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A resounding vote against unionisation by Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama appears to be far from the end of the ecommerce giant’s run-ins with organised labour.
As our US team reports, attention is now turning to drivers, a profession represented by the Teamsters union for more than a century. Recent reports have detailed how Amazon’s drivers, estimated to number about 100,000 in the US, have resorted to extreme measures when unable to use a bathroom while out on delivery routes.
Amazon insists the hygiene issues drivers face are a result of Covid-19 related closures of public toilets. Drivers say their routes are too long and too tight for time. In one incident earlier this month, previously unreported, an Amazon driver in Austin, Texas, accidentally dropped a large container containing faeces on to a customer’s driveway, before driving off.
An informal survey set up by two drivers, and first reported by Wired, gathered views from about 500 Amazon delivery workers, 80 per cent of which said they were in favour of unionisation. The primary concern — more than pay or benefits — was the length of routes.
A report by Morgan Stanley analysts says the next key area for investment by Amazon should be “increased worker compensation and safety/process investmentâ€. They cite Jeff Bezos’ recent comments in his annual letter where he said: “I think we need to do a better job for our employees. While the [Alabama] voting results were lopsided and our direct relationship with employees is strong, it’s clear to me that we need a better vision for how we create value for employees — a vision for their success . . . We are going to be Earth’s Best Employer and Earth’s Safest Place to Work.â€
That may sound altruistic, but Morgan Stanley argues there are sound business reasons for doing this to keep Amazon in its prime: it would give it a further leg up in an increasingly competitive labour market, while higher wages and increased safety standards would make it even more expensive for any competitor to try to replicate its leading network.
The Internet of (Five) Things
1. UK, Germany, Oz regulators unite against Big Tech
Antitrust regulators in the UK, Germany and Australia mounted a unified attack today against the domination of internet giants, warning the pandemic was not an excuse to approve deals. The three regulators said they would take an increasingly sceptical view of tie-ups.
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2. Logistics drones hover closer
OK, so this doesn’t beat flying a helicopter on Mars, but drones flown by remote pilots have moved a step closer to regular use in the UK. The Civil Aviation Authority has authorised West Sussex-based Sees.ai to begin operating regular flights beyond the pilot’s line of sight at three locations in the UK, to test the safety of opening the technology up to the wider industry.
3. Satellites need policing
While Air Traffic Control is concerned about drones, there may be a need for Space Traffic Control soon. The launch of thousands of new satellites in “mega-constellations†to improve global internet access will exacerbate the growing problem of space debris, a European Space Agency conference heard on Tuesday. “The mega-constellations are producing huge risks of collisions. We need more stringent rules for traffic management in space,†said Thomas Schildknecht of the International Astronomical Union.
4. MI5 warns of spy threat on social media
More than 10,000 British nationals have been targeted online in the past five years by hostile states such as China, as foreign spies increasingly manipulate professional networking sites to recruit new agents and steal secrets.
5. Apple allows Parler back
Apple will allow the social media app Parler, which casts itself as a champion of free speech, to return to the App Store after it was kicked off the platform in the wake of the Capitol riots for hosting rule-breaking content. Apple had pledged that Parler, which is controlled by Republican mega-donor Rebekah Mercer, would be welcomed back if it agreed to beef up its content moderation to deal with hate speech. Proposed updates were bringing the app into compliance, it said.
Tech tools — Apple’s Spring Loaded event
The iPhone maker’s first virtual event of 2021 beamed from Apple Park was called Spring Loaded and loaded it was with an impressive array of new products. They began with a purple iPhone 12, followed by the belated debut of the $29 AirTag to help you find those lost keys, a new version of Apple TV 4K with a more powerful processor, an amazingly thin all-in-one iMac featuring the M1 processor and a new iPad Pro, also containing the M1, plus Thunderbolt and 5G connectivity, advancing its claims as a laptop replacement. The new devices will be made available between April 30 and mid-May.
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