Comment: With hourly wages averaging around $12, or less, Amazon's warehouse workers also have to deal with walking 10-20 miles per shift and Orwellian surveillance constantly reminding them 'You are being watched.' It's all completely legal. The American dream...
While waiting to clock in each morning, workers at some Amazon.com warehouses get a steady stream of company-provided reading: the stories of co-workers fired for theft.
In an effort to discourage stealing, Amazon has put up flatscreen TVs that display examples of alleged on-the-job theft, say 11 of the company's current and former warehouse workers and antitheft staff. The alleged offenders aren't identified by name. Each is represented by a black silhouette stamped with the word "terminated" and accompanied by details such as when they stole, what they stole, how much it was worth, and how they got caught—changing an outbound package's address, for example, or stuffing merchandise in their socks. Some of the silhouettes are marked "arrested."
Theft is a persistent concern for Amazon, with warehouses full of small but valuable items and a workforce with high turnover and low pay. Workers interviewed for this story say the range of thefts posted on the screens is as varied as the company's sprawling catalog: DVDs, an iPad, jewelry, a lighter, makeup, a microwave, phone cases, Pop Rocks, video games. Several recall a post about an employee fired for stealing a co-worker's lunch.
The digital bulletin boards also occasionally display information about firings related to workplace violence. There are cheerier announcements, too, such as updates on incentive bonuses or a message about Black History Month. In some warehouses that don't have flatscreens, workers say, tales of firings are posted on sheets of paper tacked to bulletin boards or taped to the wall.
Comment: Creativity vs Entropy: China the new 'center of civilization'?