> I’m sure it’s a coincidence that every one of them is a person of color, a woman, or both. Right?
Including this bit is interesting. So he is accusing Amazon of being both sexist and racist in addition to treating workers poorly.
Including this bit is interesting. So he is accusing Amazon of being both sexist and racist in addition to treating workers poorly.
The decision making might not be explictly sexist/racist, but that feels like hiding behind an excuse. It is exactly a power dynamic.
If not, this is just race/gender baiting and it detracts from the broader issue of worker treatment.
I guess this just may be a difference in definitions, but I think when most people are talking about racism/sexism on a macro level, they are using this definition.
You're right, the broader issue is worker's rights, but it's definitely worth pointing out that among workers with the least rights, minorities are overrepresented at Amazon.
To be meaningful, conventional racism has to include damage. Its an old debate technique for racists to complain that affirmative action is 'reverse racism'. Because, you see, it sees race and takes action.
"you guys"?
If the problem in this case is a lack of warehouse worker bargaining power vs profit motive, then solutions to a prejudice problem will not be helpful to the workers.
In this case: one of the biggest benefits of hiring minorities... ending up being the reason you fire them.
Also my personal observation: an incompetent person from a minority group is likely to see a failed transaction through their own colored 'minority' lens. Eg. a woman who has been turned down for a job will attribute it to her being a woman and no other reason. For a white guy who has been turned down - it's life as usual.
Second, it's my personal observation that 'many companies' don't end up with 'incompetent minorities', because, anecdotally, I and everyone I know who has worked with 'minorities' at multiple jobs has found them as competent or more so than their 'majority' peers. But a 'colored lens' is what takes your personal experience and turns it into whatever you want to see, not necessarily what is actually there. So who knows if either of us is right if all we're doing is looking with our personal biases?
It's best to avoid making generalizations about people based on the color of their skin - even when you think it's a compliment.
"Spot a pattern? · At the end of the day, it’s all about power balances. The warehouse workers are weak and getting weaker, what with mass unemployment and (in the US) job-linked health insurance. So they’re gonna get treated like crap, because capitalism. Any plausible solution has to start with increasing their collective strength."
Pretty clear where the bottom of the power balance is... Sadly, sexism and racism is an inevitable fallout of that in contemporary American culture...