Amazon Won’t Let Employees Use Words Like ‘Union’, ‘Restrooms’, ‘Slave’, ‘Prison’ on Planned Messaging App

Amazon is engaged on an inside messaging app that may ban phrases that mirror the corporate’s working circumstances or organising labour unions. The app, kind of a social media platform particularly for Amazon workers, can have a content material filter that may ban phrases resembling “union”, “jail”, “slave labour”, “range” in addition to “restrooms” presumably to ban workers from discussing that they relieved themselves in bottles to satisfy punishing deadlines, in response to a brand new report based mostly on the corporate’s inside paperwork. Final yr, Amazon had apologised to a US lawmaker after falsely denying that a few of its drivers had been pressured at occasions to urinate in plastic bottles.

Mark Pocan, a Democrat from Wisconsin, had referred to as out Amazon in a tweet for paying low and making “employees urinate in water bottles”. Amazon had shortly responded on Twitter, denying that its employees needed to relieve themselves in bottles to satisfy quotas.

However a number of employees got here out to say they’d to make use of plastic bottles. Amazon then apologised to the lawmaker however shirked duty by saying it was “a long-standing, industry-wide problem”.

The brand new report in regards to the inside messaging app by The Intercept is more likely to create extra bother for Amazon. The report mentioned the content material filter would ban phrases like “unfair,” “grasp,” “slave,” “injustice,” “ethics,” “range,” “equity,” “pay increase,” and phrases like “that is dumb” or “that is regarding”, along with slurs and swear phrases.

Nevertheless, in response to an Amazon spokesperson, this programme has not but been accredited and will change drastically or by no means begin in any respect. The spokesperson mentioned that groups at Amazon had been continuously brainstorming modern methods to assist workers interact with each other.

Amazon executives met in November final yr reportedly to debate the creation of a messaging app that will enable workers to spotlight every others’ work by creating posts referred to as “Shout-Outs”. Through the assembly, additionally they mentioned “the darkish aspect of social media” and agreed to watch workers’ posts on the platform. It was there that they devised a listing of “unhealthy” phrases, mentioned the report.

The Amazon spokesperson added that there are “no plans” for lots of the “unhealthy” phrases or phrases that The Intercept has reported. The app will display screen solely these phrases that “are offensive or harassing, which is meant to guard our crew,” the spokesperson added.

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