Amazon workers will stage the first-ever UK strike against the online giant on Wednesday in a protest over pay.

Members of the GMB union are walking out at Amazon's Coventry warehouse over what they call a "derisory" 50p an hour pay rise.

Workers told the BBC about "severe" conditions, claiming they are constantly monitored and upbraided for "idle time" lasting just a few minutes.

Amazon said it has a system "that recognises great performance".

A spokesman said it "also encourages coaching to help employees improve if they are not meeting their performance goals".

But two Amazon workers, who are members of the GMB, said the robots in the warehouse "are treated better than us".

Darren Westwood and Garfield Hilton described to the BBC how even a trip to the potty can lead to questions by managers.

"The thing is with stopping work is that they want to know why," said Mr Hilton. "So if the time is beyond a couple of minutes they can see it on the system."

Mr Hilton, who has diabetes, said it is not always possible to find pottys close by in the building and the process of locating one and returning can sometimes take upwards of 15 minutes.

"They will then question you "what were you doing?'."

They said that managers track staff performance and time that is not spent scanning items is accrued.

Workers at the Coventry warehouse scan stock which is sent out to Amazon fulfilment centres, to be shipped to consumers.

Instead of scanning, workers might be asked to handle pallets. "So when there's problems with a pallet or a box, that time will accrue," said Mr Westwood.

"Technically could add up to 30 minutes. [The managers] will come down and say, 'during today, you've had 34 minutes of idle time. What were you doing?."

A spokesman for Amazon said: "Performance is only measured when an employee is at their station and logged in to do their job.

"If an employee logs out, which they can do at any time, the performance management tool is paused."

But Mr Westwood and Mr Hilton said working conditions are taking a toll on their colleagues, some of whom are working 60-hour weeks to keep up with the cost of living.

Mr Hilton said that he has seen workers falling asleep on the short bus ride to Amazon's warehouse. "There's a huge amount of them in the building virtually in ghost mode."

He said Amazon wants "every minute in that building to be maximised".

"You have to look at this way, if the box with the product is not moving, you're not making money. This is Amazon. If there's a problem with a box, it's a loss-maker. If the box leaves a building is making money."

In August, Amazon offered workers a 50p per hour rise.

A spokesman for Amazon said: "We appreciate the great work our teams do throughout the year and we're proud to offer competitive pay which starts at a minimum of between £10.50 and £11.45 per hour, depending on location."

He said this is a 29% increase in the minimum hourly wage paid to Amazon employees since 2018.

But unions members want to be paid £15 an hour. Mr Westwood said the 50p offer was "a smack in the mouth".

"These people had worked two years through the pandemic, that had seen Amazon's shares go through the roof, they had seen the profits just become unimaginable," he said.

Amazon sales and profits soared as Covid restrictions forced people to shop online. Between 2019 and 2020, profits nearly doubled to $21.3bn (£17.2bn) and rose again the following year to $33.3bn.

Growth has been uneven since economies have reopened and after taking on thousands of staff since 2019, Amazon is now laying off 18,000 workers.

Mr Westwood said "people might think we're being greedy" by asking for £15 an hour. But he pointed to Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder, executive chairman and space adventurer, who has a $120bn fortune according to Forbes magazine.

"We don't want his boat or his rockets," said Mr Westwood. "We just want to be able to live. I just want to be able to pay my bills at the end of the week. That's all we're asking for."

Of the 1,500 workers at Amazon's Coventry site, around 300 are expected to strike on Wednesday.

Amazon said: "A tiny proportion of our workforce is involved. In fact, according to the verified figures, only a fraction of 1% of our UK employees voted in the ballot - and that includes those who voted against industrial action."

But Mr Westwood said the numbers were "brilliant". Amazon does not recognise unions but, according to the GMB there are members scattered throughout the UK in varying numbers.

Amazon has been battling against unionisation in the US.

More than half of the 8,000 workers at a warehouse on Staten Island, New York, voted to join the Amazon Labor Union which has now been officially certified. However, the company has vowed to appeal the certification.

Mr Westwood said the number of union members in Coventry was not a small. "Back in July [it] was 30 people. Now it's over 300," he said.

He said that there is a huge range of different nationalities who work at Coventry. "They don't understand this is the UK - we can organise a union, we can protest, we can withdraw our labour.

"They need someone," said Mr Westwood. "I know it's going to be a long slog, but these people need someone who's not frightened.

"And I'm not frightened."

Authorities believe the two were fighting over a white woman before things tragically escalated.

The Washington Post is cutting 20 newsroom positions and not filling 30 open positions, The Post's executive editor Sally Buzbee told staff in a note Tuesday.

Why it matters: Layoffs had been a growing source of tension at the company, ever since the plans were announced by CEO Fred Ryan in December. At least 60 people had joined The Washington Post's union since that meeting.

Details: "Newsroom leaders made these decisions after a thoughtful and deliberate review of our current roles and vacant positions," Buzbee wrote in the note obtained by Axios.

• "We prioritized the elimination of vacancies to minimize the impact on employees. We are also eliminating currently filled positions we concluded are not essential to serving our competitive needs," the note stated.

• Buzbee added that the affected employees are eligible to apply for open positions.

• As a part of the shakeup, The Post is also shutting down Launcher, its online gaming vertical, and KidsPost, according to two sources familiar with the changes.

Earlier on Tuesday, The Washington Post Guild notified members that layoffs had begun, according to a copy of the email obtained by Axios.

• Employees had received invitations to meetings scheduled later in the day with senior newsroom executives, the sources said.

• The Washington Post Guild denounced the layoffs in a statement to Axios.

• "While the number of people affected is reportedly far smaller than what Publisher Fred Ryan initially alluded to in his layoff announcement at last month's town hall, we believe any job eliminations right now are unacceptable," the union said. "The number should be zero."

• The company had said in December that it planned to eliminate a single-digit percentage of its workforce.

Flashback: Post owner Jeff Bezos made a surprise appearance in the newsroom last week, prompting the union to hold meetings with staffers to prepare for the upcoming cuts.

The big picture: A slew of media companies and tech firms have begun to announce sweeping job cuts as the economy continues to face uncertainty.

• Vox Media, Adweek and NBC News are among the news media companies that have announced layoffs this past month.

• At the end of last year, CNN, Vice Media and Morning Brew laid off staffers, while tech news site Protocol shut down.

Slightly related but it's also likely not a coincidence that someone like Dave Ramsey, the "avoid debt at all costs and always save" is suddenly shilling buying real estate.

Edit: San Jose, California; Austin, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; and San Diego, California will likely see boom and bust declines of more than 25%.

https://nypost.com/2023/01/24/goldman-sachs-sees-a-crash-for-home-values-in-these-4-cities/

Wouldn't surprise me if the USA invades Africa in the future.

4 Dimensional Chess move by President Trump and Vice President Pence to repair their relationship and run together in 2024?

Wish Pence left a note saying, "Those Glowies probably don't trust Kamala with more then a coloring book".

I paid $23K for my wolf suit —now I'm free of human relationships https://t.co/CSDI8Zb18y pic.twitter.com/bjV0uR5WZJ

— New York Post (@nypost) January 24, 2023

Ukraine Rocked By Corruption Scandal, Wave Of Top Officials Resign: Sports Cars, Mansions & Luxury Vacations As People Suffered

The Ukrainian government on Tuesday confirmed the resignation of multiple high ranking officials amid large-scale corruption allegations, in what's being called the biggest mass resignation and graft scandal since the Russian invasion began.

Some dozen officials have quit their posts after a huge political shake-up over allegations and probes into cases ranging from bribery, to mismanagement of aid funds for purchasing food, to embezzlement, to driving expensive cars while common people suffer under wartime conditions.

A top presidential adviser and four deputy ministers - among these two defense officials, along with five regional governors were forced out of their posts. And among the regional governors to step down included officials overseeing regions which have seen intense fighting, including the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, where Russian forces have lately reported gains.

In reference to the announcement by a senior government official, Oleg Nemchinov, international reports detail the following list:

• Deputy Prosecutor General Oleskiy Symonenko

• Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Ivan Lukeryu

• Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Vyacheslav Negoda

• Deputy Minister for Social Policy Vitaliy Muzychenk

• And the regional governors of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Sumy and Kherson

And separately, "the defense ministry had earlier announced the resignation of deputy minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was in charge of the army's logistical support, on the heels of accusations it was signing food contracts at inflated prices."

In this case regarding the food contracts, Shapovalov is accused of signing a deal with an unknown, shady firm. In his role as deputy defense minister, his is the most notable and visible resignation. Crucially he would have had no small part in overseeing the billions of dollars flowing from the pockets of US and European taxpayers as authorized defense aid.

He purchased military rations at inflated prices in what appears a scheme to line the pockets of contractors, and potentially involving kickbacks to himself.

SHOW MORE

A lawyer for former Vice President Mike Pence discovered about a dozen documents marked as classified at Pence's Indiana home last week, and he has turned those classified records over to the FBI, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

The FBI and the Justice Department's National Security Division have launched a review of the documents and how they ended up in Pence's house in Indiana.

The classified documents were discovered at Pence's new home in Carmel, Indiana, by a lawyer for Pence in the wake of the revelations about classified material discovered in President Joe Biden's private office and residence, the sources said. The discovery comes after Pence has repeatedly said he did not have any classified documents in his possession.

It is not yet clear what the documents are related to or their level of sensitivity or classification. Pence's team plans to notify Congress on Tuesday.

Breaking: At least 3 dead, 1 injured, after ‘random’ shooting at a Circle K in Yakima, Washington. The suspect is at large. pic.twitter.com/uKOmSpoYdm

— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) January 24, 2023

's can't stop winning.

does anyone take this shit seriously? it's so stupid

1. higher now than during the cold war? really?

2. what does it even mean that we are "90 seconds away from disaster" anyways, shit don't make any sense

Fox News Weatherman Viciously Beaten by Group of Teens on NYC Subway

Fox News meteorologist Adam Klotz revealed that he was violently attacked early Sunday morning by a group of “seven or eight teens” during a New York City subway ride, leaving him with bruised ribs, black eyes, and cuts across his face.

Klotz, who has been with the network since 2017, posted two videos to his Instagram account on Sunday morning detailing the altercation and aftermath. Additionally, he said that law enforcement officers had apprehended at least a couple of the attackers.

“Hear me out, though: you should see the other guy,” Klotz quipped in the first video while unveiling his discolored face. “My side—oh, don’t laugh—my side is so much worse than my face.”

The weatherman went on to note that the “other guy” was actually “five or six children” before wondering aloud “where are the parents” and asking them not to “let your kids beat up people in the middle of the night.”

Evoking a far more serious tone, Klotz posted another social media clip a few hours later in which he gave more details about the altercation.

“I feel like that last post seems like I wasn’t being serious. Like this wasn’t real,” he said while zooming the camera on his facial injuries. “But, yeah, coming home last night from watching the [New York] Giants game at a bar, on the subway, this older gentleman was being hassled by this group of seven or eight teens.”

Klotz continued: “And I was like, ‘Yo, guys, cut that out.’ And they decided, ‘Alright, he’s not gonna get it, then you’re going to get it!’ And boy, did they give it to me. They had me on the ground—my ribs are all kinds of bruised up too. They got their hits in!”

The meteorologist did note that the man who was initially being threatened by the group “got out of their fine” and the “cops grabbed a couple of these kids” following the attack.

According to police sources who spoke with the New York Post, Klotz confronted the teens on the No. 1 train around 1:15 a.m. The teens fled the train at the 18th Street stop and three of them were detained by police soon after.

In the end, per a New York Police Department representative, the three teenagers—aged 15 through 17—were soon released from custody.

“Juvenile reports were prepared, and their parents were called to pick them up,” the NYPD rep said.

“I got a couple of X-rays. I’m okay. This is all going to heal,” Klotz stated in the second video, sarcastically adding: “It’s all good! You know what I mean? New York City! New York City! Ahh, what a place. The Big Apple!”

Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Klotz declined to comment when reached by The Daily Beast.

Fox News, which is headquartered in Manhattan, has recently used the city’s uptick in violent crime to criticize Democratic politicians and liberal criminal justice policies, describing New York as a “hellhole.” While the network’s overall crime coverage noticeably dropped immediately after last year’s midterm elections, Fox News has continued to focus intently on the “crime crisis” in the nation’s largest city.

At the same time, Fox News personalities have been directly impacted by urban violence. Prior to the attack on Klotz, Fox News analyst Gianno Caldwell’s younger brother was shot and killed in Chicago last summer.

https://www.openweb.com/share/2KkS6kw1M5WlhxOXA0sXhkuzpER

TerenceS

23 hours ago

Teens? I'd like to solve the puzzle, Pat.

Can I get "B"

Pat: Sorry, Zach.

Me: Can I get an 'N'?

Maybe BLACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Probably a sub species.

https://www.openweb.com/share/2KkSowPv0fnmXnx2uaX720oIqZZ

Pat I'd like to solve the puzzle.

Game Show Tap GIF by ABC Network

Randy Marsh

sir you are late to the party....i solved the puzzle way earlier, grab a beer and have fun reading the comments.

I got jumped by some white kids when I was younger. It was completely unprovoked. Maybe your selective puzzle solving is just deep-rooted racism?

We all know who. We must totally boycott them as we know they tried to do this to some of us. right now they are doing this to our retailers.

This comment violated our policy.

I'm glad the boomers will be dead soon. Take your racism with you :)

https://www.openweb.com/share/2KhNT9Lkzg7wEjxEfUiJvrexM5L

I dont care the age group, I will knock the living day lights out of anyone who fronts and quickly, all it takes is one aggressive move. They are tough in a group but the second you eliminate 2-3 of them the rest of the group falters.

The trick is to focus on 2 or 3 of them and inflict pain.

This comment violated our policy.

I'm glad things worked out for you! I work in Philly, but am now using the suburban lines. I'm fortunate enough to have gotten out of Philly last year.

This was the 90s, sounds like nothing has changed, sad.

I wear a heavy leather belt at all times with a razor sharp damascus blade pocket knife. I will not hesitate to kill an attacker with either one no matter what their age or numbers. The writer is correct; focus on one or two and inflict a severe beating with lethal force. Hurt them if necessary! Rabid animals need to be put down. Luckily, my state is open carry and pro 2nd amendment!

Donald Trump is planning a potential WWE-style campaign video for his return to Twitter, Rolling Stone reports. pic.twitter.com/CTHYaKBl8D

— Pop Base (@PopBase) January 23, 2023