An Amazonian Dear John Letter

Dear John Oliver,

This is not your typical "Dear John" letter because there is no way I could break up with you, but it is still a "Dear John" letter because, well, you are a John and it is a letter. I finally caught up with last week's Last Week Tonight and I wanted to take a moment to respond to a topic that is certainly of interest to you as well as myself. Just prior to the pandemic, I started to work at Amazon specifically for health insurance. I have been self employed and my health insurance through the marketplace was destroying me. The cost was absolutely ridiculous. Anyway I worked nights at Amazon during the weekend to take advantage of their health insurance. My costs went from over $3500 a month for a family of 4 PPO to better coverage with an Aetna PPO, as well as dental and vision for about $500 a month. Health care, in my view, is one of the greatest challenges we face in this divided country.

While you have been in your blank void, I have been working with 1000's of Amazonian's delivering for our Customers. It has been a fascinating experience that I thought you might want to hear more about. I know the news loves to focus on the negative stories that can be heard at some of the largest companies. As you know it is easy to dig into companies like Amazon, Walmart, or even AT&T and find many disgruntled employees (maybe even some in your same void). This is not dissimilar to other companies I worked for such as Comcast or Citibank. I want to make clear that I do not think Amazon or any company is perfect in any way. The manner in which Amazon initially responded to the reports of drivers peeing in bottles was ridiculous. I do not work in that area, but I could easily have believed those reports to be true. I also did not think they handled the employee from Staten Island properly. In both these circumstances I have seen very proud executives who were blinded by their own pride. I have seen this pride with many executives at every company I have worked for. Too often this pride blinds our abilities to see or understand what employees or even Customers may be going through. It is certainly part of the great disconnect in this world.

Over the past year there have been complaints regarding every institution; often from multiple perspectives. There has been no playbook business for dealing with a pandemic. Those that remained open caught flack from employees and Customers alike. Some pointed to the risks of employees or Customers, while other complained at new restrictions such as masks or limits to the number of people in the building. For many companies, Amazon wrote the rules, even as they were attacked by some for creating risks. Very early in the pandemic Amazon invested in technology to ensure people were 6 feet apart. They brought in electronic scanners to check temperatures. They secured masks for their employees and mandated their use even before governments required it. Did this put them at odds with some? Yes. And still does! Just like what we see in our communities, there are employees who fight these requirements.

There was a lot of trial and error during this process. They initially offered higher pay on a temporary basis and unlimited unpaid time off. This created a free for all of people coming and going as they saw fit. I know many employees would love to see the unlimited time off back, but when I put on my management hat (I am not a member of the Amazon management team), I could not see how anything got done. It certainly did make it where managers had to be much more employee centric, because if they won't, they could see their entire team go home. Like many employees, I have seen way too many notifications of cases of COVID at Amazon. At the same time, data suggests that there have been less cases at Amazon compared to the spread in the similar communities, so I am sure they have done many things right. It certainly was not perfect but they definitely tried hard. The only thing I would have liked to see differently (besides being independently wealthy with no need to work), is that often rules were enforced with a heavy hand instead of moving views. It is hard to move ones view when they feel threatened with disciplinary action.

I am sure you have seen the results from the union vote at the Amazon location in Alabama. I am sure many who have heard the nightmare stories about Amazon were surprised that the effort to unionize failed. As someone who has worked at Amazon, I am not surprised. Amazon is one of the largest employers in the United States with a diverse workforce. Some in the workforce, especially the loudest ones, may be disgruntled. Many are just happy to have a job that pays close to a living wage and the work is not too difficult. That being said, as a large employer, there are definitely some weak managers, as well as a some great ones. Over the past year I have seen both. There are some who are disgruntled by their manager. The fact is those who have been their long enough know to wait it out because it will soon change. Now why did the vote fail? 2 key reasons and they have nothing to do with the mailbox or even the propaganda by Amazon management. The fact is, for many it is not as bad a many in the public believe it is. The other reason is more simplistic. Many may not trust Amazon, but they also do not trust others to have their interest in heart. This is based on their own life experience. Too often we have allowed people to be taken advantage of, especially with frontline workers.

It is funny that in the warehouses many things are already handled in a way that make it feel like a unionized environment whether it is the way raises are handled (not based on performance, but tenure), or schedule changes based on tenure. They even have an appeals process for disciplinary action that sounds very much like a union environment. The other day I was teasing my bosses by saying if Amazon does not want a union, they should not treat everything like it is already a union.

I know you have not worked at Amazon, but it is relatively easy to get a job with Amazon. We are always hiring. This is one of the unique aspects to the warehouse experience. Basically you apply, do a virtual test, background check and pass a drug test. This causes the company to hire virtually anyone for a job. I have had the privilege to work with an amazing array of individuals with corporate, entreprunerial or no work experience at all. I have worked with people that were uneducated and homeless prior to working at Amazon. Some people had unique horrible things happen in their life, that found their way to a job like this to help rebuild. I have met people close to retirement age, filling up time. I have also met many like me drawn in for insurance.

The company does have many cool benefits to help out some of these individual create long term careers not just with Amazon, but also to help society. They offer a strong tuition reimbursement (or even directly paid by Amazon) for those with 1 year experience with the company. The key is they have to choose a career path that is good for society, such as becoming a nurse.

During my tenure, I have seen way too many leave the company. As an example, I started a little over a year ago with about 10 other people in the same department. I am the last one standing. Why is that? I think there are multiple answers to that question. Some never intended to stay. Others did get worn out from the work. There were also one or 2 that took advantage of the company and eventually were terminated due to their actions. In some cases I did wonder what took them so long. I do think the company could do a better job in letting people know what they are getting into upon hiring. It would help reduce employee churn.

It is time we start to change the dynamic between employees and all employers. It does not have to be adversarial, even if both sides often try to make it that way. In order to do this, it requires strong, positive, progressive leadership on both fronts. We can tackle real world issues such as employee churn at the warehouses, fair, living wages, benefits and so many other real world issues. We can work to make it more of a partnership instead of a hard union. As we exit the pandemic state we are in I would recommend Amazon pursue this type of partnership by engaging with employee are redefining the workplace for a very different era. We do not have to use late 1800's concept to define the 2000's.

I would like to see Amazon bring new methods of creating the right environment for employees, including some progressive ideas such as having employee representation on the executive committee as well as on the board of directors. With the diversity in the workforce it would not be too difficult to identify people that would be a good fit with the right temperament to bring forth the realities of what is happening in the warehouses. Executives should not speculate what it true or not. They should already know. I would also like to see a revamping of pay so it is not just about a pulse that survived a specific time period, but also rewards the best performers. Otherwise the company is seeking a culture of mediocrity. We should also work to strengthen managers to help create an environment that is conducive for delivering for our Customers instead of one focused on fear of termination.

This pandemic will change many things in the world, and my hope is one of the biggest changes will be how frontline workers are treated. Unfortunately in the world there has been too much lip service on this topic but not much in reality. Frontline workers are the life blood of this country and deserve the respect of all of us, but especially our employers. Amazon has led the ways in many aspects for employees, including $15 minimum wage and benefits. They have also led the way in Customer experience. I look forward to seeing them take it all to another level for the good of society.

All the Best!

Frank Eliason