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143 reviews for:
Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America
Alec MacGillis, Stefan Alexander MacGillis
3.9 AVERAGE
143 reviews for:
Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America
Alec MacGillis, Stefan Alexander MacGillis
3.9 AVERAGE
MacGillis dissects varies aspects of the Amazon corporation including labor practices, delivery methods/infrastructure, growth/expansion, and business practices. Yikes, as if we had a doubt, it’s not great. Predatory pricing. Counterfeit products. Unchecked safety concerns. The list goes on.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
informative
sad
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
So I probably would have read this anyway, but reading it now was prompted by a conversation with my daughter who pointed out that I don’t shop Walmart because of worker issues, so why would I continue to use Amazon?
This book reiterated some of what I knew about Amazon’s treatment of its workers - the pressures to keep up with metrics; lack of bathroom breaks (more of that in the news just recently- peeing into bottles); and the churn of turnover.
The book addresses Amazon’s extreme strategies and negotiations to avoid paying taxes (while reaping the benefits of, for example, local EMTs to provide aid to workers overcome by heat exhaustion)[there is a reason why the company whose origins were in California decided to move to Seattle- to avoid having charge state sales tax on what it projected to be its largest customer base]
And points out that while Amazon touts that it pays its employees $15, it is silent on the fact that so many (hundreds of thousands?) of its workers are contractors who don’t get paid this much.
An incident of an unmarked Amazon delivery truck fatally hitting a young child is provided as an example of the lack of liability on Amazon’s part in such a situation, but I don’t think MacGillis spends enough time exploring the ramifications of having so many workers who appear to be employees but who aren’t; he touches in one sentence on their not getting the same benefits as actual employees - but doesn’t explore lack of overtime, workers compensation, or unemployment benefits such contractors do not receive; and as far as accident liability, they and not Amazon are on the hook.
I like how he drew comparisons of the site in Baltimore where Beth Steel had once been and the wages, working conditions, and camaraderie that existed then versus the new Amazon facility now occupying that site, but this is part of a larger issue of loss of manufacturing jobs and what is now available to job seekers.
I like the vignettes of tying his reporting to individuals - it humanizes what would otherwise be facts and figures (and I’m still trying to decide if some of his examples had too much of their own baggage that maybe undercut his argument of the impact Amazon was having.
This book reiterated some of what I knew about Amazon’s treatment of its workers - the pressures to keep up with metrics; lack of bathroom breaks (more of that in the news just recently- peeing into bottles); and the churn of turnover.
The book addresses Amazon’s extreme strategies and negotiations to avoid paying taxes (while reaping the benefits of, for example, local EMTs to provide aid to workers overcome by heat exhaustion)[there is a reason why the company whose origins were in California decided to move to Seattle- to avoid having charge state sales tax on what it projected to be its largest customer base]
And points out that while Amazon touts that it pays its employees $15, it is silent on the fact that so many (hundreds of thousands?) of its workers are contractors who don’t get paid this much.
An incident of an unmarked Amazon delivery truck fatally hitting a young child is provided as an example of the lack of liability on Amazon’s part in such a situation, but I don’t think MacGillis spends enough time exploring the ramifications of having so many workers who appear to be employees but who aren’t; he touches in one sentence on their not getting the same benefits as actual employees - but doesn’t explore lack of overtime, workers compensation, or unemployment benefits such contractors do not receive; and as far as accident liability, they and not Amazon are on the hook.
I like how he drew comparisons of the site in Baltimore where Beth Steel had once been and the wages, working conditions, and camaraderie that existed then versus the new Amazon facility now occupying that site, but this is part of a larger issue of loss of manufacturing jobs and what is now available to job seekers.
I like the vignettes of tying his reporting to individuals - it humanizes what would otherwise be facts and figures (and I’m still trying to decide if some of his examples had too much of their own baggage that maybe undercut his argument of the impact Amazon was having.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I really wanted to like this more than I did! MacGillis does a ton of reporting and getting into unexpected places with unexpected people (brick-collectors! Cardboard people! Pencil suppliers! People mozying by at a Bezos introduction event in Washington!) but I think the structure and scope of the book detracted from my experience. There was a lot of cutting away to different subjects, states, and histories, in a way that did not feel easy to follow or well motivated. If the book was solely about office suppliers and their fight against Amazon, for example, I might have actually been more engaged and learned more than this broader coverage that ties together electrocal demography, tax code (an important section!), revolving door of private/public jobs, etc.. Overall I'd say 7/10, maybe?
Really good. I especially liked how much MacGillis contrasts Baltimore and DC. I do wish he had looked more at what can be done about Amazon and the winner take all economy. I also think he really didn't give Kshama Sawant enough credit for taking on Amazon in Seattle. At one point he seemed to even blame her for giving Amazon an easy target by being Indian, which was not cool.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced