Amazon Case: Leaked: New Amazon Worker Chat App Would Ban Words Like \"Union,\" \"Restrooms,\" \"Pay Raise,\" and \"Plantation\" Also: \"Grievance,\" \"slave labor,\" \"This is dumb,\" \"living wage,\" \"diversity,\" \"vaccine,\" and others. Ken Klipp_enstein April 4 2022, 2:27 pm. Amazon will block and ag employee posts on a planned internal messaging app that contain keywords pertaining to labor unions, according to internal company documents reviewed by The Intercept. An automatic word monitor would also block a variety of terms that could represent potential critiques of Amazon's working conditions. like \"slave labor," \"prison," and \"plantation," as well as I\"restrooms\" presumably related to reports of Amazon employees relieving themselves in battles to meet punishing quotas. \"Our teams are always thinking about new ways to help employees engage with each other," said Amazon spokesperson Barbara M. Agrait. \"This particular program has not been approved yet and may change signicantly or even never launch at all." In November 2021, Amazon convened a highlevel meeting in which top executives discussed plans to create an internal social media program that would let employees recognize coworkers' performance with posts called \"ShoutOuts,\" according to a source with direct knowledge. The major goal of the program, Amazon's head of worldwide consumer business, Dave Clark1 said, was to reduce employee attrition by fostering happiness among workers and also productivity. ShoutOuts would be part of a gamified rewards system in which employees are awarded virtual stars and badges for activities that \"add direct business value," documents state. At the meeting, Clark remarked that \"some people are insane star collectors." But company ofcials also wamed of what they called \"the dark side of social media" and decided to actively monitor posts in order to ensure a \"positive community." At the meeting, Clark suggested that the program should resemble an online dating app like Bumble, which allows individuals to engage one on one, rather than a more forumlike platform like Facebook. \f\f\fDo you work for Amazon? Text tips to Ken Klippenstein via Signal at 202-510-1268. "With free text, we risk people uniting Shout-Outs that generate negative sentiments among the viewers and the receivers,\" a document summarizing the program states. \"We want to lean towards being reso-ictive on the content that can he posted to prevent a negative associate experimce.\" In addition to the automated system, managers will have the authorityr to ag or suppress any Shout-Outs that they nd inappropriate, the documents show. A pilot program is slated to launch later this month. In addition to slurs and swear words, the planned list includes the following words: 1 note Union Fire Terminated Compensation Pay Raise Baiiying Harassment I don 1 care Rude This is concerning Stupid This is dumb Prison Threat Petition Grievance iry'nstice Diversity Ethics Fairness Accessibiiiay Vaccine Senior Ops Living Wage Representation Unfair Favoritism Rate TOT Uniteiunity Piansation Slave Slave labor Master Concerned Freedom Restrooms Robots Trash Committee Coalition \"If it does launch at some point down the road,\" said the Amazon spokesperson, \"there are no plans for many of the words you're calling out to be screened. The only kinds of words that may be screened are ones that are offensive or harassing, which is intended to protect our team.\" Amazon has experimented with social media programs in the past. In 2018, the company launched a pilot program in which employees were handpicked to form a Twitter army advocating for the company, as The Intercept reported. The workers were selected for their \"great sense of humor,\" leaked documents showed. On Friday, Amazon workers at a fulllment center in Staten Island, New York, stunned the nation by becoming the rst Amazon location to successfully unionize. This came as a shock to many because it was achieved by an independent union not afliated with an established union and that operated on a shoestring budget. With a budget of $120,000, the Amazon Labor Union managed to defeat the $1.5 trillion behemoth, which spent $4.3 million on anti-union consultants in 2021 alone. \fthe attention of President Joe Biden, who released a statement saying, \"Every worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union without intimidation or threats by employers." The Bessemer vote failed, but the National Labor Relations Board ordered a new election, citing undue interference by Amazon. The Bessemer warehouse held a second vote that was also counted last week, and while the initial tally favored Amazon, the vote was much closer than the previous one and will ultimately depend on the results of challenged ballots. Amazon released a statement Friday saying that it is considering ling an objection to the Staten Island union vote, alleging interference by the NLRB