Many people don't have the job flexibility and choice that many of us on HN have and are forced to take any available employment or go homeless.

It really is amazing that people really refuse to understand how freaking privileged we are to have good pay, good mobility and the reality of people who don't. Competition for "unskilled", ugh I hate that word, jobs is fierce and when you're living on the verge of homelessness you have neither the time nor money to invest in yourself.

People that cannot find a better alternative in their current personal situation. Sure they are not "forced" in a precise linguistic sense. But when it's this or nothing there is really just an illusion of choice.

Why is it Amazon’s problem that they have no alternative?

If Amazon went away, would their situation be better or worse?

I believe that as a society we must ensure that people have enough money to live, but why should the employers on the bottom of the skills spectrum be forced to bear the brunt of it?

Every employer should be required by law to provide a safe workplace free of discrimination and harassment. But hiring unskilled workers at a market wage doesn’t make you a bad actor.

Because Amazon are use their disproportionate position of power to abuse these employees. It is far from an even playing field. This very article we're commenting on shows that Amazon are trying hard to keep it from becoming fair and equal. I find your lack of compassion for underprivileged employees astounding.

> Every employer should be required by law to provide a safe workplace free of discrimination and harassment.

And who is going to sue when they are underpaid and have no other job options available? Litigation is time consuming and expensive and rent won't wait.

Your question was literally "who is being forced?" I responded to that and nothing more.

> But hiring unskilled workers at a market wage doesn’t make you a bad actor.

No, but artificially preventing the market conditions (wage + others) from raising by blocking people's basic right of association will make you a bad actor.

If given a free choice of literally anything they could do to contribute to the world, do you think Amazon warehouse employees would put Amazon warehouse work as their primary choice? Something they said they wanted to do "when they grow up"? "Something with dehumanising conditions, please!"

If not, what is your answer to the quesiton "why are they doing this job at all"?

Because they have to do something, and this is the best they can do? Then "have to do something" is the force, and they are the forced.

So by offering an alternative better than any other available, Amazon is the bad guy? What about all the companies not offering them alternatives?

I didn't say "Amazon is the (one and only) bad guy", or anything about bad guys at all. I said "if they aren't opting out, there is a force compelling them to be there".

You say "who is forcing them? Why don't they quit?" and yet ... they don't quit, and you (apparently?) think there is no reason why.

I don't think the force is a single person or company. I think it's the economic and social system we live in has become (intentionally or not) tuned to keep as many people as desperate as it can, because those are the kind of people who will work longer and harder for less money.

They used to offer them alternatives but Amazon put those companies out of business. The idea that it’s Amazon or homelessness doesn’t really make Amazon look better.

You’re mixing the general and the specific. Specifically yes, you don’t have to work for Amazon, but in general yes you are in fact forced to work or die in a capitalist system. In some situations Amazon may be the only viable employer.

"but in general yes you are in fact forced to work or die in a capitalist system"

registered an account just to inform you what an utter crap of a statement you've made there. since i've bothered thus far, i made it a point to review more of your presence here. the conclusion i've come to is you are quite the twat. in a most general sense - a cunt of the dunning-kruger variety.