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The Warehouse : Workers and Robots at Amazon

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Title: The Warehouse : Workers and Robots at Amazon
Description: ‘Work hard, have fun, make history'proclaims the slogan on the walls of Amazon's warehouses. This cheerful message hides a reality of digital surveillance, aggressive anti-union tactics and disciplinary layoffs. Reminiscent of the tumult of early industrial capitalism, the hundreds of thousands of workers who help Amazon fulfil consumers'desire are part of an experiment in changing the way we all work. In this book, Alessandro Delfanti takes readers inside Amazon's warehouses to show how technological advancements and managerial techniques subdue the workers rather than empower them, as seen in the sensors that track workers'every movement around the floor and algorithmic systems that re-route orders to circumvent worker sabotage. He looks at new technologies including robotic arms trained by humans and augmented reality goggles, showing that their aim is to standardise, measure and discipline human work rather than replace it. Despite its innovation, Amazon will always need living labour's flexibility and low cost. And as the warehouse is increasingly automated, worker discontent increases. Striking under the banner ‘we are not robots', employees have shown that they are acutely aware of such contradictions. The only question remains: how long will it be until Amazon's empire collapses?
Authors: Alessandro Delfanti
Resource Type: eBook.
Subjects: Restrictive practices in industrial relations, Employee rights, Warehouses--Automation, Electronic monitoring in the workplace
Categories: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Labor / General, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economics / General, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Distribution, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / E-Commerce / General, COMPUTERS / General, COMPUTERS / Design, Graphics & Media / CAD-CAM, COMPUTERS / Programming / Algorithms, COMPUTERS / Hardware / General, COMPUTERS / Social Aspects, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Labor & Industrial Relations, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Economic Policy, SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Poverty & Homelessness, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Social Aspects
Database: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)
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Header DbId: nlebk
DbLabel: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)
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PubType: eBook
PubTypeId: ebook
PreciseRelevancyScore: 1103.19409179688
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  Data: ‘Work hard, have fun, make history'proclaims the slogan on the walls of Amazon's warehouses. This cheerful message hides a reality of digital surveillance, aggressive anti-union tactics and disciplinary layoffs. Reminiscent of the tumult of early industrial capitalism, the hundreds of thousands of workers who help Amazon fulfil consumers'desire are part of an experiment in changing the way we all work. In this book, Alessandro Delfanti takes readers inside Amazon's warehouses to show how technological advancements and managerial techniques subdue the workers rather than empower them, as seen in the sensors that track workers'every movement around the floor and algorithmic systems that re-route orders to circumvent worker sabotage. He looks at new technologies including robotic arms trained by humans and augmented reality goggles, showing that their aim is to standardise, measure and discipline human work rather than replace it. Despite its innovation, Amazon will always need living labour's flexibility and low cost. And as the warehouse is increasingly automated, worker discontent increases. Striking under the banner ‘we are not robots', employees have shown that they are acutely aware of such contradictions. The only question remains: how long will it be until Amazon's empire collapses?
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Classifications:
      – Code: 331.3
        Scheme: ddc
        Type: prePub
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Restrictive practices in industrial relations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Employee rights
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Warehouses--Automation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Electronic monitoring in the workplace
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The Warehouse : Workers and Robots at Amazon
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Alessandro Delfanti
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Alessandro Delfanti
    IsPartOfRelationships:
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          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2021
            – D: 23
              M: 10
              Type: profile
              Y: 2021
          Identifiers:
            – Type: isbn-print
              Value: 9780745342160
            – Type: isbn-print
              Value: 9780745342177
            – Type: isbn-electronic
              Value: 9781786808646
            – Type: isbn-electronic
              Value: 9781786808653
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: The Warehouse : Workers and Robots at Amazon
              Type: main
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