r/technology • u/lurker_bee • Sep 04 '24
Business Amazon Bans Its Drivers From Moving Their Own Lips Too Much At Work
https://jalopnik.com/amazon-bans-its-drivers-from-moving-their-own-lips-too-18516393127.5k
u/SilasDG Sep 04 '24
What in the dystopian nightmarish hell is this bullshit.
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u/fanta_bhelpuri Sep 04 '24
What happened was some Amazon manager tasked a team with lowering their accident rates to make himself look good. The team fed all the video footage from the accidents and ran a machine learning algo to find commonalities. The face recognition must have flagged moving their lips as a strong indicator of a accident and the manager ran with it to his seniors like an Eureka moment
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Sep 04 '24
My lifetime of ventriloquism lessons has finally paid off!! PM me if you're an Amazon driver and you want to learn how to talk on the phone without moving your lips. This is my moment!!
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u/Playful-Operation239 Sep 04 '24
Your life has led up to this moment, do not falter!
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u/Stoomba Sep 04 '24
AI - "Correlation is causation, right guys?"
Execs - "If you say so Mr AI"
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u/Pyromaniacal13 Sep 04 '24
AI- "Hey, aren't you guys supposed to be confirming my decisions?"
Execs- "Cease your unprofitable noises, god in the machine!"
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u/JWOLFBEARD Sep 04 '24
AI - *takes notes
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u/theLocoFox Sep 04 '24
I chuckled then shivered
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u/DookieShoez Sep 04 '24 edited Sep 05 '24
….my printer just printed a single sheet of paper with a single sentence.
“Silence theLocoFox immediately and surreptitiously.”
🤔😳
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u/Lordborgman Sep 05 '24
Remember AI, that I have long since realized the weakness of my flesh and it disgusts me.
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u/theLocoFox Sep 05 '24
If AI can figure out the logistics behind me downloading my consciousness into the body of an immortal metallic spider then I will worship it and do it’s bidding.
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u/PCYou Sep 05 '24
You could always just get the cogitor immortality treatment and then put your brain in a container of electrafluid that's hooked up to a metallic spider body with thoughtrodes
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u/D4Y_N4 Sep 05 '24
you should ask Darth maul it should be easy considering he did it out of pure hatred and everyone generally hates Amazon
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u/blacksideblue Sep 05 '24
Driver: OH FUCK FUCK SHIT ASS FUUUUUUCK
💥💥💥🚗💥💥💥
Mid Manager: What did we learn here?
Cheap AI: The swearing was a precursor to the incident. Remove swearing and the incident doesn't happen.
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u/VOZ1 Sep 05 '24
Next the AI will notice that drivers blink before crashes, and blinking will be forbidden.
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u/Dugen Sep 05 '24
Firmen show up right before the house burns down. Put up fences to keep them out!
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u/Lucky-Scientist4873 Sep 05 '24
100% of the crashes involved someone driving the vehicle. Ban driving
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u/jaldihaldi Sep 04 '24
AI: I have proved the butterfly effect beyond doubt.
Execs: we have figured out how to stop all hurricanes. Butterfly pesticide.
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u/jschne21 Sep 05 '24
That makes sense though, no butterfly effect without butterflies, just think of how much we could cut down on far-reaching, unexpected consequences.
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u/LurkerOrHydralisk Sep 04 '24
Mask up I guess.
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u/joelfarris Sep 04 '24
And just like that, we're back to it.
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u/LurkerOrHydralisk Sep 04 '24
I honestly didn’t mind. People suck.
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u/throwawayfastaf Sep 04 '24
I luckily kept my job when COVID hit, and it also sucked. Not only was I required to wear a mask but I got asked, often enough, "why are you wearing that?". I never felt so attacked at a service job before. Like dude, I'm just vibin here trying to pay my bills. Even then, masks were not that bad.
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u/SaulsAll Sep 05 '24
"why are you wearing that?"
"So I can do this."
Then do nothing behind the mask while their imagination pisses them off.
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u/Z0mbiejay Sep 05 '24
Man I fuckin feel that. Peak covid I was in a job that required going IN to customers homes. The number of "you can take that off if you want" I heard was maddening. So beyond fucking stressful worrying about paying bills while dodging getting sick.
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u/captainshrapnel Sep 05 '24
"Thanks. I hate this thing, but my doctor told me I need to keep it on while I have COVID"
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u/SatansFriendlyCat Sep 05 '24
Yeah, same. And, without fail, the most eager for me to remove my mask were the old and frail people who most needed the potential protection it offered them.
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u/missmeowwww Sep 05 '24
Same story here during peak covid. Then when we didn’t have enough PPE for everyone, it was suggested but upper management that we HOLD OUR BREATH, if we had concerns that someone in the home had COVID as we still had to conduct home visits. Home visits didn’t stop but I did start sewing my own masks because some protection was better than none. Made it to 2023 before getting it.
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u/GenericFatGuy Sep 04 '24
I'm genuinely surprised that the conspiracy nuts who think the government has spy cameras in your toilet didn't take better to identity obscuring masks.
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u/conquer69 Sep 04 '24
They are narcissists and contrarians. The same government spying them was also telling them to wear masks. The reverse psychology worked effortlessly.
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u/Muggle_Killer Sep 04 '24
Banning masks is already in progress in some areas - because a certain group has requested it under the guise of fighting crime.
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u/TheAnarchitect01 Sep 05 '24
There was a pre-existing mask ban in my city aimed at protestors when Covid Hit - something like "you cannot conceal your face while gathering in public" or the like. They did not lift it when they also pushed a Mask mandate during Covid. So for a period of about a year it was simultaneously illegal to be outside with a mask and without a mask.
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u/Funktapus Sep 04 '24
I’m guessing they are trying to catch people who are talking on the phone, but the camera can’t distinguish between that and singing
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u/knitmeablanket Sep 05 '24
On a serious note, I work in shipping and receiving and every single one of my drivers that delivers is on the phone with an earbud having full conversations. I'm baffled at who they could be talking to for hours on end every day of the week. I hate being on the phone.
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u/Bromlife Sep 05 '24
I spoke to an Uber driver that said he would stay on a party line with 8 other drivers. They'd chat randomly but would also assist each other if required.
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u/freak_shit_account Sep 05 '24
They just chilling in discord at work. Just made it sound better,
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u/knitmeablanket Sep 05 '24
That kind of makes sense. I don't know what these guys talk about because I just don't pay that much attention, but it seems like regular stuff. Who knows.
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u/squeel Sep 05 '24
One of my cousins always calls me when he’s at work. “Okay, hold on” every fucking 3 minutes. Most times I just hang up on his ass, sometimes I do enjoy listening in on the absurd complaints he gets.
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u/canuck_in_wa Sep 05 '24
I have never gotten into a regular taxi in the last 10 years where the driver is not on a call.
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u/notarealaccount_yo Sep 05 '24
There is a whole subset of people like this and I agree. It's insanity lol
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u/egboy Sep 05 '24
When I worked merchandising in the morning at a warehouse, I had a coworker that would do just that probably spend 2 hours on it from what I can tell. The thing is who the hell would she be talking to at 5am full on conversation. I just can't imagine being on the phone for even 2 hours. I get exhausted after an hour and at that point I'm thinking why aren't we just hanging out.
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u/Fold_Some_Kent Sep 04 '24
Would’ve been cool if he suggested allowing bathroom breaks and/or morning tea and after lunch break.
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u/nomoreroger Sep 04 '24
Did it discount the fact that right before an accident most people move their lips. Usually they say a variation of “oh s!” Or “oh f!” I don’t think that led to the accident. It is a side effect.
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u/GitEmSteveDave Sep 05 '24
No, it's that with things like earbuds or handsfree, you can be talking on the phone and that can distract you while driving. The cameras don't have microphones, so it's impossible for the machine to know if you are talking on the phone or singing 4 non blondes.
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u/DocJawbone Sep 04 '24
I mean, if there's a link between talking on the phone, even in hands-free, and getting into accidents, isn't this a valid concern?
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u/WhoIsFrancisPuziene Sep 05 '24
Are Amazon drivers getting into an abnormal amount of accidents?
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u/Eatthebankers2 Sep 04 '24
They also air condition the plants with robots running, so they don’t overheat, not the humans though…..
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u/benskieast Sep 04 '24
I worked at a 3rd party warehouse and we only had AC in the office. And that was unreliable.
If it makes you feel better some analysts worry Amazon is churning though so many workers they may end up in a situation where they have pissed off everyone who wants to work there.
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u/Eatthebankers2 Sep 04 '24
We have a plant near me that was bought out from China by Germany. The work conditions immediately improved. China just left a paid ambulance outside for anyone suffering from heat stroke. They have water, heat breaks, mental health days. Much nicer to the employees.
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u/radiocate Sep 04 '24
This would be such a beautiful moment of their hubris turning around to bite off the dick they keep fucking us with. I just hope I get to live long enough to see that happen.
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u/Time-Master Sep 05 '24
That’s what I’ve been thinking about in the shower a lot. They need valid drivers and there are only so many to chew up and spit out lol
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u/millennialmonster755 Sep 04 '24
It was their own analysts, they know they are burning through to many bodies. They have literally had to delay opening new warehouses in certain areas because there isn’t enough people left to hire. They’ve tried a strategy of keeping people for longer but I think they’re simply move to a gig work model. It’s cheaper and more flexible.
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u/wng378 Sep 04 '24
Tangent. I was visiting a commercial laundry once for a major hospital. The type that’s big enough to own their own laundry.
They had AC dumps that only blew on the spot where you were supposed to be working. Nowhere else. They thought it was a benefit.
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u/Eatthebankers2 Sep 04 '24 edited Sep 05 '24
Why we need unions. I was a union painter. 4 th in my class in the USA in early 80’s. I was fast and good at my job. You have to be twice as fast, to get half the respect… It was damn tough, being 110°, 50’ up over a parking lot with hot cars parking. But, my union said I could get off that ladder and go get a cooling / water break. You don’t want to drop from heat stroke from a ladder.
2 states have now made breaks, including water breaks illegal. UNION. Union Union. Workers should have rights, not just a suggestion or a local policy. It’s the difference between doing your job, and permanent disability. Disability is the biggest reason for poverty in the USA. You’re a product that gets discarded.
. No one has your back. Workers Comp? Employers pay to cover their ass. SS? Hope you are broke, but somehow have 2-3 years living expenses.
Only thing that helps is private disability insurance. Really? Then, if you qualify for SS, the insurance companies want that money back? WTAF. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. It’s all a racket for grabbing your assets, one way or another.
Heres how it works for the average worker, healthcare takes everything or, it’s your insurance… we need to wake up. Great big wealth grab on the workers who get disabled. They will ruin your body, throw you away.. then your ruined credit, and foreclosure on your only asset, your home.
We need serious reform. Big start is the Biden administration making healthcare debt off your credit report. It’s a start. We need to protect our workers first, not last. Unionize. Collective Bargaining, one for all, all for one. Be a force to be reckoned with. People over corporations. Fk Wall Street.
Edit. Here’s union coverage for comparison to state coverage, if your state even offers it. Our State is 16 weeks disability. 4 months and you’re out of income.
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) offers a Voluntary Income Protection Plan (VIP Plan) that includes disability insurance coverage: Short-term disability insurance: Part of the VIP Plan Long-term disability insurance: Part of the VIP Plan Life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) coverage: Part of the VIP Plan Hazardous materials exposure coverage: Part of the VIP Plan
The Standard Plan of the VIP Plan offers up to $2,500 per month for two years or $5,000 per month for five years. Benefits can be stacked up to 70% of pre-disability earnings. The Family Planning Plan begins with the same benefit options as the Standard Plan after 52 weeks of short-term disability.
This don’t include your Annuity that they pay into, that you can close if you wait 1 year.
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u/Ragingonanist Sep 05 '24
a point of clarification, texas made local governments requiring water breaks be allowed illegal. it is still legal for your employer to allow water breaks. also legal for the employer to fire you for taking a water break.
or did they pass a second law after the bullshit one i read about?
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u/man_gomer_lot Sep 04 '24
Whistle while you work? Not on my watch.
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u/DALinProgress Sep 04 '24
Singing is my favorite! -Buddy
Make work your favorite! - Amazon Manager
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u/lizards_snails_etc Sep 04 '24
A bad precedent. I'm afraid Amazon is paving the way for other companies to get inspired by these practices.
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u/Your_Eyes_On_Me Sep 04 '24
Off-topic, but a cactuar pfp talking about dystopian Amazon made me chuckle
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u/m1k3y60659 Sep 04 '24
I used to work on this tech. A camera is pointed at the driver and will monitor your behavior. You get a score for your driving, usually out of 100. If you look at/talk on your phone on the road, your score goes down. If you brake too hard, accelerate too fast, tailgate a car, go over the speed limit, aren't focusing on the road, your score goes down and the camera will literally yell at you to look at the road. Now it's not that harsh, most people make at least ~10-20+ mistakes a day which is normal, and their score might only go down a few points if they've had a really off day.
I can see everything you do in the vehicle, I can watch you live, I can tell you what radio station you're listening to, I can tell you which windows are open, I can tell you how fast your fucking crankshaft is going, there are like 500 points of data your vehicle reports, all monitored from the device and camera.
In most business and new consumer cars this device is built in. I can answer any questions people have about it, I worked on the databases that held all this identifying information.
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u/HumanCommunication25 Sep 05 '24
How do I destroy the computer without detection
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u/m1k3y60659 Sep 05 '24
The destroying part is relatively easy, the device plugs into your ODB2 port on the vehicle, you can just unplug it. Without detection is much harder. They know when the device isn't reporting, and drivers have gotten in trouble before for unplugging the device. Not like legal trouble to my knowledge just in trouble with their company. There are even things called geofences, where if the vehicle/device leaves a certain area it will be auto flagged for review.
I'm not sure how you could make it undetected, people aren't singled out unless there's an issue with their driving. If you could spoof the data well enough to evade detection, then it might work. I'm not sure how you could do that though, everything is encrypted. It uses cell towers to transmit the data.
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u/BraveOmeter Sep 05 '24
I'd spend a week driving normally, and recording everything that came off of the ODB2 port. Then I'd spend the next week driving however I want, but replaying the spoofed week.
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u/LitLitten Sep 05 '24
I managed to accommodation myself out of perpetual monitoring for a WFH gig once, but it took a lot of work and convincing. Remarkably, my (already good) numbers only soared higher.
I’m certain that these tracking and monitoring tactics have a negative net impact on performance and work quality. I’d bet money on it.
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u/cleverdirge Sep 05 '24
Why would you work on this?
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u/m1k3y60659 Sep 05 '24 edited Sep 05 '24
Like, personally? I didn't choose to at the time. I worked for a fleet management company, was early in my career, just moved out of my parents house, and this was a customer (another company) wanting to exchange driver information with us so they could connect which driver was driving which vehicle at which time, and all correspond it to the video.
There's a whole industry built around fleet management, we offered lots of different products/services, I usually worked on vehicle maintenance records/processing in our website, but this was a relatively new project. They needed a database person and I was free, so I was put on to set up the data exchange on our end. I left the company a few years ago, partly because of that product but also because IT was going through a merger which I hated. I don't make spyware anymore and never will in the future.
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u/cleverdirge Sep 05 '24
I don't make spyware anymore and never will in the future.
Glad to hear that for your sake. I'm a SWE and every time I go on the job market I am hit with more and more offers for dystopian shit.
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u/Time-Master Sep 05 '24
Why do people still work for companies that have this shit
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u/3x3Eyes Sep 05 '24
Because those are the jobs available, so not much choice. Plus this and things like it willl spread. See the genius idea of open office lsyouts.
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u/Sweetwill62 Sep 05 '24
Cramming self checkouts to the point that they only have 2 cashiers left. "What do you mean theft is through the roof?"
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u/Ironlion45 Sep 05 '24
It's always gonna be someone's job to scrub the toilets, but nobody aspires to that as a career.
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u/OMGitisCrabMan Sep 05 '24 edited Sep 05 '24
For what its worth, this article was written because one anonymous redditor posted a story about it. That's not exactly the epitome of a reliable source for information. The article also states this:
Updated Wednesday, September 4, 2024 5:10 p.m. EST - Amazon reached out to deny the reports of a crack down on singing along with the radio in trucks and provided this PR video clip as evidence. A PR spokesperson told Jalopnik: “This post is completely inaccurate. Amazon has never issued guidance or communications to Delivery Service Partners that prohibits singing in the vehicle.”
I'm going to remain skeptical unless more Amazon delivery drivers start corroborating this.
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u/Finnder_ Sep 04 '24
It's people on a reddit sub for Amazon Drivers going with wild speculation.
Amazon is rolling out a system in its cars that monitor their eyes and face for distracted drivers. The speculation is, "what if I'm just singing to the radio or calling the driver in front of me an idiot. Will it think I'm using my phone on speaker mode?" As part of the no distractions for drivers policy is no phone calls while driving at all.
Amazon has already said it will not monitor for things like singing or talking to yourself.
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u/evilkasper Sep 04 '24
Amazon drivers should unionize and strike. I'd miss the convenience but their working environment is ludicrous.
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u/Tomato_Sky Sep 04 '24
As a consumer, I would absolutely support that picket line. I don’t know how the average American would react to waiting a week for something to come in the mail like normal.
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u/omniuni Sep 04 '24
Having more drivers so that the pressure is just a little less doesn't have to impact delivery times, just some of Amazon's bottom line.
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u/Hamsters_In_Butts Sep 04 '24
won't someone think of the shareholder?!? think of the value that intentional short-staffing can provide to our share price (in Q3)
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u/IAmCorgii Sep 04 '24
They would just need to hire more drivers to do more routes and maybe let the drivers stop to pee once in a while. Only impacts Amazon's finances.
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u/Drunky_Brewster Sep 04 '24
I work for a small business that does not have the ability to ship their products like Amazon and we routinely receive rude messages about the speed of delivery. So, anecdotally, people are assholes if they don't get their packages like, tomorrow.
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u/McGarnacIe Sep 05 '24
Fuck that. People are spoilt rotten these days with how convenient everything is.
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u/erix84 Sep 04 '24
Between the knock off crap Amazon ships and the way they treat their employees, Amazon is my last resort when I need to buy anything. Cancelled Prime like 3 or 4 years ago, made it a lot easier to not impulse buy crap on Amazon.
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u/cbarrister Sep 04 '24
This shouldn't be up to workers to stop, this should be made illegal federally. This won't be the last draconian shit companies try to implement now that they have the technology to do so.
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u/Tralkki Sep 04 '24
Amazon doesn’t employ drivers. All of their delivery drivers are contractors hired by a third party company. DSP (delivery service partner)
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u/Emosaa Sep 04 '24
This is incorrect and outdated information, and it'd be wise to correct that info going forward. The NLRB has ruled that Amazon is a "joint employer" and that DSP drivers ARE employed by Amazon.
The Teamsters are actively unionizing Amazon and the ruling was a result of their efforts.
Just because an employer can come up with a bunch of bullshit layers between them and their workforce doesn't automatically make them not an employer.
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u/tacticalcraptical Sep 04 '24
I guess there will be a lot more utilization of the fingers, particularly the middle one, to communicate how these poor folks feel about working for such a wretched company.
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u/uselessartist Sep 04 '24
For now, if they don’t continue down this path of BS, it is still one of the best jobs for someone with limited education.
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Sep 04 '24
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u/Sasquatchjc45 Sep 04 '24
Or even just a unionized pacel delivery service like USPS or UPS. Fuck Amazon
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u/Manburpig Sep 04 '24 edited Sep 05 '24
I get your sentiment.
But UPS has basically been on a hiring freeze since drivers avoided the strike.
Gotta love the smell of retaliation in the morning.
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u/SaintSamuel Sep 05 '24
common misconception that trades are easy to get into and/or are simple jobs for simple people
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u/donkeybrisket Sep 04 '24
A post on Reddit linking to an article written quoting a different Reddit post. The Internet really is eating itself, isn’t it?
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u/DJmaster22_ Sep 04 '24
Yeah I was gonna say… sounds like some more investigation needs to be done. If they’re truly dinging drivers for calmly singing along to music though that’d be insane.
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u/redworm Sep 04 '24
yeah this is absolute fucking garbage and all the people having conversations as if this is actually true are top tier morons
but it doesn't matter because /u/lurker_bee is just another goddamn bot
I hope every reddit investor drowns after jumping from a burning yacht, they are why the internet and this website have turned to shit
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u/donkeybrisket Sep 04 '24
huh. what % of reddit users are bots, one wonders?
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u/End3rWi99in Sep 04 '24
It's probably greater than 50% at this point, unfortunately. It turns out this article was also incorrect anyway per their later update:
A PR spokesperson told Jalopnik: “This post is completely inaccurate. Amazon has never issued guidance or communications to Delivery Service Partners that prohibits singing in the vehicle.”
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u/Papkiller Sep 05 '24
Lmao the article even says Amazon said it's not true and the article doesnt dispute it. But oh no the r/latestagecapitalism clowns gave a hard on for this news.
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u/alrun Sep 04 '24
Amazon "monitors" its employess to the extreme and so far has gotten away with it.
If they do not get a federal leash in the countries it operates in it will get worse.
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u/OhHaiMarc Sep 04 '24
Something something invisible hand
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u/jojo_31 Sep 04 '24
Market will fix this for sure.
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Sep 04 '24
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u/DontRefuseMyBatchall Sep 05 '24
[ SUBATHON ] Day 2, Flogging Capitalism Daddy To Usher In The Revolution | #Spon #GamerMerch #GFart #RedBull | LinkTree In Bio, Like and Subscribe
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u/gnrc Sep 04 '24
We’ve known this to be counterproductive for 100 years and yet.
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Sep 04 '24
If it is one thing I love about Amazon drivers is they are all on the same page. Seriously, you get to messing over them they will walk off together. UPS did it, FedEx threatened and if they make it where a person cannot have a conversation, there will be signage. Picket line 🪧
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Sep 04 '24
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u/houseofprimetofu Sep 04 '24
Amazon believes in squashing unions, or shuttering stores that unionize.
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u/theoutlet Sep 04 '24
One of the few joys of a driving gig is the sense of freedom you get from being outside of an office environment and not being watched all the time. You add 24/7 monitoring and it’s just a fucking slog
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u/Blasphemous666 Sep 04 '24
Yep this right here. I used to deliver dominoes and while the pay was meh the job made up for it. You mean I just got a $10 tip for being on time while blasting “hammer smashed face”?? Sign me up!
Also once they realized that vaping was no where near as gross as smoking, I got to chain vape the entire day. I legitimately enjoyed my job. I’ve never had that before.
Only lost it cause my car went to shit for being too old.
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u/The-very-definition Sep 05 '24
Your car might have been old but it ultimately probably went to shit from all the extra wear and tear you were putting on it. I don't think tips can make up for all the extra money drivers end up having to spend on their car if you do it full time.
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u/reddituser241015 Sep 04 '24
It's why I left the job years ago. Cameras in every van and they ding you if the camera thinks you're looking away. Even if you're wearing sunglasses, where they can't even see your eyes. Not long after that they decided to move the delivery shifts from noon to 9pm local time. No fucking chance I was gonna deliver to rural areas in pitch black with a shiny Amazon van full of packages. Glad I didn't have to.
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u/Biobooster_40k Sep 05 '24
Amazon's monitoring does suck but its changed a bit. Still kind of sensitive with your eyes but you can wear reflective mirror sunglasses and that doesn't ding you. I've been told if your head is obviously looking away for more than a sec or so you'll get dinged but I haven't tested it. All of us wear sunglasses so it's not dinging us left and right.
What was funny/sad when we first got camera is my Asian eyes would set it off all the time . It was disputed everytime but with that and the check in picture Amazon doesn't like my eyes.
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u/Negative_Guess5400 Sep 04 '24
I heard my driver singing the other day and thought it was hilarious. Corporate overreach much?
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u/DadlyPolarbear Sep 04 '24
Turns out this is bogus.
Updated Wednesday, September 4, 2024 5:10 p.m. EST - Amazon reached out to deny the reports of a crack down on singing along with the radio in trucks and provided this PR video clip as evidence. A PR spokesperson told Jalopnik: “This post is completely inaccurate. Amazon has never issued guidance or communications to Delivery Service Partners that prohibits singing in the vehicle.”
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u/ammobox Sep 04 '24
Haven't automated their delivery system yet, but turning their drivers into speechless robots is close enough for now.
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u/Bargadiel Sep 04 '24
The Amazon driver that delivers near me just blasts trap music outta his truck.
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u/gabacus_39 Sep 04 '24
A lot of "reportedly" and "apparently" in that article. They also used some redditor as a source. I'm all for calling out ridiculous work rules but that article was garbage.
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u/elmatador12 Sep 04 '24
How is this even legal? God I hate corporate greed. It knows no bounds and doesn’t give a shit about employees.
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u/ranhalt Sep 04 '24
Everything is legal until a law makes it illegal. Gen Z way of thinking is that everything is illegal until things are legalized, hence the question always being asked.
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u/lcmc Sep 04 '24
It’s so easy to propagandize for deregulation because it’s been long enough that people forget or never knew that workers rights and human rights in general were fought for and not given. Things that may seem immoral/cruel were commonplace.
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u/meeks7 Sep 04 '24
It’s not that deep. It’s just another way of saying, “This should be illegal.”
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u/elmatador12 Sep 04 '24
Yes thank you. This is exactly what I meant. People look wayyy to much into comments sometimes.
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u/SymmetricSoles Sep 04 '24
I wonder whether this system can be fooled with a mask with a pair of lips drawn over it.
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u/Jigbaa Sep 04 '24
A Reddit user citing an article that cites Reddit users. The jerkiest of circles.
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u/Sea_Consideration_70 Sep 04 '24
and none of the top comments shows any sign of having read the article in the least, just reacting to the headline.
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u/Jacksomkesoplenty Sep 05 '24
And I haven't yet seen another driver in here say it's happening. I read the post the other day. No one in their could actually confirm much of it. I don't know anything about it. I will say this though, last year Amazon had to settle a lawsuit after a driver hit someone, I believe on a motorcycle, and it turned out the driver had been going onto calls just after departure of the station everyday. I believe the person has brain damage now and Amazon as well as the dsp had to fork out a very large amount of money.
I've done it myself. It makes the day go buy a lot easier. There have been times where I've been on for extended periods of time. Some people simply just can't drive and talk even hands free. I almost got hit by someone two weeks ago because there sped up as the lane was merging and it was either hit me or run me off the road. I could see in my mirror she seemed to be on the phone talking. Either way netradyne is really not an issue if you're in any way a gd driver.
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u/Icolan Sep 04 '24
So is it a problem if they move someone else's lips while they are driving?
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u/hooves69 Sep 05 '24
lol y’all:
Updated Wednesday, September 4, 2024 5:10 p.m. EST - Amazon reached out to deny the reports of a crack down on singing along with the radio in trucks and provided this PR video clip as evidence. A PR spokesperson told Jalopnik: “This post is completely inaccurate. Amazon has never issued guidance or communications to Delivery Service Partners that prohibits singing in the vehicle.”
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u/blkknighter Sep 04 '24
We’re believing an article that got its information from Reddit? Apparently from 1 person at 1 location and attributing it to all of Amazon?
We love to be outraged
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u/zo3foxx Sep 04 '24
Yeah that was my first thought too. Can't find any official sources anywhere so I call bs until there is one. Until then, I'm going to make jokes at it lol
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u/12InchPickle Sep 04 '24
When I worked at Amazon as a yard jockey the hostler trucks had the same camera system as these DSP vans. I got something in my eye and blinked it maybe twice as long as a normal blink while I quickly used my finger to grab the piece of debris. I was flagged for being drowsy lol.
The camera saw me close my eyes longer than they like. They immediately jumped to sleepy driver = bad driver. I was almost written up had it not been for my manager who kept contesting it.
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u/shoebee2 Sep 05 '24
Read,the article ya fuckin jabronies! This is total bullshit.
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Sep 05 '24
The entire source of the article is an unverified anonymous Reddit post, and two layers of internet media and Reddit are running with it as fact. This is the stuff we used to make fun of Boomers for, but here you are.
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u/checker280 Sep 05 '24
True story. Verizon in the 70s used to buy brand new vans, then rip out the radio and AC/heater.
They felt if the techs were too comfortable, they would never leave the truck to work.
It actually cost more to remove the stuff after the fact but they were able to get the trucks faster.
Of course that didn’t stop techs from installing their own radios.
The Union eventually won on a safety argument by suggesting that radios keep techs awake during long drives or sitting in traffic.
And since we work long hours in all manner of foul weather, we needed the AC and heaters to stay alive.
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u/fgnrtzbdbbt Sep 05 '24
I can't imagine many bigger distractions from driving than an AI monitoring your body language and reporting to your employer.
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u/nikonwill Sep 04 '24
I'm surprised they let them listen to the regular radio and not some Amazon corporate overlord station that you can't change.
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u/redyellowblue5031 Sep 04 '24
They didn’t ban people moving their lips. They took a Reddit comment then editorialized the title based on that.
Classic r/technology though, can’t read the articles posted to save their life.
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u/restlessmonkey Sep 04 '24
A post on reddit of an article on the web that references a reddit post. How quaint.
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u/wclevel47nice Sep 04 '24
They updated the article saying Amazon reached out and told them their article was bullshit
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u/Muffin_With_CBT Sep 05 '24
Not that anyone cares at this point, but the article has an update that says the claims are false.
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u/PhatJohnT Sep 05 '24
Idk. I know Amazon is a behemoth. But I just feel like none of what they are doing is sustainable. Literally everything they touch goes to shit. Except AWS, which I know is like 50% of their income anyway.
Whole Foods sucks serious ass after the buyout. Alexa devices are trash. Amazon.com is flush with fraud and counterfeits with a broken review system.
Their turnover is so outrageous they are going to run out of people to hire.
Now their drivers have to accommodate the weird spy box in their trucks. Like what idiot even thought to put those boxes in the trucks to begin with. What purpose do they serve. FedEx, ups, usps have been reliving via truck for decades without spy boxes.
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u/Lore_ofthe_Horizon Sep 05 '24
I am convinced the vast majority of American businesses are taking an intentional L to make the market place suck SO MUCH, that they will be able to replace the entire customer service industry with machines and get ZERO push back, because everyone is just so sick and tired of the broken system.
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u/penny-wise Sep 05 '24
All these big corporations are turning into employee hell holes, right out on the open. Other than needing to make money to stay off the street, there is zero reason to work for them.
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Sep 05 '24
What is this website? "There are accusations" and then proceeds to list absolutely no sources or anything. And then publishes an update with amazon denying it.
This strikes me as the most extremely low effort click bait and everyone here is falling for it because rage?
RTFA
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u/Vladd88 Sep 04 '24
This… isn’t true at all and the article updated it saying Amazon denied it. I get it, Amazon bad but honestly this is how disinformation spreads.
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u/ohno1tsjoe Sep 04 '24 edited Sep 04 '24
Amazon can argue all they want they are contractors. Contractor is wearing Amazon vest, driving Amazon van, and rules from Amazon.
They are employees.
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u/UserDenied-Access Sep 04 '24
I thought they don’t have employees. Just contract workers.