23° and Overcast
Image
Amazon wants you to know it cares
The Amazon mailer looked like one from late October telling us for whom to vote – two-sided, full-color, printed to the margins, 6x11 inches letting us know all the good the retail behemoth does for its employees while it kills smalltown America.
It did not say “thank God our trucks are not running across Grand Island with the 190 bridge over Niagara Falls Boulevard closed.”
It also didn’t say “dang, we are just 7 months from opening and 80% of our trucks will be going across Grand Island, which gets most of the traffic and none of the revenue.”
Instead, the mailing espouses the benevolent benefits provided for Amazon employees across New York.
- Prepaid tuition for college, GED and ESL at SUNY and CUNY schools.
- Healthcare on Day 1 for the whole family.
- Free skills training and apprenticeships for higher pay.
- Up to 20 weeks paid parental leave.
Then there is the other side of the mailer: A photo of a safety gear clad worker who looks perhaps Hispanic fixing a conveyer.
“14 weeks pregnancy leave + 6 weeks of parental leave for regular, full and reduced time employees.”
“Stability from day one. Opportunity for the future.”
“Amazon offers hourly employees in New York prepaid tuition at SUNY and CUNY schools, health care on day one and skills training and apprenticeships.”
Then it includes a QR code leading to a Web address. “Learn more about how Amazon supports hourly employees across New York.”
It leads here: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/community/amazon-investment-new-york-jobs-infrastructure-small-business
You can delve into the minutiae of that slick Website for hours and learn how it’s always day one at Amazon, more-better-faster.
It is going to be interesting to see when the new Town of Niagara distribution center opens how many employees there are and how much is automated. As tech improves, automation does too. The result is an evolution where, even though up front costs are more, and machines still require maintenance, they don’t have to be paid benefits or wages and they don’t have families.
