OT; Amazon Again

[Swervin27]

You seriously don't get why people don't like Amazon? The Amazon warehouse in the Lehigh Valley is a notoriously bad place to work, so much so that the Allentown Morning Call ran an expose on the place a few years ago:

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/amazon/mc-allentown-amazon-complaints-20110917-story.html

How the f would I know what the working conditions are like in a warehouse in Lehigh valley. Is this an indictment on the company or the op manager for this location? Is any warehouse job in Lehigh valley a fun work environment??

I worked at a food land in bethel park when I was 16, it was miserable. Not sure this was on the company.

 

[Joe Pa Thetic]

How the f would I know what the working conditions are like in a warehouse in Lehigh valley.

Because it is not exactly a massive state secret that Amazon is a bad company to work for. Just like Wal-Mart, Amazon frequently makes news for being a bad place to work.

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

I worked at an amazon distribution center when I was 20. Yes it sucked more than most blue collar jobs I've had, but it's almost irrelevant because 90% of their warehouse jobs will be replaced by robots who will pay no taxes.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

robots are taking over

just look at all the people using self checkout at giant eagle, why pay humans to be a cashier?

james cameron saw it coming way back in the 80's, humans are their own worst enemy

I am holding out hope Skynet decides to locate their headquarters here.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

The thing I think that ultimately sinks Pittsburgh is the infrastructure (roads and mass transit) and the lack of a hub at their airport. Even though if Amazon would come here, you can damn well bet one of the major airlines would relocate to the airport as a hub.

 

[PeetWeet1]

The thing I think that ultimately sinks Pittsburgh is the infrastructure (roads and mass transit) and the lack of a hub at their airport. Even though if Amazon would come here, you can damn well bet one of the major airlines would relocate to the airport as a hub.

The airport isn’t a worry because as you said, it has capacity and routes would get added. If our primary concession were to be massive mass transport construction, that would be a win win.

 

[HailtoPitt]

The thing I think that ultimately sinks Pittsburgh is the infrastructure (roads and mass transit) and the lack of a hub at their airport. Even though if Amazon would come here, you can damn well bet one of the major airlines would relocate to the airport as a hub.

Building the T extension to the Northside for the Rooneys instead of the East End for the people is what sinks Pittsburgh for this.

 

[BradlyPitt]

I am holding out hope Skynet decides to locate their headquarters here.

hopefully you feel the same when judgment day arrives, i hope you have your 2 billion spf sunblock ready

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/this-city-hall-brought-to-you-by-amazon/

Chicago has offered to let Amazon pocket $1.32 billion in income taxes paid by its own workers. This is truly perverse. Called a personal income-tax diversion, the workers must still pay the full taxes, but instead of the state getting the money to use for schools, roads or whatever, Amazon would get to keep it all instead.

“The result is that workers are, in effect, paying taxes to their boss,” says a report on the practice from Good Jobs First, a think tank critical of many corporate subsidies.

...

But the most far-reaching offer is from Fresno, California. That city of half a million isn’t offering any tax breaks. Instead it has a novel plan to give Amazon special authority over how the company’s taxes are spent.

Fresno promises to funnel 85 percent of all taxes and fees generated by Amazon into a special fund. That money would be overseen by a board, half made up of Amazon officers, half from the city.

 

[HailtoPitt]

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/this-city-hall-brought-to-you-by-amazon/

Chicago has offered to let Amazon pocket $1.32 billion in income taxes paid by its own workers. This is truly perverse. Called a personal income-tax diversion, the workers must still pay the full taxes, but instead of the state getting the money to use for schools, roads or whatever, Amazon would get to keep it all instead.

“The result is that workers are, in effect, paying taxes to their boss,” says a report on the practice from Good Jobs First, a think tank critical of many corporate subsidies.

...

But the most far-reaching offer is from Fresno, California. That city of half a million isn’t offering any tax breaks. Instead it has a novel plan to give Amazon special authority over how the company’s taxes are spent.

Fresno promises to funnel 85 percent of all taxes and fees generated by Amazon into a special fund. That money would be overseen by a board, half made up of Amazon officers, half from the city.

Anyone who has been to Fresno knows that they would have to offer Amazon $1 trillion to have any chance.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

One thing that is going to happen in the future is a place like Pittsburgh is going to be a more desirable place to live and locate business hubs. I am going to say this without the pretext of political connotations so please don't go there, but science and math is obviously supporting climate change and as the US continues to warm, the energy to cool the south and the severity of storms along the gulf and the Atlantic Seaboard, the uneven weather and fires in the west, etc....this is going to drive more businesses to the relatively benign climate of places like Pittsburgh.

Think about it. Don't really tornado here. Hurricanes are a very ancillary threat. Heavy snowstorms are uncommon. Harsh heat that places like Dallas and Atlanta have that can really drive up energy costs are fairly mitigated. The weather here changes, alot, but it is also boring. The risk of a superstorm or deep blizzard or heatwave that could knock grids and businesses offline for a week or more (see Houston) is very remote. Don't think this is not going into consideration of companies as they look toward the future.

 

[Pittparade]

One thing that is going to happen in the future is a place like Pittsburgh is going to be a more desirable place to live and locate business hubs. I am going to say this without the pretext of political connotations so please don't go there, but science and math is obviously supporting climate change and as the US continues to warm, the energy to cool the south and the severity of storms along the gulf and the Atlantic Seaboard, the uneven weather and fires in the west, etc....this is going to drive more businesses to the relatively benign climate of places like Pittsburgh.

Think about it. Don't really tornado here. Hurricanes are a very ancillary threat. Heavy snowstorms are uncommon. Harsh heat that places like Dallas and Atlanta have that can really drive up energy costs are fairly mitigated. The weather here changes, alot, but it is also boring. The risk of a superstorm or deep blizzard or heatwave that could knock grids and businesses offline for a week or more (see Houston) is very remote. Don't think this is not going into consideration of companies as they look toward the future.

Yes, good points. You are not alone in thinking this about western PA. The Pittsburgh area does not seem to have the extreme weather or volatile changes that are often experienced in many other regions around the nation.

Is this enough to attract Amazon HQ2 to Pittsburgh? Probably not but it can't hurt their chances.

 

[indoorgolf]

I haven't been past there in a while but how is that Volkswagen plant doing that they built out towards Greensburg?

Closed in 1989. Realized they made a mistake and later opened a new plant in Chattanooga Tennessee which is also unionized because that was what the corporate Germans from VW wanted. State of Tenn. threatened to pull financial incentives if the plant unionized but Vw wanted the union in place. Sounds funny but you have to understand the German mentality and cooperation with union workers. I worked at the VW plant near Greensburg actually New Stanton in Management from 1977 until it closed in 1989.

 

[indoorgolf]

VW going to have a tough time in the U.S. market since the U.S. government no longer allows them to sell diesel vehicles on the U.S market die to the computer scandal. I here Mazda is releasing a diesel in the CR-5 next year which should get near 50mpg and be under $30,000. VW is just over priced for a gasoline engine that gets the same mpg as everyone else.

In the early 1980's I was driving a VW diesel rabbit that got 55 MPG. I worked at the VW plant for 12 years. During the gas crisis the plant was booming on 2 shifts and doing very well with market share close to 5% which is all VW needed to be successful. We were building rabbits and a small pickup truck. Lots of good paying jobs were lost and never replaced in Westmoreland County. Btw that diesel rabbit sold for under $10,000.

 

[bubba31]

One thing that is going to happen in the future is a place like Pittsburgh is going to be a more desirable place to live and locate business hubs. I am going to say this without the pretext of political connotations so please don't go there, but science and math is obviously supporting climate change and as the US continues to warm, the energy to cool the south and the severity of storms along the gulf and the Atlantic Seaboard, the uneven weather and fires in the west, etc....this is going to drive more businesses to the relatively benign climate of places like Pittsburgh.

Think about it. Don't really tornado here. Hurricanes are a very ancillary threat. Heavy snowstorms are uncommon. Harsh heat that places like Dallas and Atlanta have that can really drive up energy costs are fairly mitigated. The weather here changes, alot, but it is also boring. The risk of a superstorm or deep blizzard or heatwave that could knock grids and businesses offline for a week or more (see Houston) is very remote. Don't think this is not going into consideration of companies as they look toward the future.

Nov 28, 2017 Dateline Pittsburgh:

I Played Treesdale today in shorts and a sweater vest.