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asakiyumeSometime ago I started a petition asking Amazon to reform its warehouse conditions. It was a very limited petition, but having those signatures behind me gave force to my letter to the investor relations department. (I'm not an investor in Amazon, but IR people are very sensitive to the company's image, and they report to the board, so they were my contact point with the board.)
The letter they sent back basically asserts that their current practices are fine--better than many. Of course, better than many doesn't necessarily make them good. It may just mean that conditions widespread are pretty appalling. But if that's true, then the struggle needs to be a broader one, and the company isn't any more culpable than many others.
That's if what they claim is true. I'd like to see what a neutral party, like OSHA, had to say. But that's more serious activism; that takes time and research, and then considered advocacy, thinking of the whole thing in the context of jobs, national standards, etc. More effort than simply starting a petition.
I don't think the effort was a waste of time, though. It got their attention and compelled them to write a response. We showed this is something some portion of the public cares about and will be watching and judging Amazon on. That fact will be transmitted to the board and to management, and that should--I hope--make the company less likely to move in a more-abusive direction and more likely to move in a positive one.
On the other hand, Amazon's currently trying to bring Hachette to its knees so . . . yeah.
The letter they sent back basically asserts that their current practices are fine--better than many. Of course, better than many doesn't necessarily make them good. It may just mean that conditions widespread are pretty appalling. But if that's true, then the struggle needs to be a broader one, and the company isn't any more culpable than many others.
That's if what they claim is true. I'd like to see what a neutral party, like OSHA, had to say. But that's more serious activism; that takes time and research, and then considered advocacy, thinking of the whole thing in the context of jobs, national standards, etc. More effort than simply starting a petition.
I don't think the effort was a waste of time, though. It got their attention and compelled them to write a response. We showed this is something some portion of the public cares about and will be watching and judging Amazon on. That fact will be transmitted to the board and to management, and that should--I hope--make the company less likely to move in a more-abusive direction and more likely to move in a positive one.
On the other hand, Amazon's currently trying to bring Hachette to its knees so . . . yeah.
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Date: 2014-05-30 12:32 pm (UTC)