# Amazon and Union-Busting **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 22, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501 "2021-02-22T19:53:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/181 "2021-03-02T17:44:12Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m another pro-union person, as are [a majority of Americans](https://news.gallup.com/poll/12751/labor-unions.aspx). [Nearly half of people who aren’t unionized wish they were](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/a-growing-number-of-americans-want-to-join-a-union). (Which, combined with the number of people who are happy in their union, is pretty significant). I grew up in a far-right family, so learned from an early age that unions were evil. But during college I worked summers in a factory that really needed a union. [long stories of Actual Evil redacted] The next summer I went to a factory that had a union that didn’t need to do anything because the company was so damn decent to their employees. Nice contrast. Ended up as a teacher. I had great benefits and was able to retire earlier than I’d planned, thanks to the tireless work of great union people. Due to my childhood union-busting prejudices (and natural cynicism), I kept looking for ways the teachers’ union was screwing people over, and in thirty years I never found any. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/182 "2021-03-02T18:05:09Z")
I mean, my union keeps trying to get me to do more organizing work, and I’m like, DUDES I AM SUPER BUSY PLEASE DON’T MAKE ME FEEL BAD FOR SAYING NO. Those damned union bosses. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/183 "2021-03-03T19:28:58Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > However, a company requiring 10 hour days, or megacycle shifts, is essentially saying “we only want young workers with no children or other dependents”. If they said that flat-out they’d be sued for discrimination. This is a work-around to not have to deal with pesky problems like low-level workers having young children (the ones who can’t afford nannies or other accommodating child care), women who get pregnant, and so forth. > > I think having an option of working four days of ten hours each is a great idea. Making it mandatory, or allowing a company to making mandatory is not because of how many people it excludes. I’ve also seen it get promoted as, ‘Don’t drive one in five’ So, a bit of green washing but yes, I think the purpose was for that department to be mostly staffed with younger workers, mostly right out of college. ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/184 "2021-03-03T23:31:21Z")
The “don’t drive one in five” was an effort to have people telecommute one day a week in the companies I have worked at. Reduces facility costs for the company, reduce time commuting for the workers, less pollution, wins all around. Doesn’t really apply to people working in a distribution center, as far as I can see. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/185 "2021-03-04T00:22:01Z")
> [@Strassia](#): > > The “don’t drive one in five” was an effort to have people telecommute one day a week in the companies I have worked at. Reduces facility costs for the company, reduce time commuting for the workers, less pollution, wins all around. Doesn’t really apply to people working in a distribution center, as far as I can see At that company there was definitely no work from home, they just scheduled you to work 4 out of 7 days for ten hours. Glad I’m gone. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/186 "2021-04-10T17:19:27Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Of course HR doesn’t really drive any of that. That has to come from upper management who decides to commit to creating a good environment for their employees. Company: “Our employees are our most valuable asset. We want you to be happy and healthy.” Employees: “Great! Could we maybe get a small raise, and maybe better health benefits?” Company: “No no, that’s not what we meant. Have you tried yoga?” ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/187 "2021-04-10T17:44:20Z")
No doubt! I could see the last company retort being something like: Company: “You’re not just employees anymore; you’re _team members_111” ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/188 "2021-04-10T17:49:19Z")
Company: "How about if we cut your pay, but change your position title to “associate?” ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/189 "2021-04-10T17:53:48Z")
Oh yeah, the old “associate” move. Back in the 80s I remember some were giving job titles of some sort of “manager” to every employee of some sort. Many bought into the kool-aid. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/190 "2021-04-10T18:31:24Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > Back in the 80s I remember some were giving job titles of some sort of “manager” to every employee of some sort. And, of course, a “manager” is an “exempt” employee, meaning he or she is not entitled to overtime pay. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/191 "2021-04-10T19:12:04Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > Back in the 80s I remember some were giving job titles of some sort of “manager” to every employee of some sort. Many bought into the kool-aid. I don’t have a big problem with job titles and employees for the most part. But I’ve had a few employees who claimed to be managers when they weren’t invited to a leadership retreat get quite irate when I pointed out that having zero direct and indirect reports made them individual contributors not managers. > [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > And, of course, a “manager” is an “exempt” employee, meaning he or she is not entitled to overtime pay. I mean, it’s really not. Rather than go by job titles, the Fair Labor Standards Act has five tests they use to determine whether a position is exempt from FLSA requirements for overtime. Not that companies haven’t tried getting away with that kind of nonsense in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/192 "2021-04-10T21:04:34Z")
So calling someone “Vice president in Charge of the Urinal Soap Division” isn’t going to cut it with FLSA I guess. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/193 "2021-04-10T22:04:51Z")
I friend of mine’s wife went through that. This was in the 1990s. They took 5 days of vacation away from them to be put into a sick bank, regardless of how much sick time they already have accrued. The remainder of whatever vacation time an employee had became PDOs ( paid days off ) that would be granted only at will by the company. Sneaky way of giving people previously accrued time off they will find it impossible to use. Then any overtime changed from anything over 40 hours in one week, to anything over 80 hours within a specific two-week period. That’s not raising the bar, it’s yanking up to the moon. A dick move. They made them management, but their spheres of influence and responsibilities were the same. Yay. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/194 "2021-04-10T23:00:27Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > I’ll have to go dig up the magazine to check. Here’s the 2020 Consumer Reports list most and least reliable: Consumer Reports crunches the data to make predictions about 2020 models. ## 10 most reliable models of 2020, according to Consumer Reports: - Mazda MX-5 Miata - Toyota Prius Prime - Toyota Prius - Lexus GX - Hyundai Kona - Mazda CX-3 - Lexus NX - Toyota 4-Runner - Mazda CX-9 - Lexus GS ## 10 least reliable models of 2020, according to Consumer Reports: - Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon (same body style, different badging) - Chevrolet Camaro - Jeep Wrangler - Alfa Romeo Giulia - Volkswagen Atlas - Volkswagen Tiguan - Acura MDX - Tesla Model X - Chrysler Pacifica - Chevrolet Traverse ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501/195 "2021-04-10T23:22:43Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Acura MDX Odd to see an Acura in there - Honda usually has their shit together. But I suppose luxury crossovers are weird beasts and everybody designs a dud once in awhile. That the most reliable list is mostly Toyotas (including Lexus models) with a few Mazdas and one Hyundai is less of a surprise. I have a Mazda and have really no major complaints with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-and-union-busting/933501.md?page=9)