Amazon is reportedly planning to block and flag words like “union,” “living wage,” and “plantation” in an internal messaging app — days after warehouse workers in New York became the first to be unionized in the US.
The list of banned words also includes “raise,” “prison,” “slave labor,” and “toilets,” The Intercept reported Monday.
The alleged “toilet” ban comes after years of reports that Amazon warehouse workers and drivers have been forced to pee in bottles to meet punitive labor quotas.
Amazon’s “auto bad word moderator” is set to roll out later this month on an internal social media app used by Amazon employees, according to Intercept.
Other banned words reportedly include “freedom,” “bullying,” “harassment,” “petition,” “diversity,” “concern,” and “robot,” as well as insults and profanity.
According to the report, Amazon managers could also flag or suppress posts even if they don’t contain banned words.
“Our teams are always thinking of new ways to help employees connect with each other,” said Amazon spokeswoman Barbara Agrait. “This particular program has not yet been approved and may change significantly or even never start at all.”
“Should it start sometime later, there are no plans that many of the words you invoke will be checked. The only types of words that are allowed to be screened are offensive or harassing words, which are designed to protect our team,” she said.
The apparent attempt to crack down on unionization comes days after workers at Amazon’s JFK8 warehouse in the Staten Island neighborhood of New York City voted to form the company’s first-ever union in the United States, prompted by President Joe Biden, Mayor Eric Adams and praise was reaped by Gov. Kathy Hochul, among others.
Other banned words reportedly include “freedom,” “bullying,” and “robot.” AP
But Gov. Hochul is also taking criticism from fellow Democrats after reports reported that a top adviser to her re-election campaign helped Amazon in its bitter fight against the union, which included mandatory anti-union meetings and targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram.
Following Friday’s results, Amazon indicated it would contest the Staten Island election, in which 2,654 employees voted for unionization and 2,131 against.
“We are disappointed with the outcome of the Staten Island election because we believe a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees,” Amazon said in a statement. “We are reviewing our options, including filing objections based on the NLRB’s undue and improper influence that we and others (including the National Retail Federation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) have experienced in this election.”