The way to be a trillion-dollar company is not wrapped in philanthropy – on the other hand, it lies in pushing legal boundaries to new dystopian heights.
Amazon recently unveiled the use of stationary surveillance cameras in company vehicles – to “improve driver behavior,” according to an informative video from the company.
However, despite Amazon developing monitoring methods to track warehouse employees – both on and off the clock – the lives of Amazon delivery drivers could be much more difficult. .
Amazon employee monitoring camera
Amazon partnered with startup Netradyne to design and install surveillance cameras in delivery vehicles. The driver monitoring system is mounted on the top, just behind the windshield – and features four cameras, with three spikes outside the delivery van and a fourth square point in front of the driver.
Computer vision software allows the system to identify dangerous situations – from within and without the delivery vehicle. For example, upon running a stop sign, the system will notify and give the driver an audible warning. But it’s hard to warn against this, as the system automatically delivers the images to Amazon services.
It also detects if drivers are falling asleep at the wheel.
Amazon camera drivers can be turned off while they stop
When it comes to helping drivers notice signs of stopping or resisting falling asleep, it’s hard to overlook the benefits of monitoring – especially when you’re driving. think of “Amazon Delivery Vehicle” written on your tombstone. The film-based report is also physically motivated when drivers speed or endanger other vehicles. It is known even when drivers check their smartphones.
However, when the delivery vehicle passes through hard braking, or through sharp and U-turn attempts, Amazon’s new employee monitoring system sends pictures without informing the driver.
To Amazon’s credit, the company’s video announces limitations on the device – such as not being able to record audio or monitor in real time. The company also says no one is monitoring drivers or looking at a distance, and allows drivers to turn off the camera facing drivers when the vehicle is not moving.
Amazon’s ‘guard rail’ logic puts privacy in a backseat
But questions remain about the value of employee monitoring. While Amazon says the new system can “reduce crashes by one-third through better driver behavior,” the system could create new hidden risks to employee jobs. For example, in the event of an accident, photographs provide direct evidence in favor of the driver – assuming they are not held accountable.
This system can be a powerful “guard rail” for good driving practices, but the main responsibility is greater in increasing driver efficiency than in providing a respectful environment, where there is privacy and respect for employees. coming first.
Amazon has created programs to monitor out-of-hours employees
In September last year, Amazon reportedly wanted to hire an information analyst to identify labor organizers – and then said the job listing was done “in error,” according to its Motherboard report. But the review of internal documents, additional reports, and an online shared tool suggested that Amazon developed an advanced, secretive strategy team to spy on employees in closed Facebook groups.
Amazon later confirmed that the device – which is open on the sharkandlink.com domain – was developed by the company. The open files revealed an active surveillance program monitoring Flex drivers on relatively private pages – such as social media accounts – to see if employees were planning “any strike or complaint against Amazon.”
“The following social forums mentioned in the register are monitored during the social media process,” the document read, according to Motherboard. The Facebook groups surveyed included “Amazon Flex Drivers of Los Angeles,” “Amazon Flex Drivers,” “Amazon Turn Off Drivers,” and many more.
New ‘megacycles’ are forcing workers to do intimidating night work
This raises difficult questions about the ethics of supervising employees not only in general, but in the harsh context of increasingly demanding labor demands.
Recently, Amazon employees have had to combine individual moves into a single overnight move – working for 10 or 11 hours in an over-the-counter movement called the “megacycle.” A. leaflet posted to Twitter from a staff organization group called Amazonians United New York recommends that the megacycle typically extend from 1:00 am or 2:00 am to 11:00 am, or even noon.
The leaflet also states that Amazon’s management typically forces employees to move a megacycle with “very little notice,” and notes that employees may end up ” turn off ”if they put down the new transfer table.
The first story, Motherboard they explained what happened when this megacycle policy came into effect: on Jan. 25, management at a location in Amazon Chicago told employees that their warehouse – known as DCH1 – would be shut down, with another move extending from 1:20 AM to 11:50 AM at a new Chicago-based warehouse.
Amazon survey approaching dystopian heights
In addition to the megashift, Amazon’s use of a “do-it-yourself rate” for employees – which monitors employee productivity (some of which are packing hundreds of boxes per hour) – can be is a reason for termination, if the boxing rate drops too low.
Describing the dystopian heights of a study, Co – Director Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self – Trust, who is also a well – known critic on Amazon, said: “There is always someone right behind you who is ready to take your job, “according to a report from The edge.
Documents show that these productivity terminations are far more common than foreigners realize. Despite Amazon’s abusive practices with warehouse staff, it’s not hard to imagine how delivery drivers will feel about the company’s latest surveillance camera system. company – which, while technically legal, extends worrying nets to those who see it every day on public streets, probably driving better, but looking bigger than ever it never.