“We are not anti-union but we are not neutral either”, an Amazon training video begins. What follows is a 45-minute-long, aggressive assault on the rights of its workers to organise.
The video was produced by the Amazon subsidiary Whole Foods – bought by the parent company for $US13.7 billion last year – for its “team leaders” and leaked to the US technology website Gizmodo.
“We do not believe unions are in the best interest of our customers, our shareholders, or most importantly, our associates. Our business model is built upon speed, innovation, and customer obsession – things that are generally not associated with union,” the video claims.
The animated video gets to the guts of its message in the section titled “Warning signs”.
Examples given to indicate worker “disengagement, vulnerability to organising, or early organising activity” include:
- use of words like “living wage”
- workers raising concerns on behalf of their co-workers
- workers “who normally aren’t connected to each other suddenly hanging out together”
- workers showing an “unusual interest in policies, benefits, employee lists, or other company information”
- increased negativity in the workplace.
The video warns managers against threatening employees, but advises that personal opinions that have the same impact are within their rights.
“Opinions can be mild, like, ‘I’d rather work with associates directly,’ or strong: ‘Unions are lying, cheating rats.’ The law protects both!” it says.
Amazon is the United States’ second-largest employer. It has opened two giant warehouses – called “fulfillment centres” – in Australia in the last year.
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