

Amazon Warehouse Workers Want to Be Paid for Waiting in Line - e15ctr0n
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-02/security-checks-paid-as-work-supreme-court-will-decide

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crpatino
Imagine your employer wants to pay you only for the time you spend coding.
Then, you have to attend a status meeting every day, where everybody reports
their progress. You can report your progress in a couple of minutes, but have
to wait for everybody else in the room does so as well, and the room is a big
one.

Now, your employer claims that since you are not coding there (no laptops
allowed in, sorry), you will not receive compensation, because you are paid to
code, not to attend meetings. When you claim that it is part of your position
duties to attend the meeting, the boss subtly changes the subject and says
that it is normal in every industry for people to have to provide status
reports when requested by their superiors, and that you should not demand to
be paid extra money for that.

Then you sue... and businessweek.com writes an article with precisely the
title line that makes you look the most like an entitled asshole.

Now you know what it feels like to be a warehose worker at Amazon.

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brucehart
I'll bet the average wait time for the line shrinks dramatically if the court
rules in the worker's favor. As it stands now, Integrity/Amazon have no
incentive to adequately staff the line with security personnel since the
workers being checked are off the clock.

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ericson578
This story reminds me about trying to choose the companies I buy products from
more carefully. I'm doing much better this year. My rule of thumb is happy
employees are a pretty good sign the company isn't evil. Like costco, or whole
foods.

Amazon is tough because I don't actually interact with any employees, but if
half the stuff I read online is even partially true, they have a lot of
progress to make.

One of their recruiters contacted me a few weeks ago, and a quick search about
what it's like to be a web developer there helped me decide not to respond.

I should really find a replacement for amazon prime... not the best feeling
knowing I'm supporting the lawyers on imo the wrong side of this article.

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dreamweapon
Comments from any Amazon employees out there would be especially welcome.

