Rethinking my relationship with Amazon?

Parent Cafe
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<p>I was floored by a story I found in Europe: Germany’s public TV ARD has run a documentary showing that Amazon is at least connected to Neo-Nazi, skinhead security who police the lives of the mostly foreign, mostly temporary distribution workers in their warehouses there. The footage shows guards wearing black uniforms, boots and military haircuts - working for a company called HESS Security of all names - with some guards wearing Thor Steinar clothes. That is a label affiliated with the skinheads. It has been banned by the German football league, meaning players can’t wear it or endorse it, etc., and Amazon stopped selling it in 2009 because of the skinhead ties. </p>

<p>I understand Amazon’s comment is they didn’t contract with HESS, that these guys provide security for the places the workers stay. That doesn’t work as an excuse for me. Working with Nazis is working with Nazis. </p>

<p>I’m having a big problem dealing with this information. It puts the wrong of long hours at a factory in China way in the background for me. </p>

<p>There is an English language story in the British paper The Independent.</p>

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<p>if this true, and the skinheads are aware that they are providing services to people of various ethnicity, then the joke’s on them.</p>

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<p>lergmom can you attach a link to the story?</p>

4

<p>Here we go:</p>

<p>[Amazon</a> ‘used neo-Nazi guards to keep immigrant workforce under control’ in Germany - Europe - World - The Independent](<a href=“Amazon 'used neo-Nazi guards to keep immigrant workforce under control' in Germany | The Independent | The Independent”>Amazon 'used neo-Nazi guards to keep immigrant workforce under control' in Germany | The Independent | The Independent)</p>

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<p>In all honesty, nothing surprises me anymore. </p>

<p>That’s the reality of our world.</p>

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<p>That won’t stop me from shopping on Amazon.</p>

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<p>The story is being picked up by other sources. I saw it in Slate and the Daily Mail, which is the largest online newspaper site, now has it. The test is whether and how Amazon reacts. They’ve now issued a statement saying they’ll look into it.</p>

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<p>In the past Amazon has been quite responsive to complaints about working conditions in their locations.</p>

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<p>As an update, this story became huge and Amazon has reacted, as has the German government. Amazon says the security company is gone, “effective immediately”. The German Labor minister told the press on Sunday they will investigate the agency that hires for Amazon and that their license is “at risk”.</p>