Leaked: New Amazon Worker Chat App Would Ban Words Like “Union,” “Restrooms,” “Pay Raise,” and “Plantation”

According to internal company documents reviewed by The Intercept, Amazon will block employee posts on a planned internal messaging app that contain labor union related words.

Barbara M. Agrait, an Amazon spokeswoman, said that the team is always thinking about new ways to help employees engage with each other.

In November 2021, Amazon convened a high-level meeting in which top executives discussed plans to create an internal social media program.

Dave Clark said that the main goal of the program was to reduce employee attrition by fostering happiness among workers. Shout- Outs would be a part of a gamified rewards system in which employees are awarded virtual stars and badges for activities. Clark remarked at the meeting that some people are insane star collectors.

The company officials warned of the dark side of social media and decided to actively monitor posts in order to ensure a positive community.

An auto bad word monitor was created after the meeting, which would flag and block employees from sending a message that contains profanity. In addition to profanities, the terms include many relevant to organized labor.

Do you work for Amazon? Text tips to Ken.

The document states that we want to be restrictive on the content that can be seen.

The documents show that managers will have the authority to flag or suppress any Shout- Outs that they find inappropriate.

A pilot program is expected to launch later this month. The list includes slurs and swear words.

I hate

Union

Fire

Terminated

Compensation

Pay Raise

Bullying

Harassment

I don’t care

Rude

This is concerning

Stupid

This is dumb

Prison

Threat

Petition

Grievance

Injustice

Diversity

Ethics

Fairness

Vaccine

Senior Ops

Living Wage

Representation

Unfair

Favoritism

Rate

TOT

Unite/unity

Plantation

Slave

Slave labor

Master

Concerned

Freedom

Restrooms

Robots

Trash

Committee

Coalition

If it does launch at some point down the road, there are no plans for many of the words you're calling out to be screened. The only words that can be screened are those that are offensive or harassing.

In the past, Amazon has tested out social media programs. The company launched a pilot program in which employees were selected to form an army to advocate for the company. The leaked documents show that the workers were selected for their sense of humor.

The first Amazon location to successfully unionize was in Staten Island, New York. This came as a shock to many because it was achieved by an independent union not affiliated with an established union and that operated on a shoestring budget. The Amazon Labor Union had a budget of $120,000, which was enough to defeat the giant.

Adding to the David-and-Goliath overtones, the Amazon Labor Union's president, Christian Smalls, a former rapper, had been fired by the company after leading a small walk out. According to a leaked memo, Amazon executives called Smalls a "not smart or articulate" person during a meeting with Jeff Bezos.

Safety is a concern for Amazon workers. Six Amazon employees were killed in a tornado in December. Many employees said they had not received any emergency training. The House Oversight Committee is investigating Amazon's workplace safety policies.

Workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in Alabama tried to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union in 2020. The attempt became high-profile, attracting the attention of President Joe Biden, who released a statement saying that every worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union.

The National Labor Relations Board ordered a new election after the Bessemer vote failed. 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, as the warehouse held a second vote that was also counted last week.

Amazon released a statement Friday saying that it is considering filing an objection to the Staten Island union vote.

April 4, 2022, 5:17 p.m. The headline and article have been changed to emphasize that the app is still in the planning phase. Amazon denied that the words obtained by The Intercept would not be screened out.