Amazon trains Whole Foods to handle workers who want to unionize: leaked video

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Now that Whole Foods Market is a part of Amazon, the grocer’s workers are getting the Amazon employee playbook.

One week after some Whole Foods employees called to unionize, the premium grocery chain’s team leaders were asked to watch a training video created by Amazon. The video, leaked to Yahoo Finance, details Amazon’s view on unions and how it trains managers to monitor associates and handle any organizing efforts. Amazon (AMZN), which rarely addresses the topic of unions directly in public, has not been a fertile ground for unions despite repeated attempts by employees to organize. Yahoo Finance viewed the 45-minute video, first reported by Gizmodo, and shares the unedited clips for the first time here.

“Unions pose a threat to the direct connection…We are not anti-union, but we are not neutral either,” an animated character said in the video. “We do not believe unions are in the best interest of our customers, our shareholders, or most importantly, our associates.”

Amazon’s internal training videos offer a rare peek into the e-commerce giant’s approach to unionization.
Amazon’s internal training videos offer a rare peek into the e-commerce giant’s approach to unionization.

Amazon recognizes employees’ rights to organize a union, but the company prohibits managers and supervisors from joining them, citing that they are “agents of the company.” The video uses a Q&A to ask viewers to choose if what associates say could be considered as “warning signs” of organizing. Managers are instructed to report any cases to Human Resources immediately, but it doesn’t specify what measures may be taken following the report.

In the video, Amazon offers guidelines on certain behaviors and phrases to help managers identify unionization efforts. Using the words “living wage” or “steward” is among the most obvious signs of early organizations. Other signs include an associate being vocal about worker rights, union graffiti and apparel and union visitors in or near the parking lot.

The video also lists less obvious signs and changes in employee behavior, which “must be monitored very closely and should still be escalated to employee relations.” What could make an Amazon manager skeptical about associates? It can be any changes in daily behavior from how long associates stay in the break room after work to whom they hang out with. Managers should be alarmed when “associates who normally aren’t connected to each other suddenly hanging out together, associates who are close suddenly stop speaking to each other, groups of associates scatter when approached by management.”

Amazon doesn’t encourage managers to use aggressive language, but it does promote persuasive techniques. “Amazon prefers a mild opinion expressed strongly. We frequently and proudly remind associates of the values of a direct working relationship, but we avoid anti-union rhetoric.”