As unionization efforts gather steam and lawmakers move to investigate a warehouse collapse in Illinois that killed six people, Amazon (AMZN)'s labor practices are under a major global microscope — one that gets bigger each time there's a new story of workers feeling forced to minimize bathroom breaks or come in during tornado warnings.
While the response to outrage would ideally be for companies to review or even improve labor practices, news has recently come out that Amazon has instead been working on an internal messaging app that would ban terms related to working conditions or employee mobilization.
Don't Even Think Of Talking About The Bathroom
Non-profit investigative news outlet The Intercept reported leaked internal documents showing that, back in November 2021, top Amazon execs allegedly held a meeting in which they discussed a potential app through which company workers could communicate.
Employees could give others in the company "Shout-Outs" for things that "add direct business value" but, in return, reportedly be blocked and flagged from typing terms like "slave labor," "prison," "plantation," "union," "pay raise" or even "restrooms."
The nix on bathroom discussion is, presumably, a response to highly-circulated reports of Amazon drivers and warehouse workers who say they sometimes urinate in bottles in order to not be flagged for being unproductive that date back to 2018. (Amazon once responded to Congressman Mark Pocan's criticism of this practice with "you don’t really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you?")
"Our teams are always thinking about new ways to help employees engage with each other," Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait said in a statement provided to several outlets. "This particular program has not been approved yet and may change significantly or even never launch at all."
Company Culture With A 'Bad Word Monitor'
While Amazon's head of worldwide consumer business Dave Clark reportedly framed the app as a way to increase employee satisfaction and motivate through badges and rewards, the focus on fighting the "bad side of social media" has also been strong.
Planned to resemble a dating app like Bumble (BMBL) more than Facebook (MVRS), the app would also minimize discussions by multiple employees at the same time for one-on-one interaction.
"We want to lean towards being restrictive on the content that can be posted to prevent a negative associate experience," one of the leaked documents read.
That, apparently, necessitates the use of an "auto bad word monitor." Other banned terms include "ethics," "unfair," "master, "freedom," "diversity," "injustice" and "fairness." Even saying "this is concerning" could, according to The Intercept, be a potential reason to get flagged.
Workers Have Been Calling Out Problems For Years
Such an app comes at a historic time for Amazon. On Monday, workers at a New York warehouse overwhelmingly voted to unionize with the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) in the first union since Amazon launched in 1994.
While this particular effort has been set off by the firing of Christian Smalls (a former supervisor who was fired and described by an exec as "not smart or articulate" after trying to organize a small walkout over safety conditions), the unionization efforts have been picking up over issues that some have been pointing out for years — shortened breaks, unsafe conditions and on-site injuries, and pressure to prioritize productivity at all costs are just some of the issues that workers have been pointing out.
The app was reportedly set to launch later this month but, after the news leaked, Amazon stressed that it is still in the planning stages.
"If it does launch at some point down the road, there are no plans for many of the words you're calling out to be screened," Agrait said. "The only kinds of words that may be screened are ones that are offensive or harassing, which is intended to protect our team."
