Editorials & Other Articles

BethMomDem

(70 posts) Fri Oct 25, 2013, 04:59 PM Oct 2013

Worker sues Amazon over lengthy security searches without pay

A Pennsylvania man is suing digital retail giant Amazon.com because he says the company is putting its employees through rigorous security searches, without pay.

The class action suit was filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on Sept. 27 by attorneys for Winebrake & Santillo LLC on behalf of Neal Heimbach of Allentown, Pa.

Heimbach has served as a warehouse worker at Amazon’s logistics facility in Breinigsville, Pa. -- just ten miles from Allentown -- since 2010. He is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 because he claims the company required its more than 100 employees at the facility to undergo lengthy security searches.

According to the filing, employees of the Breinigsville facility are required to go through an extensive security search process, which includes a walk through metal detectors and a manual search of employees’ bags or personal items.
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/15/20969876-worker-sues-amazon-over-lengthy-security-searches-without-pay

5 replies

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Highlight:

Worker sues Amazon over lengthy security searches without pay (Original Post) BethMomDem Oct 2013 OP

Amazon workers strike in Germany BethMomDem Oct 2013 #1

Employees should be paid for all time spent in service of the employer. Skeeter Barnes Oct 2013 #2

Amazon is not a worker-friendly company RainDog Oct 2013 #3

It never was. jsr Oct 2013 #4

Big retail is evil. It is all about exploitation, of workers, of customers, of the environment. nt bemildred Oct 2013 #5

BethMomDem

(70 posts)

1. Amazon workers strike in Germany

Reply to BethMomDem (Original post)

Fri Oct 25, 2013, 05:00 PM

Oct 2013

Workers at Amazon’s biggest warehouses in Germany, in the cities of Bad Hersfeld and Leipzig, went out on strike on Sept. 19 and 20 to demand higher wages.

Amazon Germany is the largest foreign subsidiary of the mammoth Internet store. With 9,000 workers — compared to 90,000 in the United States — Amazon’s German company provides 14 percent of its total revenue worldwide.

Germany does not have a national minimum wage, but it is customary to pay union-level wages based on job description. And that’s the axis of the struggle for Amazon workers in Germany. By defining the Amazon workers as “logistics” workers instead of “retail and mail order” workers, the Amazon bosses can pay approximately 9.55 euros per hour instead of 10.66 (about $14).

The Ver.di union and its members at Amazon are fighting and striking for that additional pay. Ver.di announced that the adhesion to the strike was greater than expected and they would continue the struggle with Amazon in the coming months. On Sept. 20, the union bused 600 workers from Bad Hersfeld to Leipzig to build strike solidarity.
http://www.workers.org/articles/2013/09/24/amazon-workers-strike-germany/

Skeeter Barnes

(994 posts)

2. Employees should be paid for all time spent in service of the employer.

Reply to BethMomDem (Original post)

Fri Oct 25, 2013, 07:01 PM

Oct 2013

If they are not being paid, they should be able to leave the building without any delays.

RainDog

(28,784 posts)

3. Amazon is not a worker-friendly company

Reply to BethMomDem (Original post)

Fri Oct 25, 2013, 08:06 PM

Oct 2013

This, combined with their horrid working conditions...

This is part of the two-tier tech economy, where millionaires make it impossible for the middle class to live in some cities while working people are treated like shit so that people can save money while shopping online.

Reminds me of Apple's manufacturing "ethos."

jsr

(7,712 posts)

4. It never was.

Reply to RainDog (Reply #3)

Sat Oct 26, 2013, 01:37 AM

Oct 2013

bemildred

(90,061 posts)

5. Big retail is evil. It is all about exploitation, of workers, of customers, of the environment. nt

Reply to RainDog (Reply #3)

Sat Oct 26, 2013, 06:01 AM

Oct 2013

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