.

We owe weekends to unions!

Unions came up in the 50s and 60s because workers were treated like shit, especially kids
Then unions got power, and artificially increased labor costs with no thought about the economic impact of higher wages
Vast corruption and mob partnerships made the unions lose favor, along with non-union wage increases
I’ve been in three unions some years ago - American Flint Glass Workers, Steelworkers, and Teamsters - none of them were worth a shit and raped the members wages for union dues and a percentage of our overtime
Unions came about because they were needed, but they turned into exactly the evil that brought them into power
Unions drive up wages, which drives up costs, which drive up consumer prices, which drives companies to cheaper labor markets
When they first arrived in the US, Nissan had a $2,000 per car price advantage over Ford simply due to lower labor costs
Most Americans would not support unions
Their horrific drop in membership reflects this
I would never support a union in any business

 

[SMTA]

Exactly, that's what I'm saying. We need to make our labor as cheap as possible so companies don't offshore. If we can achieve the worst working conditions with the lowest cost of labor of any country companies won't leave the US anymore. Hell, maybe Chinese companies will even start offshoring to the US if we can make even lower paying sweatshops than them.

Never happen

 

[SMTA]

Shortage of workers have driven up labor costs a great deal for over a year. Has that driven companies overseas??? The vulnerability of the supply chain has companies bringing production in high paying jobs back to the good ol' USofA. More factors in where a factory locates I do believe...

That’s true, but mainly for entry level jobs
Even so, the US labor costs will never compete with other countries

 

[Peacenik]

Wonder how much it is going to cost the employees to belong to the Union? If the Union fights for a pay raise how much will the worker actually see.
While I have never belonged to a Union, I suspect the Union leaders do not work for free. Then there would be the buildup of the "strike fund".

You generally don't get something for nothing.

 

[Nomad4Ever]

Even so, the US labor costs will never compete with other countries

Good, that's part of the reason so many people like living here lmao

 

[Peacenik]

That is more for multi-location Unions. I don't think they will need 'Union leaders' but shop reps. Strike insurance and all the other costs you mention will probably be voted on later....

I presume the next step will be determining which workers are union and which are not. some who voted for may not join. some who voted against may.

 

[EdwinWillers]

Amazon spent millions trying to prevent this, but failed.

Workers are feeling ever more empowered in America since management treated them with such disregard during the pandemic.

Organized workers are better able to negotiate good terms with employers.

The new Amazon Union is a good thing for labor!

Socialism marches on, jackbooting yet another company.