When Amazon s***canned us from the Amazon Associates program, it made a point to tell us it was holding back and would not pay us any money we had accumulated as referral fees:
“… Amazon will not pay you any outstanding advertising fees related to your account ….”
I don’t know how much Amazon took from us, because by the time I received Amazon’s notice that we were terminated, the data was wiped clean as to unpaid earnings when I logged in. It’s probably not a Yuge amount, certainly not in comparison to Amazon’s capitalization and Jeff Bezo’s net worth.
But that amount, whatever it was, may be important to struggling employees in Jeff Bezo’s other business, The Washington Post:
The Daily Mail reports:
More than 400 employees of The Washington Post have signed on to a public letter to owner Jeff Bezos asking him to remedy working conditions at the newspaper, after more than a year of unsuccessful negotiation with upper management.’All we are asking for is fairness for each and every employee who contributed to this company’s success: fair wages; fair benefits for retirement, family leave and health care; and a fair amount of job security,’ the petition read.’More than 400 of our colleagues have signed this petition, and they’re just asking you to listen,’ Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah said in the video that accompanied the written petition.The petition was shared on Twitter by the Post Guild on Thursday, which was one day after Bezos tweeted about Thursday being the one year anniversary of him asking his social media following for ideas for philanthropy.Bezos, who is also the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Amazon, could not immediately be reached for comment on the petition.
This video by union employees is *heartbreaking*:
THE PETITION
Dear Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post:We, the undersigned, have been extremely grateful that you stepped in to purchase the Post at a time when the traditional media model was collapsing, and we have given our all to take advantage of the long runway you promised. In the past year alone, the Post has doubled the number of digital subscriptions and increased its online traffic by more than half; its advertising team has met or exceeded all its targets.All we are asking for is fairness for each and every employee who contributed to this company’s success: fair wages; fair benefits for retirement, family leave and health care; and a fair amount of job security.• Offering $10 a week in pay increases – or about 0.6 percent of the median salary and less than half the current rate of inflation – is unfair and even shocking from someone who believes democracy dies in darkness.• Refusing to improve retirement benefits is unfair, particularly since you froze the traditional pension. The current retirement plans, including a 1 percent match on our 401(k), suggest that you place little value in your employees’ future financial security.• Pushing for the right to indiscriminately lay off anyone is unfair – and a recipe for future discrimination against older employees and minorities.• Further cutting severance for people who face layoffs or whose job has been outsourced is unfair, particularly since management has already won the right to drastically cut severance for people who are let go for cause.• Demanding that laid-off employees waive their legal rights to receive severance payments is an extreme demand and an ominous one – particularly in light of the Post’s mixed record on fair treatment for women, racial minorities and older employees.The Post is not just any business venture. But even if it were – this would not be the way to show that you value your employees.Please show the world that you not only can lead the way in creating wealth, but that you also know how to share it with the people who helped you create it.
Trump has weighed in on the poor treatment of WaPo employees:
I take no position on whether WaPo employees should strike.
But there is a certain irony that Mr. Progressive Himself underpays WaPo union workers.
All I ask at this point is that Amazon donate to the struggling WaPo employees the money Amazon took from us when it s***canned us.
It’s the least we can do. It’s also the most we can do.
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