Originally Posted by
RBP
It has been a mess from the start. The vans are overloaded and the inefficient drivers have to be maniacs to get through the day. Many are not, but I have seen the vans flying through neighborhoods and wondered how people weren't getting killed. Apparently they were. There is almost no screening process for the drivers. Mind you, it can be an opportunity for decent cash for people, but that money should be available through an employment relationship with benefits.
This is the corporate pattern/trend in a broad sense. "Employees" are a core and everyone else is a "contractor". No responsibility for the company, no rights for the workers. People are sold on this model as freedom for labor... "be your own boss!". It's a sham to avoid liability and payroll taxes that will have broad repercussions over time.
And when the inevitable happens and the lawsuits fly, Amazon claims it isn't their problem and dumps the contractor. The contractor will go bankrupt making wrongful death claims useless, while the workers in an impossible position will end up with felony records, do time, and become unemployable. Uber killed the taxi industry and Amazon is killing retail. But at what cost? Look at the unemployment numbers by industry... retail is already over the cliff.