Amazon sends employees into social media battle as corporate ambassadors

• Amazon’s paid army of Twitter users is back.
• Employee accounts follow a standard format and have previously appeared amid negative press coverage.
• A major union campaign and reports of delivery drivers peeing in bottles are the main target.
• Visit Insider’s Business section for more stories.

As new reports surface on the Amazon warehouse and delivery staff still have to pee in bottles – or, in some cases, defecate in bags – the employee-fueled Twitter army has resurfaced.

“Hi everyone !! It’s Yola from Oak4”, an account linked to an employee named Yola said last week. “I just joined a program where I am able to answer any questions, comments or concerns you may have about Amazon. I can’t wait to share my work experience here. ”

The account, like several others reviewed by Insider, launched in March 2021. Rather than posting, the accounts focus on responding to people who tweet about the company.

In 2018, Amazon admitted to paying a small army of employees to tweet positive things about the company.

The move followed early revelations that some Amazon warehouse and delivery workers were peeing bottles to save time due to the demands of their jobs. Employees paid by Amazon were easy to identify, as they all shared the same “Amazon FC” naming convention on their profiles (FC for “fulfillment center,” the name of Amazon’s shipping warehouses).

Several other Amazon FC ambassadors have kept their main tweets to a minimum, choosing instead to respond to ongoing Twitter threads about work at the company. The majority of these responses relate specifically to bathroom breaks, according to reports of employees peeing in bottles.

“My [fulfillment center] allows me to take (2) 20-minute breaks and (1) 30-minute lunch. On extra days we get three 20-minute breaks, which is also very nice. ” one of these answers of an identified employee at Gary reads. “Before the pandemic, our breaks were only 15 minutes. Being an essential worker is worthy for me.”

Another such response to a thread, from Yola, also concerns repeated reports of employees peeing in bottles to save work time.

“Although the facility is large, there are plenty of bathrooms to use,” she wrote on March 28. “My building has 12. Each bathroom can have 3-6 toilets. That’s a lot. Also with 20-30 [minute] breaks are more than enough time. “

Like Gary, Yola’s account was also opened in March 2021 and only became active later that month – just as Amazon began publicly pushing back unionization at its Bessemer, Alabama, distribution center and reports of workers peeing in bottles resurfaced.

Another account with the FC tag that appears to work at Amazon, from a person named Darla, tweets similar sentiments; Amazon denied the user’s affiliation with the company.

“Glad to be on Twitter! Don’t hesitate to ask me anything about my experiences as a member of the Amazon family, I’m an open book!” an account linked to an employee named Darla tweeted last week.

“Darla ‘is not an Amazon FC Ambassador,” Amazon said in a statement to Insider. “It appears to be a fake account that violates Twitter terms. We have asked Twitter to investigate and take appropriate action. “

A Twitter account operated by the company, Amazon News, recently had public arguments with several politicians. The senses. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, along with Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Mark Pocan, have all entered into public discussions with the account.

The tone of the account became sufficiently combative that an Amazon engineer flagged the tweets as potentially suspicious behavior.

And Amazon Chief Consumer Officer Dave Clark has been involved in those public discussions as well, even directly tackling Senator Sanders’ record. “I often say that we are the Bernie Sanders of employers,” he said, “but that’s not entirely correct because we actually provide a progressive workplace for our constituents: a minimum wage of $ 15, day one health care, career progression, and a safe. And inclusive work environment. “

Amazon co-founder and CEO Jeff Bezos specifically ordered executives to push back further criticism of the company, according to a Vox report.

Update: This post has been updated with a statement Amazon provided to Insider after it was posted that Darla’s owned account is not affiliated with the company.