Lissa Rankin 1

My Bariatric Life

1 day ago

I am no longer doing business with #Amazon as an affiliate or personally. And you may wish to reconsider doing business with them, as well. We need to show these mega-conglomerates that they do not rule the world. I recently learned that Amazon is listed as one of the most dangerous employers in the world. After posting that on my personal page, Amazon closed my affiliate account.

You may not realize that I do not make a profit on MyBariatricLife. It is something that I do because I believe it helps people who've had #bariatrics. The $100 I received from Amazon commissions each month helped to offset my operating expenses. With the loss of that revenue plus the tremendous loss of revenue owing to Google's medic update, I may have to close down the website. I am not the only health publisher facing this dilemma, BTW. And if you'd like to make a donation to help us keep going then please PayPal me at: www.paypal.me/mybariatriclife Thanks much!

Here is the back story with Amazon:

Amazon closed my affiliate account very shortly after I posted on my personal page about people dying on the job at Amazon owing to poor labor practices. On my personal page, I encouraged people not to use Prime for delivery (Amazon's paid service) and just use normal delivery, since IMHO, it is not worth people dying so I can get my toothpaste in 2-days delivery (some places it is 1-day and other places same day delivery).

I quote:
From The Guardian Oct 18, 2019:
"The incident is among the latest in a series of accidents and fatalities that have led to Amazon’s inclusion on the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health’s 2019 Dirty Dozen list of the most dangerous employers in the United States. The report cited six Amazon worker deaths between November 2018 and April 2019, and several news reports over the past few years that have detailed dangerous working conditions."
And
"Between January and March 2019, 28 911 calls were made from the fulfillment center in Etna, including five instances of suicidal concerns regarding employees and five on-the-job injuries."

From MarketWatch Politics + Culture July 16, 2019:
"Amazon has come under fire in recent years for its allegedly inhumane working conditions with warehouse workers clocking in long hours of intense physical labor and some reportedly being fired for taking bathroom breaks."
And
“Amazon fulfillment workers were already facing speeds of 200 to 300 orders per hour in 12-hour shifts before the new policy. They were struggling to maintain that pace, even before the one-day shipping policy was announced,” Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, said in a statement. Amazon’s global sales for Prime Day are estimated to reach $5.8 billion, according to Coresight Research.

Subsequent to my post, Amazon sent an email to me demanding a full website audit of www.mybaritriclife.org. I have been an affiliate for years -- why suddenly audit my website? Plus Amazon gave me only 5 days to complete it, an audacious deadline. But here is the kicker: I never read their email -- that's because the email came during the time that I was traveling for 2-weeks with very limited access to email, and, add to that, their message landed in my junk mail folder, to boot. So I never had the chance to act upon it.

I only found out about it when I returned home from my travels and tried to post an affiliate link to a product on Amazon. Amazon had already closed my affiliate account -- this all transpired in the matter of 12 days or so.

That is such a strange coincidence, don't you think? After all, I've been an affiliate for years, why suddenly audit me and provide an audacious turnaround time? Despite this, I complied with the audit. Then I tried to appeal the decision but Amazon told me, "we may terminate your account at any time, with or without cause. This termination is final and not subject to appeal." Amazon also would not give me the back commissions monies owed me. I sent them an email and said "F*ck you."

I have been a very heavy shopper on Amazon since 2003. But I closed my Prime account, Music Unlimited, and Audible. I will no longer order anything, not even toothpaste, from Amazon. And I ask you to join me in solidarity. Every person has a voice and a choice. And if we band together then we can make a huge difference in our world. Amazon needs to treat their employees and their business partners with dignity and respect. Laborers should not be subject to #inhumane working conditions. Most especially NO ONE should die working for Amazon. #MyBariatricLife #labor #disgusted ...