It's always healthy to remind people about how big of an asshole Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos is.
Splinter points out how charitable Jezz Bezos is compared to average American household:
Jeff Bezos’ approximate net worth: $163 billion Jeff Bezos’ largest-ever commitment to charity: $2 billion Percentage of Jeff Bezos’ net worth charity donation represents: 1.2% Median net worth of an American household: $97,300 Equivalent charity donation by an average household: $1,168
His lack of charity makes him look like a major douchebag when you compare that to the fact he has donated $10 million dollars to Republican candidates. After all, his lack of charitable attributes goes against the conservative idea that you don't need taxes to help others. A man who is trying to rule the world and is just hoarding it all. Is a complete fucking douchebag.
Being such a douche, it makes sense that he would support politicians who aren't worried about the increasing oligarchy, but politicians running on a 2nd Amendment and pro-life platform.
Michael Waltz is one of those candidates, noted by Splinter:
As a small business owner I have created hundreds of jobs and know first-hand the benefits of President Trump’s tax relief and de-regulation...
I have carried a rifle and a pistol for most of my adult life, and fired both in defense of every American and myself...
I’m a strong supporter of the right to life. I believe we must defend life at every stage and protect the most vulnerable members of our society.
While millions are completely fucked, Bezos wants to have everything. Even tax payer money.
The benefits that Bezos can get from cities, as noted by Scott Galloway:
It’s not just federal officials who have folded in the face of big tech. As part of their bid for Amazon’s second headquarters, state and city officials in Chicago proposed to let Amazon keep $1.3 billion in employee payroll taxes and spend this money as the company sees fit. That’s right: Chicago offered to transfer its tax authority to Amazon and trusts the Seattle firm to allocate taxes in a manner best for Chicago’s residents.
Bezos' greed and politics aren't the only things that make him a douche. It's his view of labor that makes him a douchebag. His displeasure and treatment of labor is something that would make capitalists of the Gilded Age proud to see that their time is coming back.
Amazon is the greatest metaphor that the New Deal is dead. Amazon is literally building plant in Maryland for low wages, and built on the "ashes" of America's largest steel mill.
Being underpaid is only part of the experience of an Amazon worker.
Amazon employees have to skip taking a piss if you want to keep your job. Other workers claim they lost their job because they were pregnant.
An Amazon employee at a fulfillment plant In Sacramento vomited up blood at work, and later died at the hospital. Instead of calling it the day, work continued at the plant.
In Indiana a worker was killed, the World Socialist Web Site reported:
...The Indiana Department of Labor named four violations that might result in fines of as much as $7,000 each, which included poor training and violation of safety procedures.
Workers have accused Amazon of firing them when they were pregnant.
The Philadelphia Magazine writes of an account (emphasis theirs):
Cathleen Stewart filed the suit last month in the federal court at Philadelphia. She says she told her supervisor in February 2011 that she was pregnant — but was still given a verbal warning for time spent “off-task” while she experienced nausea and required frequent bathroom trips.
So to learn that Amazon has created videos for "team leaders" on how to be a union-buster, isn't that shocking.
According to Gizmodo, the six sectioned video are "specifically designed to give you the tools that you need for success when it comes to labor organizing." Where the narrator says, "We are not anti-union, but we are not neutral either."
In other words, we're not anti-union, but we are.
The reason for being against union-organizing (Gizmodo's emphasis):
“We do not believe unions are in the best interest of our customers, our shareholders, or most importantly, our associates. Our business model is built upon speed, innovation, and customer obsession—things that are generally not associated with union. When we lose sight of those critical focus areas we jeopardize everyone’s job security: yours, mine, and the associates’.”
Even though Amazon benefits by having the service of the Post Office, which does have a union. Union's aren't good for efficiency, even though the Pos Office is pretty damn efficient. Amazon preys on our desire to get what we want via clicking two buttons.
For "team leaders" the video provides ways to notice when workers are trying to organize, according to Gizmodo:
Use of words like “living wage” and “steward”
Distribution of petitions and fliers
Associates raising concerns on behalf of their coworkers
Wearing union t-shirts, hats, or jackets
Workers “who normally aren’t connected to each other suddenly hanging out together”
Workers showing an “unusual interest in policies, benefits, employee lists, or other company information”
Increased negativity in the workplace
“[A]ny other associate behavior that is out of character”
You can go to Gizmodo's article to see Amazon's response to their article.
It's not really worth reading if you ask me, Jeff Bezos has provided enough information to conclude that the man is a douchebag who wants to take over the world...