Warehouses: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

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  • čas přidán 30. 06. 2019
  • It’s easy to buy things online, and even easier not to think about how they get to you. John Oliver discusses what happens when you click “buy now.”
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Komentáře • 20K

  • @KGillis
    @KGillis Před 4 lety +5608

    Walmart Exec: "This guy saved us at least $30 million!"
    Boss at yearly review: "Best I can do is a 25 cent raise"

    • @desmondbrown5508
      @desmondbrown5508 Před 4 lety +463

      Dude, that's exactly the kind of shit that pissed me off. I worked at LabCorp and I was pushing record medical claims out the door. They were so impressed they had me attend a meeting to rework their "SOPs". I felt pretty good, then later that year we got our raise... I only got the normal 2% raise, and we had a nice meeting about them raising the standard requirements for filed claims per day. I've never felt so used and ashamed. Honestly, fuck LabCorp and fuck corporations.

    • @Encysted
      @Encysted Před 4 lety +101

      Oh, look at Mr. 25¢ over here! What'd you do, give the sup "personal guidance"?
      My sup told me 1.2% was the "required minimum", but she didn't have a calculator on her, so she'd round it to 10¢.

    • @suserman7775
      @suserman7775 Před 4 lety +9

      @@desmondbrown5508
      Communist

    • @ALCRAN2010
      @ALCRAN2010 Před 4 lety +49

      $25 Million was money saved from injured workers NOT using any steps for the tall stuff...

    • @vejymonsta3006
      @vejymonsta3006 Před 4 lety +126

      @@desmondbrown5508 People don't get paid more for productivity. They get paid for years of service. Only executives and shareholders get paid for your productivity.

  • @glennwelsh9784
    @glennwelsh9784 Před 4 lety +8099

    "It's back-breaking labor, and thank God I went to college." Meanwhile, a vast chunk of their warehouse employees are likely breaking their backs to pay off their massive student loan debt.

    • @chaoznorder6207
      @chaoznorder6207 Před 4 lety +135

      They all got degrees that end in the word "studies"

    • @Lyaso
      @Lyaso Před 4 lety +314

      @@chaoznorder6207 Great work on your use of reasoning there. Oh, wait. Never mind. Just more BS propaganda. You "free thinkers" never do anything but parrot talking points. Maybe you should try some of those "studies" you despise.

    • @Lyaso
      @Lyaso Před 4 lety +110

      @A Z How would you know, having obviously never been to one?

    • @longtail4711
      @longtail4711 Před 4 lety +199

      @@chaoznorder6207 -- No. Their degrees are all over the place from tech and medicine to _x_ Studies. They are people competing with machines who didn't go to college but also don't get tired and raped of every penny they have from people like Bezos.

    • @pipertipurts5211
      @pipertipurts5211 Před 4 lety +279

      Yeah no shit. I went to college. I have a masters in one field, bachelors in another.
      I make 12.50/hour

  • @EternalYorkieMom
    @EternalYorkieMom Před rokem +418

    I wish there was a “Get it here whenever just don’t rush your staff” option when you check out. I’d feel better about that then paying for shipping

    • @andiward7068
      @andiward7068 Před 11 měsíci +22

      They kinda do. Prime shipping is the default for Prime members but you can chose a slower delivery time. It unfortunately doesn't help if we don't ALL do it. Moving my package back a few days just bumps another 6+ into it's place. Lgr, if people didn't want everything as fast AND cheap as possible we'd go to the store and pick it up or order less expensive and wait a few days.

    • @traditionalnative
      @traditionalnative Před 10 měsíci +12

      I agree this is a great idea, I feel like it's bare minimum feasible for smaller businesses to implement. I'm actually going to bring up this idea to my favorite small business owner.

  • @samueldelatorre7752
    @samueldelatorre7752 Před rokem +381

    THANK YOU JON OLIVER!!!! I spent 8 years in warehouse jobs and the ironic part is after all those years I was interested in working for Amazon because they would pay me more than a company then a company that I worked with for 8 years driving trucks. Bottom line is we're grunts, the help, no one cares about us warehouse workers and it's disgusting we're the reason anything gets done for these companies. What I've learned is know your rights and don't ever be afraid to express them, take pride in yourself. They threaten to replace you when you put yourself first and that as well is disgusting I say warehouse workers and truckers need to band together and stand up for our rights as humans. Literally I could give a fuck less if that means stuff moves slower. I as well am in my early 20s and I feel like I'm 80 when I get home I can barely move,sleep, or eat because of the body pain I experience. Again thank you Jon Oliver, it feels good to finally hear some recognition from someone.

    • @kingzach74
      @kingzach74 Před rokem

      I hope you can save the money you're making and work for Uber or Lyft.

    • @MarceloRamos-uk8cd
      @MarceloRamos-uk8cd Před rokem

      I hope you get a colege degree and can move your life around

    • @stoodmuffinpersonal3144
      @stoodmuffinpersonal3144 Před 11 měsíci

      YOU SHOULD BE CARED ABOUT.
      Without you, there IS no warehouse. You should burn that place to the ground. No dildos until living wages and better working conditions.
      No AR15s or bear mace or whatever else they sell there until better working conditions

  • @CHamlin86
    @CHamlin86 Před 4 lety +3106

    Those two Walmart employees saved the company $30 million that year... and I guarantee you they didn't seem a dime of it.

    • @vejymonsta3006
      @vejymonsta3006 Před 4 lety +64

      That was just a PR stunt to get more investors. I don't know how it could've worked. Stools are not innovative... lmao! Walmart is retarded.

    • @machinenkanone9358
      @machinenkanone9358 Před 4 lety +53

      But its great drunk bar story

    • @aeonjoey
      @aeonjoey Před 4 lety +121

      of course not. of course not, it's retail. as someone who had a 15 year career in retail, yes front line, yes management, yes corporate... i had NOTHING to show for it when circuit city, and then radio shack went out of business. so what did i do? i got my ass to college, as a fucking adult among a bunch of teenagers. it was worth every fucking penny. SKIP my mistakes kids - don't work retail.

    • @MrSchism
      @MrSchism Před 4 lety +17

      @@vejymonsta3006 it's easy. The stool is about 1/4 the size of the previous one, allowing more boxes per shipment. Higher stock density means increased profit.

    • @alessandrogambino420
      @alessandrogambino420 Před 4 lety +9

      NOW YOU UNDERSTAND BUSINESSES. GOOD FOR YOU.

  • @shdw787
    @shdw787 Před 4 lety +2608

    I recently saw an Amazon ad where a young kid says when they grow up, they want to be an Amazon delivery driver. It was one of the most depressing things I've seen.

    • @THDTPSEvents
      @THDTPSEvents Před 4 lety +51

      Not everyone aspires to what you aspire to. Honestly, fuck you... let the kid do whatever he wants, I don't know his story and neither do you, you elitist.

    • @PochamaRex
      @PochamaRex Před 4 lety +283

      Kemp Kennedy I don’t think it’s because they wanted to be a delivery driver. It’s not a bad occupation in itself. But the fact that Amazon consistently mistreats and underpays its workers and tries to cover up such abuse makes it really sad that they try to convince people working for them would be an enjoyable experience and not a harsh one

    • @cristianvillanueva8782
      @cristianvillanueva8782 Před 4 lety +8

      @@THDTPSEvents it was a shitty experience I'll tell you that, rual communities and ghettos were the worst that kid will relize its dumb

    • @spongeintheshoe
      @spongeintheshoe Před 3 lety +33

      @@JS-nr2ld Still, the fact that such experiences occur at all, and even moreso, the fact that Amazon _allows_ those experiences to occur, should be concerning in and of itself.

    • @spongeintheshoe
      @spongeintheshoe Před 3 lety +19

      @@JS-nr2ld But the higher-ups here have a training video based around preventing unions from forming, and they've apparently let a manager force people to step around the dead body of one of their coworkers and then lied to cover that person's ass.

  • @OmegaGuess
    @OmegaGuess Před 2 lety +71

    "There's no requirements that we provide air conditioning" is possibly the most chilling way to both avoid and answer the question at the same time.

  • @dachandewuffsteiger
    @dachandewuffsteiger Před rokem +117

    I worked for zappos an amazon company. They had a warehouse in Kentucky with no air-conditioning. They would "allow" employees to work in their underwear or bathing suits because of the sweltering conditions. They realized it was cheaper to hire 2 to 3 ambulances to hang outside the facility for when someone fell to heat exhaustion. Not IF, but WHEN. it was cheaper to pay to take a heat stroke employee off campus, dismiss them for failure to perform duties, and move on than to install appropriate chillers or reasonable breaks.

    • @LaLisaUbdee
      @LaLisaUbdee Před 11 měsíci +3

      Man that's crazy but living in USA is enough privilege in and of itself imagine what American companies are doing overseas we have it good over here in comparison.
      Secondly Amazon must have some good lawyers. And they know what they are doing cause it seems to be despite their BS they have loyal employees after getting promoted whatever check they are getting they would save the compaines tail in a second.

    • @anthonysmith7787
      @anthonysmith7787 Před 6 měsíci

      @@LaLisaUbdeebad is bad look at your situation not others that’s why nothing will change because people like u walk around saying atleast we have it good here. Bad is bad not. So if a little boy get touch and then a little girl get touch you tell the little girl hey don’t cry about it because atleast you weren’t a boy who got touch you crazy dude

    • @ExploringTheTube-fd1oo
      @ExploringTheTube-fd1oo Před 5 měsíci +25

      @@LaLisaUbdee Um what? We don't need to speculate. We have data. The USA ranks one of the lowest in developed countries for safety and job satisfaction. I'm absolutely dead at "living in the USA is enough privilege. Americans are wild!

    • @LarisaC.
      @LarisaC. Před 5 měsíci +16

      @@LaLisaUbdeeHOW is living in the USA a privilege? Asking as a European, because from this side of the pond, things on your end look miserable, not just the working conditions.

    • @zarahbystrom3032
      @zarahbystrom3032 Před 2 měsíci +1

      Not loyal, desperate.

  • @llKorperll
    @llKorperll Před 4 lety +2430

    I remember my time at Amazon, it was during Prime Week... I'm in my 30's and I'm built pretty well, I thrive in terrible working conditions having done yard work my whole life in the desert heat. It's a hell of an experience in those warehouses. Because of my size they would put me where all the big shit is, I never complained, and I killed my rate regularly. Going to the bathroom is a bit more tricky than what was described in Jon's video. Suddenly get that feeling that I gotta take a shit, I go into overdrive and stock everything in my cage fast and correctly, then grab another cage and do the same to ensure I've padded my rate for the hour so I CAN go take a shit. Head to the bathroom I know that doesn't get much traffic, get to a stall, and go to drop a deuce, yet I can't relax. It's like that fight or flight mode when you're working in an Amazon warehouse, so much pressure from making rate, can't goto the bathroom even though I have to go. Myself and the other warehouse associates would joke about that constantly, and if someone came back from the bathroom successfully we would cheer out for the freedom of their bowls. You could be in that situation, can't shit because of the anxiety of the pace, then just pull your pants back up and get back to work, and 15 mins later a Manager would come up to you telling you got selected for VTO(Voluntary Time Off(Unpaid)) And you'd take it in a heartbeat, and funnily enough, the second you clock out of that bitch, the pressure is gone, and your body is like, HEY YOU CAN SHIT IN PEACE HOMEY! And you shit, and life's good, til the next day and you repeat the process all over again. The moment I realized I hated working there was when one of those performance people came down to tell me about my rate. They told me usually people plateau at some point, and I'm well over the required rate expectation, but I'm actually continuing to get faster every week. It wasn't a gradual increase either, I was killing it, improving my rate by 5 and 7 points each week. I was excited to hear that, but then they told me that by doing that I increase the average of the rate in that area. It hit me quickly and I asked, "So by me increasing my rate, I'm fucking my coworkers?" And they nodded yes, and added that if I get to high, they will lock me in my own average, and I could get fired by not killing it everyday too. Fuck Amazon! Oh and when they increased the wage to $15, they took their existing associates stock options away. Amazon is abusing some of the coolest, chillest people I've ever met, Fuck you Amazon. Glad I don't work there anymore.

    • @citytianyu
      @citytianyu Před 4 lety +199

      Shoot. They didn't award you for your efficiency increase but actually punish you or other workers. That just doesn't sound intelligence.

    • @Michyyy0210
      @Michyyy0210 Před 4 lety +73

      L4ndless word I wish they could've used more of my CZcams video in there but you know Amazon be threatening news reporters if they reveal too much

    • @Sam-bm6yf
      @Sam-bm6yf Před 4 lety +26

      My, my, I WISH I could afford to buy elsewhere. I'm sorry.

    • @SneedyKetler
      @SneedyKetler Před 4 lety +32

      ItsMichy it’s you from the video! TY for being a part of this. It’s good to hear from voices that were on the frontline.

    • @LilChuunosuke
      @LilChuunosuke Před 4 lety +47

      The speed thing is definitely not just an Amazon thing. I work for Peapod. We are timed based on UPH, which stands for Units Per Hour. They take the average or median (idk which) speed which people perform at and make that our goal. A major problem with that is that not only does everyone operate at different speeds, but your UPH can also depend on what's in your order.
      If your order only has like 30 items and someone bought like 10 cans of corn, your UPH might be something like 300. But if you got a ton of 12 packs, gallons of water, cat litter, etc., it might be more like 150. Worst part is that our bosses don't tell people that's what our time is based on, so some kids will literally throw items into their totes, sometimes organizing it later, so they can hit their expected time, not realizing that doing that actually helps make our expected UPH higher. I work quickly and efficiently, but still average around 80-85% because of this.

  • @31webseries
    @31webseries Před 4 lety +3819

    This is why people once fought so hard for labor unions that they were willing to risk everything.

    • @a2pabmb2
      @a2pabmb2 Před 4 lety +316

      But the old fat white guy on muh tee-vee sez unions are SOCIALIZM!!1!

    • @couragekarnga8735
      @couragekarnga8735 Před 4 lety +102

      I guess we have to keep fighting.

    • @cindy-ml7vo
      @cindy-ml7vo Před 4 lety +152

      Unions are NOT socialist. They are private party agreements with other private parties.

    • @sean3533
      @sean3533 Před 4 lety +17

      No, the Democrat party used to be the party for workers, now it's the party for anything else.

    • @13lood13ath
      @13lood13ath Před 4 lety +129

      The elite want to control you. This is why they are fighting to take unions away.

  • @ukeyaoitrash2618
    @ukeyaoitrash2618 Před rokem +89

    This makes me VERY happy with my job.
    I am Dutch and work in a food warehouse - but a NORMAL one. We don't have rates/targets, we don't clock out for the bathroom, I walk around 10 kilometers so around 6-7 miles MAX a day, the working rate is relaxed, there is free food every day for lunch, I work 4 days a week monday-thursday 9-18, and after work I go home, cook myself, chill and do fun things for like 3 hours, and then sleep... ON A WORKDAY.
    I *ENJOY* my job.
    Of course, I can get off for anime conventions and such if I only get back on Monday I can get that day off. If I am sick I don't work and am paid.
    Warehouses CAN be great places to work like mine - if the company is a good one!
    And yes, my boss HATES amazon etc. We don't compete with them, but he just absolutely hates these kind of working conditions. We do order there in our private lives, because amazon working conditions are A *LOT* better in the Netherlands, but even then not as our first choice.

    • @takeandbakejake3271
      @takeandbakejake3271 Před 7 měsíci +10

      So what are the requirements for a long term Dutch work visa? Just out of curiosity. No reason.

    • @hannahw7023
      @hannahw7023 Před 6 měsíci +8

      Damn, must be nice to live in a place where employees are still treated like people and not a resource to be exploited

    • @armorhide406
      @armorhide406 Před 4 měsíci +3

      Wow living in a country with sane labor laws...

    • @user-hc8oj8cv4f
      @user-hc8oj8cv4f Před 3 měsíci

      Okay, quick question: is TOEFL enough for me to be able to work in Netherlands, or should I learn Dutch?
      Edit: crap, I confused Dutchland and Denmark the second I lifted my eyes of the screen. Mea culpa.

    • @JPKyle-ro3sn
      @JPKyle-ro3sn Před 15 dny

      Good, I'm glad that you experience such good working conditions and enjoy your job, you're supposed to enjoy your job and have good conditions❤ ❤

  • @BFancybones
    @BFancybones Před 2 lety +140

    "Look, Amazon isn't the worst"
    That didn't age well lmao

    • @nell1251
      @nell1251 Před 2 lety +13

      @@aabc they also removed bonuses and stock options for their employees. Really a model company ;).

  • @dottyjyoung
    @dottyjyoung Před 4 lety +2706

    Amazon has a promoted Tweet right now offering guided tours of the warehouses.
    Someone snarkily replied that North Korea offers guided tours too. ;)

    • @JD-uj5cp
      @JD-uj5cp Před 4 lety +215

      Rhayne Lyte dude why is your essay everywhere. Tbh starting to think your a amazon bot or something. 😂

    • @FlyingDwarfman
      @FlyingDwarfman Před 4 lety +107

      @@JD-uj5cp That they were messing up basic facts about Amazon warehouse employment (specific facts I know from first and second-hand experience) as well as how to write percentages indicates to me that they're not some Amazon bot; but much more likely a paid troll who is near- or nonnative-fluent in English.

    • @CuteAnimeGirl
      @CuteAnimeGirl Před 4 lety +104

      Reminder that Jeff Bezos has literally said he wants workers to come into work each day "afraid of losing their job" because that's what he thinks will motivate them the most. HE WANTS US TO BE AFRAID. We are so damn scared every single day we show up, that we have people who are starting to have panic attacks while at work, and one person actually attempted to jump off the railing in our building to commit suicide because of how stressed they were from this job. You guys don't even know how bad it is, because this video is just the tip of the iceberg. Amazon doesn't really talk about any of this, and most of this info will never get out to the public.

    • @CuteAnimeGirl
      @CuteAnimeGirl Před 4 lety +88

      FUCKING BULLSHIT YOUR RATE WAS %300. Even our best picker at our warehouse managed a 250%, and that's a guy who literally runs in the warehouse and somehow doesn't get in trouble for it. BULL. SHIT. You are absolutely making this up, because that is literally and physically impossible to pick that fast, unless you're on a damn motorized scooter. STOP LYING. Either that or you started several years ago when rate was actually super easy and you weren't competing with your warehouse for rate, but you just needed a flat number to reach. Then maybe I'd believe you. When you're competing with 6 foot tall guys who zoom back and forth through the warehouse and the rate is set by highest achievers and averaged out, what you said is literally impossible.

    • @teodoromagdaleno6325
      @teodoromagdaleno6325 Před 4 lety +17

      Fuck you Amazon lover

  • @Erinator9000
    @Erinator9000 Před 4 lety +1200

    My brother worked for Amazon once upon a time, he got fired for "using the restroom too often" and he had documented gallbladder problems. I'm so glad someone's talking about this.

    • @matrixman8582
      @matrixman8582 Před 4 lety +29

      Well maybe his gallblader problem interfered with productivity.

    • @DriOXZ
      @DriOXZ Před 4 lety +9

      @@matrixman8582 Wouldn't want his numbers to drop

    • @rachelschweitzer2965
      @rachelschweitzer2965 Před 4 lety +31

      You wont believe the things ive witnessed !!! I quit last month, couldnt take it anymore. I wont say too much though, they keep deleting my comments !!!

    • @danielcarbajal6574
      @danielcarbajal6574 Před 4 lety +4

      I work at amazon and I use the restroom very often.

    • @Kuryux
      @Kuryux Před 4 lety +1

      Did he try using a potty?

  • @Resurgam1985
    @Resurgam1985 Před rokem +27

    "Thank God I went to college!"
    BA and MA here. All I managed to do in the US was customer service. I managed to start my own business by... leaving the US. And yes, I'm aware of how very lucky I am to be able to do that.

  • @michealhuff2299
    @michealhuff2299 Před 2 lety +78

    “I’m glad I went to college.” 🤣🤣🤣😂😅know someone who just got their second masters degree and even more recently accepted a position in an Amazon warehouse for $18.50 an hour. She’s moving to nowhere in the midwest to do it.

    • @peggyhewitt3431
      @peggyhewitt3431 Před rokem +2

      Tell your second masters friend that Florida needs teachers…

    • @penname8441
      @penname8441 Před rokem

      +

    • @michaelstevens230
      @michaelstevens230 Před rokem

      2 masters and they work in a warehouse. That's on them. They had money to waste on two big ass degrees they should have learned about the work force they were studying for

    • @ryanarchuleta6231
      @ryanarchuleta6231 Před rokem +4

      @@michaelstevens230 Yeah man, but the thing is people who work at Walmart and shit like that are told "Well it's your fault for not going to college." It's like people are damned if they do and damned if they don't. You can't always predict the job market. Look at the trades. When 2008 happened tons of tradesmen were out of work because there was like zero new construction.

    • @michaelstevens230
      @michaelstevens230 Před rokem

      @ryanarchuleta6231 it's really not. Do you know what amount of time and thought goes into getting not one but two masters. And you aren't even a supervisor at that warehouse? Someone is either lying to make the point look better or I'm sorry someone made a choice and it was a poor one.

  • @christylee-suzuki6772
    @christylee-suzuki6772 Před 4 lety +2159

    I think it’s worth mentioning that Amazon raised the minimum wage while cutting bonuses and stock options for their workers so many actually make less than before - they are not the model to follow.

    • @spinningpeanut
      @spinningpeanut Před 4 lety +68

      Christy Lee-Suzuki right? I was on a trip when the announcement hit but I was told that everyone booed the warehouse manager when he told everyone the good news. We we're already at 13.50 when you work donut days. I worked donut nights so I got $14. I was so angry we lost our bonuses.

    • @blanco7726
      @blanco7726 Před 4 lety +1

      spinningpeanut do you work 40 a week?

    • @Toxodos
      @Toxodos Před 4 lety +41

      looks like someone didn't have his bear spray this morning

    • @bryancouillard2016
      @bryancouillard2016 Před 4 lety +78

      It's not just Amazon, either. Big retail across the board is doing whatever they can to increase their pay RATE without increasing their payROLL. It makes them look better to prospective employees who don't know any better. Bags of chips are more air than ever, candy bars cost the same as 20 years ago, but have steadily decreased in size slow enough for you not to notice, and retail jobs quietly cut benefits or hours every time they raise their minimum wage. Just corporations doing what they do.

    • @theMosen
      @theMosen Před 4 lety +3

      What were the bonuses exactly?

  • @cedricjohnsonn
    @cedricjohnsonn Před 4 lety +3576

    12:00 Thank you so much for including me in this weekend segment! It means the world 🖤🤗

    • @petertaylor4980
      @petertaylor4980 Před 4 lety +34

      @Evan Slager, did he actually say he got it? Or was that "you" in the generic sense of "whoever the slightly less unlucky person was"?

    • @Flaubert
      @Flaubert Před 4 lety +75

      Thanks for telling the truth

    • @laurenburghard5507
      @laurenburghard5507 Před 4 lety +39

      Lucky you! Sorry you had to deal with amazon's bullshit

    • @MG-sn3fk
      @MG-sn3fk Před 4 lety +41

      Just wanna say...here's a internet hug *huggies*. Hope you see better days 💖

    • @averagememeenjoyer7241
      @averagememeenjoyer7241 Před 4 lety +21

      I felt so glad for you. My prize was once a lollipop.

  • @coreydrew3228
    @coreydrew3228 Před 2 lety +40

    Hi everyone 👋🏻 I’d like to point out that this is the same atmosphere at usps sorting centers. While not as bad, we do regularly walk 15 miles/day, often work mandatory overtime, the turnover rate is incredible. Most of the jobs are working with machines and robots. We even have some of the automated vehicles that Amazon didn’t end up using.

  • @RodneyG669
    @RodneyG669 Před 10 měsíci +7

    As someone who's worked in warehousing for almost three decades Amazon is absolutely the worst place to work. Yeah they pay $15/hour now, but they also work people hard enough to cripple them permanently then they dump them.
    They don't care because as far as they're concerned there will always be more bodies to feed into the grinder.

  • @Cohult
    @Cohult Před 4 lety +1959

    In orientation, we watched an interview about Bezos, in which he said he quit his job on Wall Street because "Why am I working so hard to make someone else money?" My station's nearest bathroom was 6 minutes away, had to pick items every 12 seconds, and had knee problems before age 30. You didn't even joke about unionizing because they'd use the slightest infraction to fire you. We had someone die on his drive home during peak (60 hour weeks for 3 months) because of exhaustion and our managers took that opportunity to lecture us on getting enough rest. I'd drown that man in a clogged toilet given half a chance.

    • @brandonm949
      @brandonm949 Před 4 lety +154

      The key to success is a complete lack of self-awareness, I guess.

    • @anarchisttechsupport6644
      @anarchisttechsupport6644 Před 4 lety +84

      When America has its own Guillotine Moment? I'm going to relish this video, these comments, and yours in particular.
      Because that's where we're heading. Only, we're probably not gonna be so nice as to design an executioner's device to limit pain and suffering.

    • @JustinHasTacos
      @JustinHasTacos Před 4 lety +7

      I remember that video. I thought it was cool when i first saw it. I feel the same as you

    • @neku2741
      @neku2741 Před 4 lety +57

      I am so glad I did my degree, all I have to do now is work to pay my student loans for the rest of my life.

    • @imnamelessdude
      @imnamelessdude Před 4 lety +19

      Your right to drown such a man friend lol. These jobs are turning people into heartless robot s

  • @georgemackintosh6247
    @georgemackintosh6247 Před 4 lety +2516

    Also, Amazon didn't just up and raise the minimum wage out of the kindness of their hearts. They were forced to do so, and they fought to tooth and nail to avoid it.

    • @alexj7440
      @alexj7440 Před 4 lety +156

      Bernie sanders got them that raise

    • @georgemackintosh6247
      @georgemackintosh6247 Před 4 lety +84

      @@alexj7440 Damn straight, he did

    • @metrognome197
      @metrognome197 Před 4 lety +82

      Also they're now using it as the excuse to be even bigger assholes to their employees. Don't get me wrong, hat's off to our hopeful future president for getting the workers a living wage, but fuck you Jeff Bezos for being such a huge piece of shit.

    • @xandercorp6175
      @xandercorp6175 Před 4 lety +12

      You idiots, why do you think they are being pushed so hard? If you artificially force the wages higher than the market price, you have to work harder and give up benefits and sick days to make up the difference. Raising the wage was the worst thing for those workers who were willing to work for less and incapable of making the cut once the work got hard. Just look though the comments to hear office workers complaining about "huge 6ft tall guys just breezing through the warehouse"... it's almost like they're more built for the hard labour than you are. Imagine that. So thank Bernie for pushing you into a world of work you can't handle, and showing you just how insufficient you are.

    • @telmobrito519
      @telmobrito519 Před 4 lety +126

      @@xandercorp6175 " If you artificially force the wages higher than the market price, you have to work harder and give up benefits and sick days to make up the difference "
      See , that would make sense if the company did not earn far more money than used to pay employee .
      When your CEO gets 1+ billion$/year you dont fckin need ANY " making up the difference " for a fckin wage increase .

  • @sorenelesher6856
    @sorenelesher6856 Před 2 lety +25

    I'm 20, and I worked in an AMAZ(on)ing warehouse when I was 19. I'm a cellist now with a chronic shoulder/back injury from that work. I worked in the shipping warehouse (not picking items, just sorting boxes off conveyors and then loading them onto trucks). I have horror stories/many complaints. They had no AC except a portable floor fan. We were not easily able to call out sick (including during COVID19) and I almost got fired after missing 2 days of work home sick with a fever, I had to meet with HR when I got back and work while I was still recovering from illness. That warehouse hires people to wear them down and fire them/have them quit. Shifts were 10-12 hours and you got in trouble for moving too slowly. we had the occasional employee yell and then leave/quit during the shift. During the pandemic, we were not allowed to do team lifting (we still did anyways if no one could see), but that meant that one person could have to lift over 50 pounds on their own. I'm no body builder, but I am an active guy. I did sports in middle and high school and I enjoy being fit. I was a skinny but active 19 year old guy just trying to make enough to pay for university. Most of the other employees were also working there because of the pay or because they couldn't get another job....not very many body builders. When I worked there I worked 2am to 1pm and all I did at home was eat dinner and pass out until I had to get up for work again. It was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. I saw other people get injured as well. I strongly encourage people not to work there, but I understand those who do have to because I have been there. This video is quite accurate.

    • @stevenliang3213
      @stevenliang3213 Před 2 lety

      And here I thought I was sad getting rejected by Amazon for a financial analyst position.
      Can never support a company that treats their workers like shit. I hardly use my amazon account either.
      I’m glad you’re much better and wishing you well for your physical and mental recovery

  • @voiceofreason2674
    @voiceofreason2674 Před 2 lety +17

    My friends dad who is in his 50s lost his IT job and went to work at a Amazon center and they’re always giving him negative reviews and threatening “performance improvement plans” when he physically can’t keep up because of his age. It’s hung a shadow over their family.

  • @blahara
    @blahara Před 4 lety +559

    As a former Amazon employee the one thing I will say, do not EVER buy food from them if it is not specifically through Amazon Fresh. They have no issue storing your bag of Doritos next to a leaking bottle of insectide.

    • @milthy3781
      @milthy3781 Před 4 lety +30

      My favorite flavor

    • @dannytourigny9403
      @dannytourigny9403 Před 4 lety +10

      Thanks for the heads up.

    • @lukeleo9700
      @lukeleo9700 Před 4 lety +3

      Try going to work at a seafood wearhouse full of illegals ... The condition are horrible

    • @milthy3781
      @milthy3781 Před 4 lety +11

      @@lukeleo9700 its not a competition

    • @lukeleo9700
      @lukeleo9700 Před 4 lety

      @@milthy3781 it's not lol but you guys have it good compared to the third world country wearhouses ... You guys complaint about minor issues

  • @Wolvilax
    @Wolvilax Před 4 lety +3029

    "I am glad I went to college" does he know how many people whit college degree working in this type of places?

    • @floridamann1109
      @floridamann1109 Před 4 lety +302

      This. Had a roommate that had a masters in marketing and he couldn't get a job paying above 13 an hour, and that was after working for a company for 3 years

    • @Rox123ify
      @Rox123ify Před 4 lety +86

      I know at least I do so that's one

    • @EmilioFigueroa
      @EmilioFigueroa Před 4 lety +66

      Several personally.

    • @senortaco3563
      @senortaco3563 Před 4 lety +54

      Facts.

    • @ConstantChaos1
      @ConstantChaos1 Před 4 lety +37

      After all the exercises and shit they do they should look at working as an EMT. It's a bit harder and a bit more dangerous but its 100000% worth it and it only takes a semester to get certified lmao

  • @katystorandt2945
    @katystorandt2945 Před rokem +5

    "...they told me to definitely not say that so I'm not going to..." genius!

  • @misspinkelf
    @misspinkelf Před 2 lety +15

    Anyone notice the black guy wasn’t fazed by bear mace, implying he’s been maxed enough to build an immunity?

    • @jenniferpatterson4964
      @jenniferpatterson4964 Před 2 lety

      Um, that’s Tarik from The Amber Ruffin Show (an actor and comedian) and there was no real bear repellent used. That last clip was satirical, so none of that was real, only a commentary on reality.

    • @misspinkelf
      @misspinkelf Před rokem +4

      Yeah. I’m aware it’s satire.

  • @KashWill9
    @KashWill9 Před 4 lety +335

    I know an older woman who was fired for getting water outside of her break, she was a "scanner". Don't get me started with Amazon, I quit once they told us at a "ALL HANDS MEETING" that the company's Gatorade machine was being removed since it was no longer in our fulfillment's budget.... then immediately wanted us to celebrate Jeff Bozo buying the Washington Post. I walked straight out.

    • @PamelaKopp
      @PamelaKopp Před 4 lety +24

      Pity you didn't start a fire before leaving...

    • @XiaoGuanYin104
      @XiaoGuanYin104 Před 4 lety +17

      @@PamelaKopp people would have died.

    • @pleasuretokill
      @pleasuretokill Před 4 lety +5

      At least they wouldn't have had to slave for Amazon anymore. Rather be dead!

    • @pleasuretokill
      @pleasuretokill Před 4 lety +4

      I just quit my slave job after doing that type of work for 25 years. Exaggerating? No. Being a slave is a terrible way to live and make no mistake companies like Amazon pay slave labor wages and work you to death. So, no. Not one ounce of exaggeration. I would rather be dead than go back to my slave labor job. I am now debt free and have my own small online business. I don't care if I'm broke, I will never go back to being someone elses slave. I would rather live under an underpass or eat a bullet.

    • @KM-je6bf
      @KM-je6bf Před 4 lety

      @@pleasuretokill you worked 25 years as a warehouse associate? It's no ones fault but your own that you arent intelligent enough to do anything other than "move box from point A to point B"

  • @athuldomichen1192
    @athuldomichen1192 Před 4 lety +1535

    I worked at an Amazon warehouse for two months last year and it was the absolute worst, most depressing time of my entire life. I decided I've had it when one day everyone was already packing superfast and a 'supervisor' comes behind us and says "Faster! Faster!" The only thing she was missing was a whip, I thought.
    Never again. Ever.

    • @athuldomichen1192
      @athuldomichen1192 Před 4 lety +21

      @K K I can relate to that

    • @israelvasquez1652
      @israelvasquez1652 Před 4 lety +78

      Its hard to see that this is the new form of slavery. Rich assholes like Bezzos making millions off of people's misery.

    • @elizabetholiviaclark
      @elizabetholiviaclark Před 4 lety +90

      @@seanl764 So, screw the people who are the subject of this video? They didn't finish college, so who cares if they're mistreated?

    • @seanl764
      @seanl764 Před 4 lety +1

      @@elizabetholiviaclark Na, it just means that they didn't put in as much hard work as other people early on in life. Having a high income is pretty common if you are in the right business with the right skills. Top 1% of households in the USA has net worth of 10 million or up, top 10% have net worth of $1 million and up. It's pretty easy to be a millionaire in this day and age.

    • @whitneyr6182
      @whitneyr6182 Před 4 lety +54

      @@seanl764 hahahahahahahah

  • @bettyoffdead
    @bettyoffdead Před rokem +14

    Watching this while working at my warehouse job. Fun fact! We don't get breaks here! My boss told me to find time to eat while working. Which works out fine for the people who are in the offices and do paperwork all day, but for someone like me at the bottom of the ladder it means shoveling food into my mouth in the few seconds I have between making bundles and stacking pallets. That is, if I even get to eat at all :)

    • @traditionalnative
      @traditionalnative Před 10 měsíci +4

      Depending on if you live in America, that's super illegal. I know bosses obviously do that kinda shit constantly, but fr, if you wanted to email me about me making an anonymous tip to the labor department that "a friend doesn't get breaks" that's actually a big enough violation that an anonymous tipster with no dog in the fight might at least draw an eye to this? I know it's a long shot. I'm sorry you're going through this, fr.
      Solidarity from the Lakȟóta Nation ✊🏽

    • @verde7595
      @verde7595 Před 7 měsíci +5

      @@traditionalnative Unfortunately if you don't have video evidence of this happening there's not much you can do. The company will get bigger and better lawyers than you can dream of having and even if the case gets thrown out you'll be ruined with court fees. It's happened to me with a corporation and again with a landlord. And even if you did have video evidence, it's often illegal to film without consent on private property like that so you'll be punished anyway.

    • @AssBlasster
      @AssBlasster Před měsícem +1

      JFC I always got a 30 minute lunch with some compensation or free lunch when working at restaurants in Florida. Now I'm in Cali and they FORCE every worker to take a 30 minute unpaid lunch after 5 hrs of work.

  • @barbarahecht4617
    @barbarahecht4617 Před 3 lety +14

    There's an Amazon Fulfillment Center in my area, and during Covid-19 in 2020, the workers complained that they did little to nothing to conform to health and safety policies which would have kept the employees a little safer with regard to catching and passing the virus.

  • @Hymnalysis
    @Hymnalysis Před 4 lety +1525

    I'm a veteran of Amazon manual picking. This video is quite accurate.

    • @KageKitsune64
      @KageKitsune64 Před 4 lety +85

      Thank you for your service. 🇺🇸

    • @Fire-Manz
      @Fire-Manz Před 4 lety +60

      My god, I'm a garbageman and I lift things by the TONS! You guys shouldn't be that tired and hurt without a union.

    • @tinahesse186
      @tinahesse186 Před 4 lety +19

      @@Fire-Manz Working at Amazon is very tiring. It's hard work.

    • @dwaynejones1555
      @dwaynejones1555 Před 4 lety +10

      Hymnalysis no wonder why Jeff is so rich.

    • @joelshack85
      @joelshack85 Před 4 lety +8

      Elitism = first world bitches complaining about first world work environments

  • @ams7722
    @ams7722 Před 4 lety +432

    I've been a manager/director in warehousing for 15 years, I've literally never had an OSHA inspector visit one of my sites. The issue isn't just laws, it's regulation to enforce those laws. In the case of places like Amazon, they can also easily afford any fine levied against them.

    • @PappyMandarine
      @PappyMandarine Před 4 lety +9

      Tell us more about your experience, man. I'm especially interested in the pressure you had from above to implement rules & guidelines that end up giving the result seen in this video.

    • @jeremysiegel2961
      @jeremysiegel2961 Před 4 lety +10

      They tell our company that they're coming. Everything runs extra slow during the inspections. What's the point?

    • @rakeldanell
      @rakeldanell Před 4 lety +2

      Y'all had a Gatorade machine?!

    • @helenbobo1948
      @helenbobo1948 Před 4 lety +7

      Aren't repubs trying to cut out OSHA?

    • @MrStone125
      @MrStone125 Před 4 lety +2

      Theyll make your life shit, I hope you realize that.

  • @jackadams3878
    @jackadams3878 Před 2 lety +7

    "i really think a union would - "
    *BEAR SPRAY*
    "OH JESUS CHRIST!"
    XD

  • @TheSkubna
    @TheSkubna Před 13 dny +3

    I worked for whole foods (amazon), it was a refrigerated building and i worked too hard, and injured my neck/shoulder. By the time Sedgwick got me my paperwork, it was "too late" and then i just lost my job. I was called in, which was an hour and a half drive one way with extreme pain holding using my hands, to show up and be informed i was fired.

  • @Xeonerable
    @Xeonerable Před 4 lety +1951

    "We aren't anti-unions, we just value our shareholders and top earners more than everyone else."

    • @markbrownner6565
      @markbrownner6565 Před 4 lety +74

      welcome to the new feudalism ...royalty / mercenaries / merchants / craftsmen / serfs.....

    • @AD-cd1bx
      @AD-cd1bx Před 4 lety +11

      Shareholders always come first, and always will. If they don't make money then the business is gone.

    • @Emeries40
      @Emeries40 Před 4 lety +43

      A D Stakeholders ought to come first. The community, the employees, and the shareholders should all be valued equally. Without any of the three, the business wouldn’t exist.

    • @AD-cd1bx
      @AD-cd1bx Před 4 lety +5

      @@Emeries40 True, but we all know who the CEOs are beholden to.

    • @michaelfixedsys7463
      @michaelfixedsys7463 Před 4 lety +2

      @@markbrownner6565 feudalism was originally a fabrication, it's a shame that it came to fruition

  • @Jayfeatherchan
    @Jayfeatherchan Před 4 lety +481

    As a former Amazon employee I can confirm the accuracy of this. Although I do get a bit annoyed when the media praises Amazon for their $15 minimum wage without acknowledging the fact that Amazon used to give their employees stock in the company and had a monthly bonus program. Both of which were ended when the $15 minimum wage was announced. I remember the GM at my location struggling to explain why one had to replace the other and we couldn’t have both.

    • @xXxCLEMSONxXx
      @xXxCLEMSONxXx Před 4 lety +2

      Lol dems don’t realize that money has to come from somewhere

    • @DeosPraetorian
      @DeosPraetorian Před 4 lety +2

      @@xXxCLEMSONxXx k then

    • @dnhook
      @dnhook Před 4 lety

      Then get off your lazy ass, go start a company and pay $20/hour. Hell, pay them $50/hour since you're so generous.

    • @DeosPraetorian
      @DeosPraetorian Před 4 lety +10

      @@xXxCLEMSONxXx repubs dont realize that tax breaks for the rich dont work

    • @bonelegged
      @bonelegged Před 4 lety +4

      Avery Brock leave the conversation to the grownups :)

  • @towermoss
    @towermoss Před rokem +6

    I had a college degree and worked at Amazon because I couldn't find a job in my field. I went back to school, and after 1.5 years, my body was destroyed. I had to work with one arm and they didn't care. Then I caught them coming behind me and sabotaging my work so they could put points against me because they needed a reason to fire me. Then my mom died from ALS and I had to fight with them to get some time off. Afterward HR told me I had to pick between school and my job.
    I made my decision.
    Bonus fact: Amazon officially refers to warehouses without robots as "legacy warehouses".

  • @Prizzlesticks
    @Prizzlesticks Před 2 lety +16

    I was here like, "Wow, this episode released early tonight," then got all the way to the end feeling severe deja vu, only to realise... Ooooh. I watched this two and a half years ago, and it remains entirely relevant.

  • @IceDragon289
    @IceDragon289 Před 3 lety +3433

    "It made me thank God that I went to college."
    I guarantee you, plenty of those warehouse workers have college degrees, and simply can't find work in their field.

    • @evacornell1031
      @evacornell1031 Před 3 lety +110

      I work in a warehouse (not amazon), that is true. Many others are immigrants who, in my country, at least cant get student loans making college completely out of the question

    • @oreokitty333
      @oreokitty333 Před 3 lety +119

      Yep, my partner has a master's in mechanical engineering from a "good school" and experience. Nobody's hiring for that in a pandemic. He's working a warehouse for the time being.

    • @guillermocalle2184
      @guillermocalle2184 Před 3 lety +39

      Preach. Same issue here. Had positions retract interviews because the pandemic forced them to close. So a customer Service job it was until things get better.

    • @stoodmuffinpersonal3144
      @stoodmuffinpersonal3144 Před 3 lety +8

      it will be my fate, too. I'm sure of it. Nice knowing you.

    • @NoOne-is2yr
      @NoOne-is2yr Před 3 lety +49

      I guarantee you, plenty of people have dropped out of college because they couldn't keep up with their education while working at a place like Amazon that breaks their bodies on a daily basis.

  • @burntpieceoftoast4148
    @burntpieceoftoast4148 Před 4 lety +1651

    Lol, John pissed off Amazon so much they had to make a statement regarding this episode.
    Nice. 🤣🤣

    • @alejandrogalvan7519
      @alejandrogalvan7519 Před 4 lety +40

      burntpiece oftoast can you share a link please

    • @Marethyu311
      @Marethyu311 Před 4 lety +14

      NICE!!!!!!!

    • @RedeyeRaccoon
      @RedeyeRaccoon Před 4 lety +161

      I went ahead and found the link for - burntpiece oftoast - it's from Variety Magazine's website...
      variety.com/2019/digital/news/amazon-john-oliver-hbo-segment-on-warehouse-conditions-1203257834/
      I love how powerful Last Week Tonight is on their reportings. However there is two sides to every story. Amazon goes into detail how they're a huge fan of the show but they're little disappointed that LWT didn't reach out to them more before airing this segment. In my opinion, yes Amazon employees need to unionize.

    • @666Tomato666
      @666Tomato666 Před 4 lety +230

      @@RedeyeRaccoon "disappointed that LWT didn't reach out to them more before airing this segment"
      translation: this little ratface fucker didn't even allow us to send him a cease & desist letter!

    • @borismuller86
      @borismuller86 Před 4 lety +13

      NOICE.

  • @danlaleman5733
    @danlaleman5733 Před 24 dny +3

    In pontoon beach, Illinois, in the metro east area outside of St. Louis, where I used to live, there was an Amazon warehouse that was struck by a tornado, with reports of workers being told to keep working even though there was a tornado warning in the area

  • @yamnayaseed356
    @yamnayaseed356 Před 2 lety +15

    20:29 Jackie is literally how the average Amazonian feels on the job (that includes corporate staff). Same vibes. This is a company with an evil heart.

  • @WhatsYourDadSnap
    @WhatsYourDadSnap Před 4 lety +685

    I worked in an Amazon fulfillment center for 5 months.... I can say everything he says is so true!

    • @mark-jensbarton8363
      @mark-jensbarton8363 Před 4 lety +121

      @luke wilson Boy, you sure solved all labour problems! Look at you go!

    • @wickedblackheart26
      @wickedblackheart26 Před 4 lety +30

      luke wilson like it is so easy to find a job

    • @randomdude1191
      @randomdude1191 Před 4 lety +73

      @luke wilson You tell him to stop complaining and get another job. He does that, now someone else fills that job. You tell that person the same thing and the replacement after that. Your advice doesn't change anything beyond an individual level, the shitty job still exists and needs to exist for you to have nice things, there's just different faces fulfilling it.

    • @dudewtf1776
      @dudewtf1776 Před 4 lety +54

      @luke wilson Wow you just solved one of the most difficult employment problems of our generation.
      I can't wait to hear your solution for world hunger!!!??
      "Luke Wilson: Just eat"

    • @AbsentWithoutLeaving
      @AbsentWithoutLeaving Před 4 lety

      @@randomdude1191 - Some jobs are meant to be an intro into a particular company's culture, and are not meant to be careers. You're expected to do your time and then move up the food chain. Anybody who stays at a certain position and does not choose to advance gets written off.

  • @fabsmaster5309
    @fabsmaster5309 Před 2 lety +42

    They aren’t called “fulfillment centers” because they’re supposed to be fulfilling, happy places where you find your life’s purpose. “Fulfillment” is a shipping term, as in you got your order fulfilled.

  • @gedaman
    @gedaman Před 21 dnem +2

    I once tried working in an Amazon warehouse in 2011. I lasted 3 days until I had enough and quit. One of my coworkers said he could only keep up the work with painkillers.

  • @ahmedshaharyarejaz9886
    @ahmedshaharyarejaz9886 Před 4 lety +2499

    Whenever a corporation makes a needlessly happy, corny and odd ad about employee work conditions just know that something shady is going on over there.

  • @justinberry6411
    @justinberry6411 Před 4 lety +250

    I work at ups and I want to personally thank you for shedding a light on the ridiculous standards and work practices at these warehouses. It’s absurd

    • @marshallc6885
      @marshallc6885 Před 4 lety +3

      Justin Berry please dont use your real name friend, just delete this comment

    • @cjfromgtasanadreas
      @cjfromgtasanadreas Před 4 lety +1

      @@marshallc6885 he works at ups, not amazon

    • @danielcadwell9812
      @danielcadwell9812 Před 4 lety

      I work for Lineage Logistics and it isn't too bad at all.

    • @richardsanchez9190
      @richardsanchez9190 Před 4 lety +1

      @@marshallc6885 why not?

    • @marshallc6885
      @marshallc6885 Před 4 lety +1

      Richard Sanchez getting fired, i would get fired if my past employers saw me doing this even if it was legal or not. And to fight it would cost more money than he prob has

  • @shannoncook1108
    @shannoncook1108 Před 2 lety +1

    thank you i love your subject matter and you steadfast ability to keep us in touch with our sanity. so appreciated.

  • @kcskoolz8312
    @kcskoolz8312 Před 2 lety +3

    I worked at a CFC (customer fulfillment center) aka Giant Warehouse called MSC Industrial Supply for 5 years.
    Watching this...its pretty spot on.
    They time your every move. I walked about 13-15 miles a day.

  • @Marsbert
    @Marsbert Před 4 lety +791

    Hot damn, I worked for Amazon for 6 years as a picker and watching this brought back nightmares

    • @TJMizu
      @TJMizu Před 4 lety +19

      Marsbert holy shit!! How did you last that long? Hopefully you’re in a much better place now.

    • @nicoleauroux
      @nicoleauroux Před 4 lety +11

      @@TJMizu LOL, like heaven? Yeah, death sounds better.

    • @Omnorimli
      @Omnorimli Před 4 lety +4

      how accurate was this?

    • @davearreola2016
      @davearreola2016 Před 4 lety +6

      Heaven awaits you you've served your time hell..

    • @sergeantsmiley6897
      @sergeantsmiley6897 Před 4 lety +11

      @@Omnorimli I worked at amazon too and can say its very accurate

  • @wadebrasher4832
    @wadebrasher4832 Před 4 lety +352

    As a former Amazon Warehouse employee, this hits hard. I worked in the Outbound Shipping docks, basically loading the packages in the trucks for departure. First off, it was a $10/hr. wage for a 10 hour shift. At the beginning of the shift, we were assigned a section of the dock to "look over". Essentially that meant that we were in charge of a certain amount of doors being loaded. I don't think I ever once saw a step stool, even though they told us they were around. Granted, I'm 6'2" so I didn't need them but I was the outlier. Most of my coworkers were under 5'8", and were constantly condemned for not loading the packages in the trucks high enough. After Thanksgiving, we entered the "peak season", meaning it's a time of high demand and product output. This is the time when part-time and seasonal employees were brought in, and even that didn't seem to be enough. The way the trucks were loaded were via conveyor belts that would feed from the upstairs picking and packing area down into the trucks themselves, with us in the truck stacking packages tightly and neatly in the truck. What happens when a metric fuckton of packages came down at once? Well the conveyor would get backed up, and it would shut down the entire conveyor system upstairs, and a blue siren would flash on the conveyor belt, signaling that it was the belt that was backed up. Once that happened, all hell broke loose. Our supervisors would come over screaming and hollering that we were not loading the trucks fast enough, causing the belt to back up in the first place. How fast were we moving? As fast as we possibly could, of course. But it wasn't enough, and pretty much every belt would back up at least 10 times a shift, conservatively. Not only on top of that, I specifically was in charge of running up and down the docks helping fix the "blue light situation" as they called it. I was literally RUNNING up and down a football field length stretch of warehouse all day working my butt off trying to load up the trucks so they wouldn't shut down production. And what was my reward? Not getting reprimanded at the end of my shift. The worst part was after Christmas, when the peak season was over. They terminated all the seasonal and part time employees, some of which were promised full time employment after the season was over, along with some full time employees that were not productive enough for their standards. That left us survivors with only a bare-bones crew to handle a whole ship-dock, and that crew was about 10 people. TEN FOR ABOUT 20 DOORS OR SO! So naturally we were RUNNING around even more than we were during the peak season. All that coupled with the laughable vacation hours (we gained 15 MINUTES of vacation time every pay period) was enough for me to say adios to Amazon. #noregrets

    • @sierrarobinson9893
      @sierrarobinson9893 Před 4 lety +25

      Wade Brasher So fucking spot on, I would have guessed we worked at the same warehouse. Something tells me we probably didn't, though. We've been hiring seasonals again for prime day (week) and more than half of every new group of people quit within a couple weeks. We really aren't gonna have enough people in time at this point, can't wait for the absolute shit show

    • @GatlinShot
      @GatlinShot Před 4 lety +25

      holy shit 15 minutes you have got to be fucking kidding me. Somebody gotta stop Amazon from being this blatantly insane

    • @rachelwillaman4964
      @rachelwillaman4964 Před 4 lety +1

      You really spent 20 minutes writing this lmao u have no life

    • @gwall4603
      @gwall4603 Před 4 lety +5

      That’s a fucked up trip report.

    • @Dylan-fd5fd
      @Dylan-fd5fd Před 4 lety +32

      @@rachelwillaman4964 you must be a manager or lead at Amazon.

  • @cdunlap0008
    @cdunlap0008 Před 2 lety +7

    Working in a local warehouse a couple years ago, I was logging 26 miles a day of walking. 8 hours of essentially non stop walking, sometimes running. Horrible. And the heat was topping 100° daily

  • @69TheGG
    @69TheGG Před 2 lety +2

    John Oliver for president he is amazing

  • @NewMessage
    @NewMessage Před 4 lety +2378

    This upload was obviously not delivered by Amazon Prime.

  • @altamashmomin4030
    @altamashmomin4030 Před 4 lety +877

    ahhh yes, now i can start my morning.

  • @chrislive1586
    @chrislive1586 Před 19 dny +1

    "Hug the box. Now kiss the box. I SAID KISS THE BOX, JACKIE!"

  • @mohammad-joudsharafeddine4366
    @mohammad-joudsharafeddine4366 Před 11 měsíci +2

    LastWeekTonight is really the single-most interesting spectacle of information. Anything they do is just bent to be good. No other place do I see a title and thumbnail "Warehouses" and then click, confidently knowing that I'm in for a ride

  • @shapular
    @shapular Před 4 lety +583

    Worked in an Amazon warehouse two different times, can confirm everything he said.

    • @austinmcclain3001
      @austinmcclain3001 Před 4 lety +32

      I can second that. It was awful.

    • @GreenElfMom
      @GreenElfMom Před 4 lety +21

      I am SO sorry you went through that! :(

    • @trajer1535
      @trajer1535 Před 4 lety +11

      If my out of shape, fat ass can happily work there for 5 years, it can't be that bad.
      I felt more exhausted after working doubles at Panera Bread.

    • @Floydfan47
      @Floydfan47 Před 4 lety +20

      @@trajer1535 You're obviously a robot.

    • @cathycrago2722
      @cathycrago2722 Před 4 lety +13

      @@Floydfan47 or a liar

  • @wint222
    @wint222 Před 4 lety +724

    The raise to $15 isn’t a raise. They took away stocks, changed the yearly raise structure, and took away VCP, which was a percentage given to employees every month for not using unpaid time. It cancels out really.

    • @healthymealthy775
      @healthymealthy775 Před 4 lety +71

      Unfortunately, most people are unaware of that. But what you said is true.

    • @JeffreyBoles
      @JeffreyBoles Před 4 lety +25

      Holy shit, didn't know that

    • @ekdaufin1485
      @ekdaufin1485 Před 4 lety +19

      John should have said that too. Wow.

    • @flare78x31
      @flare78x31 Před 4 lety +9

      Walmart warehouses pay up to $25hr

    • @cdomz3
      @cdomz3 Před 4 lety +1

      Nobody ever mentions this its Crazy.

  • @fosstera
    @fosstera Před 4 měsíci +2

    that XPOLogistics warehouse that got dangerously hot reminded me of the time i passed out from high heat in the warehouse of a juice bottling plant.
    fortunately for me, the company, my equipment, and the products, there was nobody around, and it happened after i'd already parked and dropped off my payload.
    i was about to switch into reverse to back out of the row, and the next thing i knew the horn on my forklift was blaring and my face hurt
    i worked the night shift. i have no idea how hot it got during the day, but it was at least 110 F in the coolest places of the warehouse that werent actively cooled. we werent allowed to put fans on our forklifts because of the possibility that someone who doesnt have a fan would get jealous and make a complaint.
    additionally, products have a tendency to... ya know... overpressurize. we'd lose entire pallets of perfectly good juice because it was so hot the air inside the container expanded and broke the containers, collapsing the pallet(s).
    apparently that, plus risking crashes from fainting drivers, is cheaper than installing even basic air conditioning like fans pulling the hot air out of the buildings at a sufficient rate
    i lost track of how often i had to park my forklift in the drive-in cooler to cool off its battery in the summer. poor thing would start overheating 10 minutes into my shift, and require a mandatory cool down less than 30 minutes later.

  • @Zemus1v
    @Zemus1v Před 3 měsíci +2

    This is the best show on the net

  • @brendancolliander4438
    @brendancolliander4438 Před 4 lety +682

    I worked for Amazon warehouse and we didn't walk we ran to get packages with a cart...

    • @Rainaman-
      @Rainaman- Před 4 lety +40

      You guys should do long distance marathons and get the prize money!

    • @brendancolliander4438
      @brendancolliander4438 Před 4 lety +6

      @@Rainaman- I wish

    • @newsnk3679
      @newsnk3679 Před 4 lety +12

      Why don't the use scooters for the work?

    • @themexis
      @themexis Před 4 lety +1

      @@newsnk3679 or segues.

    • @forthesakeofsanityandsuch9331
      @forthesakeofsanityandsuch9331 Před 4 lety +23

      Yup my friend did too, this is so true. They make you run or you get in trouble for not making time

  • @hyperbeast9678
    @hyperbeast9678 Před 4 lety +272

    I’m 4 years in Amazon , they took away our bonuses , when they decided to raise the minimum wage, and no longer give people stocks for completeing 2 years. I aslo got a write up for being at 99.9 percent , they told , me I needed to be at 100%. And not to mention that the trailers in arizona warehouses get to 120+ degrees, and they have no ac just bounce house style air blowers, and favoritisms is a pain cause process assistants put easy jobs to the people they like, I think of quitting everyday but I got bills to pay I’m 22

    • @FlyingDoctorC
      @FlyingDoctorC Před 4 lety +10

      HYPER BEAST any chance downgrade your lifestyle get a lower paying job that gives you time to skilled up or plan for better paying job?

    • @youngsnuggle9915
      @youngsnuggle9915 Před 4 lety

      So glad i have a better job than u & im 23

    • @hyperbeast9678
      @hyperbeast9678 Před 4 lety +47

      @@youngsnuggle9915 good for you man. People grow up with different opportunities, glad your doing better than me , means 1 less person struggling my dude

    • @hyperbeast9678
      @hyperbeast9678 Před 4 lety +44

      @@FlyingDoctorC right now I'm just trying to work as much as I can to support my family I dont want my brother to struggle like how we did in the past growing up I want him to focus on school so he can be better than me hopefully later on when he done I'll start my career

    • @VaughnesN
      @VaughnesN Před 4 lety +17

      Heart definitely goes out to you.

  • @veronicastromberg6755
    @veronicastromberg6755 Před 27 dny +4

    Why not try to implement small trucks that can take several orders with a cart and then make a planned loop for the pickers so they don't go back and forth through the warehouse, kind of like a snake slithering shape? Sounds more ergonomic and more timesaving

  • @RayRaeTV
    @RayRaeTV Před rokem +2

    This is why I'm happy to be with the company I'm with.
    My delivery job actually cares about its employees.

  • @suzannechazin7393
    @suzannechazin7393 Před 4 lety +849

    You know what would be a good video? Jeff Bezos doing a whole day of work in one of his warehouses--without a bathroom break.

    • @sharongillesp
      @sharongillesp Před 4 lety +16

      Nah...give 'em at least five minutes if he's on the opposite end of the warehouse.

    • @GoDrex
      @GoDrex Před 4 lety +1

      Nonsense

    • @Zeuts85
      @Zeuts85 Před 4 lety +29

      Needs to be more than a day. Let's make him work there for at least a month so he can start to feel the effects of exhaustion build up. Then let's have him keep working, and working... and we'll keep filming it. It'll be like earthcam livestream, but instead of showing the New York skyline it'll just be Bezos working, and then some guys whipping his body when he collapses from exhaustion. I could watch that all day every day. With popcorn.

    • @seblastoise9332
      @seblastoise9332 Před 4 lety +11

      Make it a month, specifically December and you got a great reality show.

    • @dewaynethomas3122
      @dewaynethomas3122 Před 4 lety +9

      The first person to quit Undercover Boss.

  • @richstoehr3247
    @richstoehr3247 Před 4 lety +419

    "Amazon - Try Not to Think About It" should be the new Prime Day tagline.

    • @Tenchigumi
      @Tenchigumi Před 4 lety +4

      I think "BEAR SPRAYYY!" could be a close second.

    • @matthewnelson325
      @matthewnelson325 Před 4 lety

      @ 11:35 In the video ... Maybe we could all take a lesson from the Mayfly ! ha ha ; )

    • @noone8477
      @noone8477 Před 4 lety

      Have a reply :)

  • @liloiax22
    @liloiax22 Před 2 lety

    I love John Oliver's long-winded statements/rants... they're hilarious about 99% of the time haha

  • @gorlami3341
    @gorlami3341 Před 25 dny +2

    I am happy to say I am clean and sober from amazon for over a year now :)

  • @OMGYEveryNameIsUsed
    @OMGYEveryNameIsUsed Před 4 lety +306

    "You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
    Another day older and deeper in debt"

    • @bengal4047
      @bengal4047 Před 4 lety +45

      "Saint Peter don't you call me, cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store"

    • @hopethisnamesnottaken
      @hopethisnamesnottaken Před 4 lety +7

      Thanks! Just when this song had finally stopped jingling in my head!

    • @Orangeflava
      @Orangeflava Před 4 lety +2

      Classic tune

    • @ohmyblindman
      @ohmyblindman Před 4 lety +7

      proof that nothing has really changed.

    • @GinEric84
      @GinEric84 Před 4 lety +2

      @@ohmyblindman you need to crack open some books to understand what that song is actually about.
      Once you get it you won't say anything this silly again.
      At least not on this topic

  • @drewforchic9083
    @drewforchic9083 Před 4 lety +1520

    16:17 "We're not anti-union, we're just [lists reasons why we're anti-union]"

    • @noahplack9490
      @noahplack9490 Před 4 lety +56

      Drew Forchic It’s such a crock of shit and I cant listen to this sterile, corporate defense of their own debauchery. Everyone who made that video should be poisoned

    • @ChristopherTurcotte
      @ChristopherTurcotte Před 4 lety +120

      "We're not anti union, but..."
      "I'm not a racist, but..."
      "I'm not homophobic, but..."
      Generally speaking, if you have to precede what you are going to say with a qualifier, you are keenly aware that what comes next is, in fact, what you are saying it is not

    • @katrinal353
      @katrinal353 Před 4 lety +49

      They're not even hiding it. The fact that they have to unironically argue against Unions, should illustrate the absurdity of late-stage capitalism.

    • @Trezker
      @Trezker Před 4 lety +39

      We're not anti union, now we're gonna list all the people we care about. Please disregard that employees is not in that list.

    • @craffaele
      @craffaele Před 4 lety +23

      We're not anti union, we're just not pro union nor neutral... you do the math! 😂😂

  • @MaxwellRodgers
    @MaxwellRodgers Před 2 lety +4

    a pure gift to the universe John is

  • @PickledShark
    @PickledShark Před 4 lety +1136

    Apparently Amazon responded to this video, calling it “Insulting”
    No shit, Sherlock! That was the point

    • @dknight248
      @dknight248 Před 4 lety +61

      When someone shits on your porch, they *deserve* to be insulted.
      So yes, I'm glad Amazon found it insulting. They deserve to be insulted. Sometimes insults are justified.

    • @raava5648
      @raava5648 Před 4 lety +5

      I will say this though, and I swear to god I'm not a paid shill or whatever. I actually work for a new fullfilment center that opened up in 2016 and it's really not that bad. 30 minute lunch sucks and some pple can be retarded like any other job but it's not slave labor like John is trying to make it seem.

    • @NGEvangeliman
      @NGEvangeliman Před 4 lety +5

      Its only insulting if it aint true.

    • @patricklaowoo
      @patricklaowoo Před 4 lety +11

      Amazon said they invited John Oliver to one of their Warehouse, and he refused to go. Oliver should've have went to experience all the actors Jeff hired to talk how much they love working for Amazon.

    • @raava5648
      @raava5648 Před 4 lety +4

      @@squigglenutsfosheegie1994 I sound like a PA saying that 30 minute lunch sucks? Did you read my comment? I'm not a PA or an ambassador but I am full-time blue badge. Like I said it's not the greatest job on earth but watching this video you'd think that people are monitored every second and if they slow down for a second they'll immediately get fired. I'm speaking from experience when I say that it's not like that. They will literally hire anyone, which means there's a bunch of old people with physical problems, people who are just generally slow and they haven't been fired. You can take your time, our facility actually doesn't have the timer counting you down so idk maybe those places are worse.

  • @JustMe-vk4fn
    @JustMe-vk4fn Před 4 lety +796

    The Amazon driver who broke down on my front porch, crying, last year was all the proof I needed to see how "great" Amazon is for workers in the United States. She had made 140 deliveries before she reached my house. As she walked across the porch around 4:00 pm , I saw tears streaming down her face. I asked if she'd take a seat on the porch with me for a minute or two to collect herself before going on her way and she did. This is what I learned about one Amazon employee's life: She makes $15.00 per hour. She loads her delivery van herself in the morning. Lunch is eating a sandwich at the wheel. After the 140th delivery she made to me, she had eighty two more to go before she would be "allowed" to turn in the delivery van and go home. No breaks. No overtime pay. After she left, out of curiosity, I looked up the normal daily package delivery rate for UPS drivers and the number was: 82. Per Day. How much do UPS drivers make? There's a link below. Compare for yourself. I'll go get that toilet paper on my own from now on. www.truckdriverssalary.com/ups-driver-salary/

    • @faber3969
      @faber3969 Před 4 lety +18

      congrats now she lost her job

    • @ZeStreD
      @ZeStreD Před 4 lety +85

      @@faber3969 She's probably better off without it to be honest.

    • @faber3969
      @faber3969 Před 4 lety +3

      @@ZeStreD I wonder if she'll feel the same when she's out on the streets

    • @faber3969
      @faber3969 Před 4 lety +1

      @kkaradin That's not what I meant. She said "I'll go get that toilet paper on my own from now on" when all that would really do is jeopardize the deliver person's employment.

    • @TMears87
      @TMears87 Před 4 lety +16

      82 stops per day??? lol not even close. I average 200 stops a day and pay rate is about $37 per hour.

  • @andrewbudd7368
    @andrewbudd7368 Před 3 lety

    Thanks for your work man.

  • @user-lg1ji6vt7m
    @user-lg1ji6vt7m Před měsícem

    Thank you
    And i thought I could not love my warehouse job anymore......
    To die for
    😁

  • @Blur4strike
    @Blur4strike Před 4 lety +406

    Former Amazon packer here, I can sadly confirm the truth of the article.

    • @redrambler2000
      @redrambler2000 Před 4 lety +1

      Blur4strike so they just let you quit? you mean it was your own choice if you kept working there or not? Hard to feel bad for anyone that decides to go along with that shit day in day out

    • @eugenebotsman
      @eugenebotsman Před 4 lety +32

      @@redrambler2000 plenty of desperate people, and people needing income. Fuck it why not bring back gladiator fights, all we need is people willingly signing an agreement to kill each other, make the money prize heafty and all, I'm sure people will come watch. Nothing wrong if they agreed to it right?

    • @Semi_Successful
      @Semi_Successful Před 4 lety +1

      @@eugenebotsman don't think it's that extreme. If you don't know, the $15 wage raise was because the threat of a starting a union. And they're compromise was 15$ min wage. So blame the people who were at the table and took a nibble instead of a bite.

    • @lunalovecraft1467
      @lunalovecraft1467 Před 4 lety +1

      Rust R I mean that would be kinda cool tho

    • @lunalovecraft1467
      @lunalovecraft1467 Před 4 lety

      Blur4strike if you don’t mind me asking, what was the worst part or your worst experience etc.

  • @AaronLaZox
    @AaronLaZox Před 4 lety +421

    As a former amazon "associate" that sorted boxes on thanksgiving i can confirm this is definitely how it is...

    • @arturodelarosa4394
      @arturodelarosa4394 Před 4 lety +7

      Seems fair to me. Although Robots wouldn't care if is freaking hanuka. Just saying. (support automation!)

    • @kingzach74
      @kingzach74 Před 4 lety +8

      No, it's so much worse than this. They didn't describe well enough.

    • @avigutierrez8948
      @avigutierrez8948 Před 4 lety +3

      Wow 😲. You guys work overtime on holidays holy crap how does one not go insane😔 tragedy there.

    • @krisithemperor2410
      @krisithemperor2410 Před 4 lety +2

      @@avigutierrez8948 not on the day but around it, it gets hectic they start adding days and making them longer like im working 4 days 10 hour shift they would add either 1 or 2 more days while increasing the shift from 10 hours to 12 differs for different positions.

    • @janethockey9070
      @janethockey9070 Před 4 lety

      DJ A.aron Go you!

  • @nancyhopkins389
    @nancyhopkins389 Před 2 lety +2

    I worked a Christmas season at an Amazon warehouse as a picker. They are right. It was the worst job I've ever had. Ten hours walking on concrete, mind-numbingly boring work, brain dead managers and shin splints were just a few of the bad points. Being treated as a criminal every day by your employer was the icing on the shit cake.

  • @ashtea96
    @ashtea96 Před 7 měsíci

    The "even if you were thirsty" got me

  • @valhoundmom
    @valhoundmom Před 4 lety +1526

    I do not need people to die of exhaustion on the job in order to get my stuff, I can wait. I'm an adult.

    • @valhoundmom
      @valhoundmom Před 4 lety +70

      @dog lover I also have dogs. They don't mind waiting either. They are also adults.

    • @ryans450
      @ryans450 Před 4 lety +39

      I was thinking, if there was a box I could click that said, "I don't need my shipment right away", would I click it? It would be a bad PR move for Amazon but I think it would be okay.

    • @buttonpusher3786
      @buttonpusher3786 Před 4 lety +10

      Why isn't my stuff here yet? Who needs to die?

    • @potaterjim
      @potaterjim Před 4 lety +46

      I live in Canada, stuff takes weeks to get here anyway. A couple days to make sure the people involved don’t shit themselves is fine by me

    • @nickjordan4183
      @nickjordan4183 Před 4 lety +8

      @@ryans450 This button already exists. You can waive prime shipping and usually get a $1 credit for e-books.

  • @HeSheXie
    @HeSheXie Před 4 lety +452

    I live near an Amazon warehouse. Apparently the rule of thumb for hiring is anyone with a pulse, working them to death for three months until they quit, and find more bodies. I absolutely hate them.

    • @ia6619
      @ia6619 Před 4 lety +10

      Same goes for FedEx

    • @raynekitten
      @raynekitten Před 4 lety +16

      They hold huge hiring events near my house and then call back people as they go through the list. So you may interview in February but not get called until July. But when you are at the event doing the drug test and filling out all the info it makes you think you are days away from a job.

    • @meevluv
      @meevluv Před 4 lety +17

      @@raynekitten Drug testing? wouldn't one have to be on drugs to do this job?

    • @raynekitten
      @raynekitten Před 4 lety +3

      @@meevluv basically. They drug test you and then hire you months later. So I assume a lot of people are.

    • @zookr
      @zookr Před 4 lety +1

      @@foobarmaximus3506
      *Ibuprofen, all you want . . .

  • @jpmcmullan8666
    @jpmcmullan8666 Před rokem +2

    I just started at a warehouse. After the second day I said “oof I gotta go back to school”

  • @vonakenyon7981
    @vonakenyon7981 Před rokem +6

    When I first saw this show it was the beginning of the pandemic so ordering while at home was important to me. It is stupid that their people have to work in such conditions. I never need anything I order immediately. Most people don't. All they need to do is add a small discount if the customer is willing to wait 4-5 days I bet most would be fine with that.

  • @Alnd7914
    @Alnd7914 Před 4 lety +212

    My husband worked at XPO until very recently. With the 'mandatory overtime' he was working 10-14 hours a day (starting at 2AM) and was totally exhausted. One of the guys he worked with got hit by a forklift & was hospitalized. The other guy, the one who hit him, was supposed to take safety & training classes, but since they were shorthanded, he was back on a forklift the next day.

    • @TheNinthGenerarion
      @TheNinthGenerarion Před 3 lety +12

      Isn’t mandatory overtime an illegal practice? In Canada all overtime is optional regardless of the job you work

    • @ngrader
      @ngrader Před 3 lety +12

      @@TheNinthGenerarion It's never 'mandatory', just 'highly recommended' ;) Meaning, if you say 'No' you'll probably be fired for some 'unrelated cause' after they no longer need all hands on deck.

    • @TheNinthGenerarion
      @TheNinthGenerarion Před 3 lety +1

      @@ngrader I work in a warehouse and I always refuse overtime, as have people who have worked here for years, overtime is never mandatory because if that because mandatory, they would get sued for violating labour laws

    • @hughjazzole2037
      @hughjazzole2037 Před 3 lety +2

      Call OSHA to report 800-321-OSHA (6742)
      ]

    • @TheQuashingoftheTub
      @TheQuashingoftheTub Před 2 lety

      @@TheNinthGenerarion Here in the US, you're either forced to work overtime, or aren't _allowed_ to get overtime or you'll get in trouble. At my fast food job, normal workers are heavily monitored so they don't get more hours than scheduled hours or overtime, meanwhile managers have to work overtime usually. The main store manager(chill af by the way) puts in 50-60 hours a week and not only doesn't get overtime for some of those hours, but doesn't get paid _at all_ for them.

  • @MzNekoChan
    @MzNekoChan Před 4 lety +579

    Smh, this is too real. I'm literally watching this as I crash from my 10hr shift.

    • @jlotus100
      @jlotus100 Před 4 lety +24

      Start a union. Management will intimidate the shit out of you. So it anyway.

    • @Killerk328
      @Killerk328 Před 4 lety +4

      @@jlotus100 you heard him get to it, MzNekoChan

    • @ikillbumsoften
      @ikillbumsoften Před 4 lety +5

      I ship medical, 7th hour lunch rn and got 4 more to go

    • @soap6939
      @soap6939 Před 4 lety +19

      @@jlotus100 lol, there's a reason Amazon rents all their warehouses instead of buying them. If an union even starts to take off you can bet your ass that whole warehouse will disappear overnight.

    • @GreenOnionBrother
      @GreenOnionBrother Před 4 lety +11

      @@soap6939 And so will the workers.
      Which is why in my country unions exist by default.

  • @torip8576
    @torip8576 Před 3 lety +3

    my mom was forced to get a job at amazon after my dad lost his job. She has a teaching degree and the only reason she's still working at amazon is because they pay so much more than teaching but she works 12am-12pm at least four days if not 6 days a week. If that doesn't sum up a lot of our country I don't know what does

  • @picklepirate
    @picklepirate Před 2 lety +5

    I was traveling and wanted to pick a shipping date a day later, so I’ll be home when the package comes in. But, I thought it was wild that Amazon doesn’t let you schedule a later date.

  • @TheNightquaker
    @TheNightquaker Před 4 lety +273

    "I am glad I went to college", he said, as massive numbers of people work at Amazon to pay off their student loans.

    • @solidandsoiled
      @solidandsoiled Před 4 lety +48

      He probably meant I am glad I was born in a rich family with the financial backing and network to ensure that I am breed into high society and be paid many more times than I am actually worth because of my rich upbringing

    • @Monochromicornicopia
      @Monochromicornicopia Před 4 lety +6

      Most people who claim its too hard to find a job in their field of study are just too lazy to look outside of their homestate. You have to be willing to move out of state

    • @TheNightquaker
      @TheNightquaker Před 4 lety +3

      @@Monochromicornicopia First of all, for the Brotherhood of Nod! Second of all, is moving out of state really that necessary? Maybe there are specific states that are particularly... troubled when it comes to finding certain jobs?

    • @thepaperwar00
      @thepaperwar00 Před 4 lety +8

      The cost of moving to a new state while paying off a mountain of student debt and living paycheck to paycheck would certainly make that difficult. Even if the job pays well, moving to a new location can sometimes be impossible, unless the new job pays for the cost of moving. Also, low-wage jobs are usually the most tiring. When you’re tired and poor and stressed from being tired and poor, moving out of state is usually not even a passing thought. People get stuck doing jobs they hate, because they have no energy left to get unstuck.

    • @simplyincorrigible7708
      @simplyincorrigible7708 Před 4 lety

      Loans or not, you need that degree. You're fucked if you don't have it.

  • @gonzalocs6757
    @gonzalocs6757 Před 4 lety +135

    I have seen someone start to work at a warehouse for Amazon, and shrivel up into a husk of a person while doing so. We lived together and by the end, I prepared their meals and acted as an alarm clock because their exhaustion was so great that all they could do with every minute of non-work time was sleep. Including travels to and from work.
    I was genuinel scared for them. I have never in my life seen anybody look so completely.... empty. Drained.

    • @lordhigglebottum8377
      @lordhigglebottum8377 Před 4 lety +17

      @Samara V Hamilton No one should have to work to that capacity, no matter the position.

    • @TheFairKnight
      @TheFairKnight Před 4 lety

      Then tell them to quit, plenty of immigrants willing to take that job

    • @JutoCrocell
      @JutoCrocell Před 4 lety

      Best solution would be to increase hourly pay to $30/hr. with 6 hr shifts.

    • @gonzalocs6757
      @gonzalocs6757 Před 4 lety +1

      @Ancap2112 "Give the shit jobs to immigrants" is not a solution, just makes you sound like a dick. Regardless who gets it, such disgusting work conditions should not happening, full stop.

    • @gonzalocs6757
      @gonzalocs6757 Před 4 lety +1

      @Samara V Hamilton there is a problem with understaffing, since they drive fewer people like slavers to meet demands higher than they should have to manage, but there is a more fundamental issue with the way work is structured. As they said, they have to cross the entire warehouse continously at absurd speeds. I'm 100% convinced different ways could be done to achieve the same results, but theh require more resources. This is the bare minimum that works, and it works on the broken bodies of their workers.

  • @barkter
    @barkter Před 28 dny +1

    I work at a Walmart warehouse and we still use the old step stool with two steps

  • @MegaDude531
    @MegaDude531 Před rokem

    The SLAM line while holding the laptop took me back to my controls days at Amazon! So glad I left that place lol

  • @elizabethhill816
    @elizabethhill816 Před 4 lety +480

    Having literally broken my back at Amazon, I'll have to agree with his commentary.

    • @MC-xx4fd
      @MC-xx4fd Před 3 lety +25

      I'm so sorry about your injury and I genuinely hope you're on the way to healing.

    • @rippspeck
      @rippspeck Před 3 lety +15

      I bet at the same time you broke your back hauling some pointless luxury item in Amazon's Rube Goldberg machine of human suffering, Bezos was receiving a massage inside his phallic rocket ship, pondering if he chose the right massage oil.
      Sorry for sounding like a cynical asshole here, but unchecked capitalism is just too much fun.

    • @larrywest4130
      @larrywest4130 Před 2 lety +3

      i made comment that they should give them electric scooters or carts like at the grocery store and think it might also increase the amount of things they are able to load in day. what do you think having worked there?

    • @plm569
      @plm569 Před 2 lety

      Fake account

    • @TheQuashingoftheTub
      @TheQuashingoftheTub Před 2 lety +3

      @@plm569 Okay, weird baseless claim but go off I guess

  • @FloatingSunfish
    @FloatingSunfish Před 4 lety +672

    The people who forced their workers to keep working around their co-worker's dead body deserve to have their Human Being Licenses revoked.

    • @BlueEyesWhiteTeddy
      @BlueEyesWhiteTeddy Před 4 lety +24

      @Zack Smith Nah, those managers need to be put down.

    • @Rox123ify
      @Rox123ify Před 4 lety +14

      They already did. How do you think they moved up in that industry?

    • @RpiesSPIES
      @RpiesSPIES Před 4 lety +1

      They'd be fired from the building and lose their income/insurance. Don't blame the floor associates.

    • @ems3991
      @ems3991 Před 4 lety

      Uh how were they forced? Slavery is illegal.

    • @juch3
      @juch3 Před 4 lety +5

      @@RpiesSPIES when your job security is more important than a human life

  • @bellakagamine
    @bellakagamine Před 24 dny +1

    This episode always made me scared to work in a warehouse, but when I finally got desperate enough for extra income that I picked up a graveyard shift in an Amazon sortation center I was actually surprised. It is, of course, physical labor that is hard on your body, I walk about 10 miles in an 8 hour shift. But the company actually does a surprising amount to make it more bearable - a program automatically rotates employees between different tasks so you're never doing the same activity for too long, or too many shifts in a row, in an attempt to prevent repetitive strain. I was also surprised to find that scan rates are not stressed in the slightest (specifically at sortation centers). I was never told what the official goal rate is, and they don't bother having us log out for breaks. I'm not trying to shill for Amazon or anything, it's just work, and I can't speak for fulfillment centers vs sortation. I don't know if the company has tried to make positive change since this episode came out, or if I just got crazy lucky and ended up in a great warehouse.

  • @eongoosm
    @eongoosm Před 2 lety

    "Try not to think about it" is the perfect counter-point to years of "Just do it" and "Focus on the positive"

  • @CollaborativeVODS
    @CollaborativeVODS Před 3 lety +1696

    Being "not the worst" slave owners is like being "not the worst" serial killer

    • @ElderStatesman
      @ElderStatesman Před 3 lety +48

      What's worse, John Oliver neglected to mention that Amazon's bragging about $15/hr is more awful than it sounds. A report from 2017 found that Amazon's $15/hr wage is 15% lower than the prevailing wage for other local warehouse companies. As a result of Amazon undercutting their wages, other warehouse companies have to lower their wages to compete.

    • @CollaborativeVODS
      @CollaborativeVODS Před 3 lety +10

      @@ElderStatesman Yeah the power of slavery allows companies to produce goods and insanely low rates and conquer their competition. Just like the Nazis in WW2 and their insane rates of production relative to scale.

    • @CollaborativeVODS
      @CollaborativeVODS Před 3 lety +2

      Fanboy away but it'll just hurt you in the long run

    • @HowToChangeName
      @HowToChangeName Před 2 lety +1

      @@ElderStatesman say that again after that awful warehouse worker who got covid please

    • @blessedowo1958
      @blessedowo1958 Před 2 lety

      Doesn't matter had sex

  • @LaxAndWatch844
    @LaxAndWatch844 Před 4 lety +657

    Amazon didn't increase minimum wage out of the kindness of their hearts.. people had to organize.

    • @coletrickle1775
      @coletrickle1775 Před 4 lety +33

      Bernie Sanders and Ro Khana did a lot of work for it.

    • @kendralewellyn2654
      @kendralewellyn2654 Před 4 lety +36

      Not to mention, that they raised minimum wage....while cutting bonuses or other benefits. So, all they did was find a way to rename something, move it around, and potentially give workers the same or less. It's just misdirection. Without unions, basically any "new trick" is totally legal and on the table. Whatever it takes if it means maximizing profits and optimizing operations on a large scale.
      All the while, losing sight that HUMANS are small scale (esp. individually), and that humans matter.
      Companies just don't answer to us or their local communities anymore. And when blowing up companies to that large of scale, there are a lot of details that can get lost...or that can stay hidden.
      Terrifying...

    • @brianthinkeventsllc5776
      @brianthinkeventsllc5776 Před 4 lety +4

      15$ minimum wage enforced on the country will be a bad thing. The winners are companies that are not weighed down by labor costs, Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon) said of that move : " I challenge our top retail competitors to match our employee benefits and our $15 minimum wage.” Amazon advocates for the minimum wage because they know it bleeds their competitors dry. Retail companies like Target, Costco and Walmart, which collectively hire more than 2% of the American population, struggle to compete without laying off their employees or automating away jobs.
      For a single individual who currently makes $10/hr, working 40 hr/week at 50 weeks a year, increasing the minimum wage to $15 will increase their gross income $10,000. 6.2% of this, or $620, will go to FICA tax. Another 1.45%, or $145, will go to Medicare tax. Another 11.6%, or $1169.50, will go to federal income tax ($30,000 - $12,000 standard deduction = $18,000. First $9525 taxed at 10%, next $8475 taxed at 12%. $8475 * .12 + $1525 * .10 = $1169.50). Under Bernie Sander's plan, an addition 2.2% or $220 will go to Medicare for All. This leaves $7845.50 per year, or about $650/month, ignoring state income taxes.
      Under Yang? +12,000$ that is non-taxable and is not used to increase your tax brackets.
      UBI > 15$minimum wage everyday.

    • @likeherod27x9
      @likeherod27x9 Před 4 lety +9

      @@brianthinkeventsllc5776 one day robots will be spewing libertarian bullshit in comment sections and you'll be out of a pretend job

    • @IncognitoSprax
      @IncognitoSprax Před 4 lety +2

      McZawa
      This is beyond stupid