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China-Like Wages Now Part Of U.S. Employment Boom

Kenneth Rapoza Forbes
The China-esqsue income for the general labor pool might not spark a backlash against the Chinese, Washington's favorite punching bag. Instead, it will favor future political backlashes against globalization and the corporations seen driving up inequality -- and driving down mobility -- because of it.

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Whole Foods Market, Amazon and Inhospitable Hospitality

Gary Herman Union Solidarity International
With Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods, everything about the company is changing. But there remains one constant: Whole Foods still intends to be “100 percent union-free”. The hostility to worker rights that the two companies share is the future they envision for the entire hospitality industry.

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Amazon Drivers Say They Are Pushed to the Limit

Natalie Kitroeff Los Angeles Times
Amazon subcontracts to local courier companies that use drivers who are considered independence contractors. These companies are less expensive than Fedex or UPS and they are not unionized. Amazon provides them with phones that track their packages and delivery progress, and workers need to average a delivery every 2 minutes in order to meet demand.

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Amazon's Cancellation of the Feminist Drama 'Good Girls Revolt' Feels Timely — But Not In a Good Way

Meredith Blake Los Angeles Times
“Good Girls Revolt” resisted the militant bra-burning feminist stereotype, instead depicting ambitious young women from a range of backgrounds — a black lawyer, a blond princess, a mousy aspiring novelist — each inspired to take action for unique reasons. It made feminism seem like an endeavor that was not only vital, but thrilling — and not just because of the newfound sexual freedom.

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Most Mechanical Turkers are Young, College-Educated and Making Less Than $5 an Hour

Moshe Z. Marvit In These Times
Since 2005, a dispersed group of sub-minimum wage workers has been performing online tasks for pennies through an Amazon-controlled marketplace called Mechanical Turk. These workers tag photos, transcribe audio, take surveys, and do whatever current computer technology cannot. Their work-product is littered across the Internet, and through academic publications, but they have largely remained invisible.

Why Big Tech Companies Are Open-Sourcing Their AI Systems

Patrick Shafto
Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Amazon have been making remarkable progress in artificial intelligence. Recently they have released much of their work to the public for free use, and adaptation. This seems bizarre: why would companies reveal the methods at the core of their businesses? And what does their embrace of open-source AI say about the current state of artificial intelligence?

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Strikes at Amazon German Warehouses up to Christmas

Emma Thomasson and Alison Williams Reuters
German workers continue their fight against Amazon, over low pay and poor working conditions in the warehouses. The union Verdi is trying to push the retailer to raise pay in accordance with collective bargaining agreements in the industry. They have been striking at warehouses on and off since May 2013.

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Working for Amazon Sounds Utterly Soul Crushing

Maddie Stone Gizmodo
Amazon factories, with their insane, round-the-clock delivery schedules, are notoriously hellish places to work. But life at corporate Amazon isn’t exactly a picnic, either.
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