California Passes Law Targeting Amazon Labor Algorithms (theverge.com) 40
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill Wednesday that would block Amazon and other companies from punishing warehouse workers who fail to meet certain performance metrics for taking rest or meal breaks. The California Senate approved the measure earlier this month. The law allows warehouse workers to challenge performance goals that many say discourage them from taking bathroom breaks or other rest breaks throughout the work day. The bill was written in response to high rates of reported injuries at Amazon warehouses where performance quotas are algorithmically enforced.
The law does not explicitly name Amazon in its text, but both Republican and Democratic lawmakers recognize that the e-commerce giant would be greatly affected by the enactment of the legislation. Over the last few years, Amazon has come under intense criticism for its performance quotas with several outlets reporting that workers have peed in bottles as a means of meeting their warehouse fulfillment goals and maintaining their jobs. The law will also force companies like Amazon to make these performance algorithms more transparent, disclosing quotas to both workers and regulators.
The law does not explicitly name Amazon in its text, but both Republican and Democratic lawmakers recognize that the e-commerce giant would be greatly affected by the enactment of the legislation. Over the last few years, Amazon has come under intense criticism for its performance quotas with several outlets reporting that workers have peed in bottles as a means of meeting their warehouse fulfillment goals and maintaining their jobs. The law will also force companies like Amazon to make these performance algorithms more transparent, disclosing quotas to both workers and regulators.
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unemployment rate is back to normal, why would there be any excess evictions than what's normal? these are just jobs no one wants and they found a job elsewhere since economy growing again.
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Because while there was an eviction moratorium, rent subsidies were underfunded and went largely undistributed. All those people who were jobless now owe $1000s of dollars in back rent they can't pay.
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What are you on about, HUD's budget increased in last two years.
Seems to me people are shilling for deadbeats that just didn't pay their rent and want to continue not paying their rent. Renters need to get a fucking job, of which there are plenty now, and pay their rent.
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What are you on about, HUD's budget increased in last two years.
A lot of money that was supposed to be distributed to solve the rent gap wasn't. For that matter, a lot of people still haven't even gotten their fucking stimulus checks.
Seems to me people are shilling for deadbeats that just didn't pay their rent and want to continue not paying their rent. Renters need to get a fucking job, of which there are plenty now, and pay their rent.
Most of the jobs won't pay their fucking rent.
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The unemployment rate is the rate of new unemployment applications. It doesn't represent those who are currently on unemployment, or have had their unemployment ended, but still have not found work.
Re: slaves quitting (Score:2)
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Doing warehouse work for Amazon is completely unskilled work (unless you're operating lifts/machinery/manage, etc) What do you think is going to happen to someone who's got a high school diploma or a GED? Work in a financial institution analyzing stock trends? When you have no skills to speak of (or at least none that apply to the job you're applying for), what do you expect? A cushy job with no stress? I guess you should have paid attention in algebra or physics in high school.
Mind you, Amazon pays fo
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FYI, for those who were bad at math and took on heavy debt in University: manual labor is a great way to make fast money. Virtually no one gets a good job based on their degree right out of university anymore. Instead, if you have family that supports you, take advantage of a lower cost of living by staying with them. Suddenly that $20 - $22/hr at Amazon doesn't sound so bad as you're able to pile up cash which you can put towards starting a business, or just saving up for a downpayment on a home when (or i
Re: slaves quitting (Score:2)
except when most people don't get forgiveness even after that due to random bs they pull similar to insurance companies. https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/... [cnbc.com]
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Amazon mostly doesn't pay that much at their warehouses. Their minimum wage for warehouses is $18 per hour (it was $17 per hour from a few months ago until last week), but the turnover rate is enormous, with many in excess of 100%. I can't speak for everyone and I haven't seen official stats from Amazon, but I have had numerous problems with shipping delays in the last few months ranging from a day to more than a week, and this is for items "Sold by Amazon," meaning shipp
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No, but that is the minimum for drivers, and the rest of my point stands. Source: Was a driver for Amazon Logistics and two DSPs for over a year. It was a special kind of hell there because the job wasn't particularly difficult in essence, but was made difficult by Amazon's use of algorithms to optimize routes whose results were clearly never actually reviewed by a human. IOW, it's a hell of their own making. Take that out of the equation, though, and it's a good job that pays well.
Re: slaves quitting (Score:2)
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Denying the reality of a saturated jobs market is not going to magically get you a job in your chosen field. If you're not willing to sacrifice by taking work outside your chosen field that pays well while eschewing creature comforts for a few years then don't be surprised when people have absolutely no sympathy for you.
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Denying the reality of a saturated jobs market is not going to magically get you a job in your chosen field. If you're not willing to sacrifice by taking work outside your chosen field that pays well while eschewing creature comforts for a few years then don't be surprised when people have absolutely no sympathy for you.
I am still not seeing how doing something which is relatively unskilled is going to help.
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Overheard during my time at one such Amazon plant: "Yo, blood, I'm at the plantation now..." Everyone involved knows exactly what kind of shithole company they're working for. Pretty sure everyone who got furlough'd by COVID or downsized recently isn't going to go back to that shit. I was fortunate in a way... my cost of living is low and I made out like a bandit so I can finally live the dream of having my own business. I'm hoping others are doing the same. It's precisely what exploitative fucks like Amazo
Are the metrics unlawful? (Score:3)
You know how management is. Make metric A. Once that is achieved add on and make metric B.
An endless cycle till exhaustion and then we get, "Going postal".
Metrics in the Post Office created some of the rage. Silently the post office backed off on endless metric increases.
Amazon might be heading in this direction.
what does 'algorithm' mean in this context? (Score:5, Informative)
Early warning sign: The Verge article does not link to nor even given the bill number of the legislation in question. Always be extra skeptical of any reporter who does not link to very relevant source data.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB701
Slashdot repeats the Verge headline that uses the word 'algorithm'. The actual bill text never once uses that word. It simple says that any quotas to which a warehouse employee is subject must disclosed in writing at the time of hiring. Does anyone have first hand knowledge of what Amazon measures and discloses? X number of packages per Y unit of time? Or do they use some hidden algorithm that simply spits out a thumbs up/down at the end of a shift and employees are left to guess how their on the job performance is being measured?
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The headline and summary never claim that the actual bill text uses that word. "California Passes Law Targeting Amazon Labor Algorithms," and "The bill was written in response to high rates of reported injuries at Amazon warehouses where performance quotas are algorithmically enforced." The motivation behind a bill need not appear within the bill itself. Are you denying that the motivation e
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The headline and summary never claim that the actual bill text uses that word.
Most certainly not explicitly, but when the headline and four of the six paragraphs in the article use 'algorithm' I was expecting the actual bill to reference the concept once or twice. Which leads back to my lead kvetch that the reporter did not make it easy to find the bill to enable readers to better understand what the bill actually does.
The motivation behind a bill need not appear within the bill itself. Are you denying that the motivation exists? Should we discuss what the bill's sponsors have said while promoting the bill?
You are losing me here. Denying? I find that politicians generally have motivations for everything they support or oppose. What I am curious about is why the word
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Well, they are. But the law wasn't limited to unreasonable metrics associated with algorithms. Human-determined asshattery is prohibited as well.
Why only warehouse workers? (Score:3)
Perhaps a union isn't in the cards, however... (Score:2)
I wonder what could be done with a few hundred piss-filled water bottles that would be creative, instructive and safe from reprisals.
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Collect piss bottles from drivers and chuck them at the houses of executives who continue to insist that nobody ever pisses in a bottle at their company? I mean, that's what I'd do if I were so inclined. Just be sure to take photos and post them to Instagram and Twitter from deniable accounts on free wifi somewhere.
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I like the way you think.
Amazon in NZ (Score:1)
I will believe it when I see it, Amazon has already removed the LOTR TV series from NZ once it could no longer suck more subsidies from the system.
And it will be the same for the data centre.
Also NZ has actual labour laws to prevent Amazon style exploitation, and big business has much less influence, we try our best to have a government by the PEOPLE, for the PEOPLE. And because of that we get universal healthcare, education system that is
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Because... (Score:2)
Because the cost of living in California has been much too low, and must be increased.
But... but... but... (Score:2)
Now I know what A.M. stands for: Amazon Machine (Score:1)
It's literally a machine with no common sense, no empathy, no feelings, and no way to handle reasonable exceptions, torturing people for its own pointless goals.
"I have no break but I must scream."
Psychopathy in its purest form. "Unencumbered" by any remains of humanity.
The Dalek would pray to it.