Staff stand in line to forged ballots for a union election at Amazon’s JFK8 distribution middle, within the Staten Island borough of New York Metropolis, U.S., March 25, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid./File Photograph
April 4 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc employees (AMZN.O) included the phrases “union,” “grievance,” and “residing wage” on a preliminary listing of phrases to dam from an inner messaging app it was contemplating creating to spice up employee morale, The Intercept reported on Monday.
The information fueled concern concerning the retailer’s method to organized labor, days after workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, voted to kind Amazon’s first union in the US.
The Athena Coalition, a labor and activist group that’s crucial of Amazon, posted on Twitter, “This must cease.”
Amazon stated it had no plans to display most of the phrases highlighted by The Intercept, which cited firm paperwork and an individual accustomed to a November 2021 govt assembly on the mission. The thought was to foster group and encourage high-performers whereas stopping “the darkish aspect of social media,” The Intercept reported. An automated phrase filter might block worker messages mentioning slurs, swear phrases and phrases like “slave labor,” “robots,” and “pay elevate.”
In a press release, Amazon stated, “Our groups are at all times fascinated about new methods to assist workers interact with one another. This explicit program has not been accepted but and will change considerably and even by no means launch in any respect.”
It added: “The one sorts of phrases which may be screened are ones which are offensive or harassing, which is meant to guard our group.”
A pilot has been slated for later this month, The Intercept reported.
Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in Palo Alto, California; Modifying by Leslie Adler.
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