Jeremy Stein - Journal

Amazon Alabama Union Vote

I have some affiliation with Amazon, so I know I have bias. I’m speaking for myself here.

I’ve followed the Alabama Amazon union saga in the news. All the stories I saw told of inhumane working conditions, employees fed up with unreasonable expectations, and Amazon illogically arguing that a union was unnecessary.

Less than 30% of the votes supported the union.

Will the news report that Amazon warehouse employees seem to like their job? That Amazon’s competitive pay and benefits swayed the votes?

No, of course not. The union claims without evidence that Amazon threatened reprisal. The news outlets imply the result is due to gullible workers being persuaded by Amazon’s propaganda (more than their own propaganda, apparently).

I don’t know anything about conditions in Amazon warehouses, but I do know something about the corporate offices. The news reports about working conditions in Amazon corporate are simply dishonest. I accept that the quotes and anecdotes were genuine, but no one who honestly investigated the conditions would have heard only those stories. The reporters clearly chose to cherry pick the information that told the narrative they had already decided beforehand. It’s the fancy journalist way of legally publishing libel.

Unscrupulous news organizations usually wear their bias on their sleeve (I’m looking at you, CNN and Fox News). But others have a veneer of journalistic integrity that sometimes tricks me into temporarily believing their claim of impartiality.

Maybe it’s best to just read news sites with known biases so I can mentally compensate. For example, since the article has nothing to do with Israel, Al Jazeera’s article is actually quite balanced. It can be easier to learn the truth from the consistent liar than from the inconsistently honest.

Jeremy Stein - Journal

Amazon Alabama Union Vote

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