( - promoted by Fong)
Amazon.com is showing us all, sadly, what the American Dream has become:Some workers at Amazon.com's Allentown, Pennsylvania warehouse are reportedly willing to contend with working at a brutal pace in dizzying heat so long as it means having a job.
Only one out of 20 Allentown-based current or former Amazon employees interviewed by The Morning Call reported that the online retailer was a good place to work. During summer heat waves Amazon had paramedics on standby to treat any employees who couldn't stand the heat, the paper reported. But many workers pushed through difficult working conditions after seeing what happened to other employees who didn't meet expectations - they were fired and escorted out of the warehouse.
Some employees worked 11-hour days during the holiday season and others were forced to maintain their productivity levels, even during the summer heat... No doubt the Amazon CEO is proud of his employees' high productivity - I won't even bother to look up the quote.
The fact that is has forced a competitor into bankruptcy probably had the bubbly flowing at Amazon HQ. And as we all know here, Amazon doesn't particularly like to pay its fair share of taxes, either:
Amazon.com told many of its Colorado online business affiliates Monday that it would sever its business relationship with them, a move that could slice into the revenues of thousands of Web retailers.
The company blamed state lawmakers for enacting a law requiring it to notify those who purchase Amazon merchandise through a local website that they owe state sales taxes.
Any CEO in America would be drool at prospects of sitting in the CEO's chair at Amazon. But is this the new American Dream? A dream where the CEO can vanquish his competitors, break the backs of his employees, and abuse the society and institutions that, while making him rich, are under ever-increasing pressure to provide even more to those at the top?
Van Jones calls it the American Fantasy that has led inexorably to the American Nightmare. We all know what that looks like.
Amazon.com is a shining example of what's gone wrong is society, not the ideal. Its CEO Jeff Bezos and its Board do not support the American Dream, do not support the middle class. They work daily to kill them and abuse those who have paved the way for their success.
The first order of business to correct this situation should be to have them pay their taxes. The second should be to sue them for abuse of their employees. Then maybe they can start working for a gold star, but not a minute before they start acting like responsible citizens and good neighbors, something we all strive to do. |
