Forum Discussion
- One of the most entertaining departments I worked in while I was there was the taping department. I forgot what they called it... slamming maybe...
The boxes come down a roller from above. They have the items inside and there are three stations. The first station the person has to stuff a bunch of bubble pillows in around the stuff in the box. The second station the person has to grab the invoices and greeting letters from a printer and shove them in the box and fold down the flaps to make sure it closes.
The third station is the most fun. The person grabs the box, folds all the flaps and makes sure everything is crammed inside and then slams it against the front of a taping machine that grabs it on both sides with metal paddles, holds it square, drops a big arm with a tape roll inside, tapes the entirety of the open side of the box, cuts the tape and then lets it all go down the conveyor!
With practice you can really get that thing going but if you are not careful it will grab you and tape you too! - I almost forgot...thank you deltamaster for reminding me. I said I met some great work campers, but I also met some great full time folks to, when I was at the coffeyville location. Some were stand offish, but the majority were glad to have us, an welcomed us with open arms.
Again as deltamaster, myself, and others said, bring good shoes, or at the least, buy some good insoles. Your feet will thank you an it will make life easier on you. I went with Dr.Schols, and insoles. It made walking all those miles every day in stowing/picking so much easier. lol. I cant' speak on the other areas, as I started in stowing an left in picking.
Good luck to all who go, an have fun, work hard, an bank that money for your future travels.
Thetravelingcooler - I never drink water. I'm afraid it will become habit-forming. - W.C. Fields - I did Campbellsville in 2010.
Yes, they DO pay overtime for all hours worked over 40 per week. Back then there was no incentive bonus at the end for every hour worked, it was a flat rate of about five hundred bucks which the gubmit took their (un)fair share.
The contract back then was from whatever start date you were assigned until Christmas eve. On the last shift the workcamper supervisors came around and offered anyone that wanted to stay on until late January... if they wanted. I opted to leave on Christmas Morning.
I heard from several workcampers that had been there before that in years past there was mandatory overtime. This was not imposed the year I worked as apparently there were too many complaints about it so all overtime for my section (in-processing) was optional. I heard there were a couple of departments where some overtime was mandatory but do not recall which ones... Maybe it was pickers, but not stowers or us.
When I was there it was the first year that Amazon handled everything on their own. Apparently they had contracted it out in years past so they were still testing the waters in many ways. Things ran fairly smoothly, the regular staff were VERY good to us and treated us VERY well.
I made mention of that to one regular staffer and she told me that were it not for us being there they would all be on mandatory 60 hour work-weeks and not have ANY time off so with us there hey were able to have a little more time off with their own families. They seemed appreciative that we were there and that we worked as hard as we did.
As mentioned... GOOD SHOES are a MUST! You also want an ample supply of OTC pain meds for those aching joints and muscles. After a few days on regular shift you will really need them.
Generally people took their bathroom breaks during the regular break cycles. Of course if you need to go then you went and no one said anything about it. I actually got scolded because I took a bathroom break in between scheduled regular breaks and then worked in to the regular break to make up for it. NOT allowed... You WILL go on break with everyone else and if you need to use the bathroom any other time then do it and don't worry about it!
Lunch break is thirty minutes. Apparently there had been similar complaints in the past years that there were not enough conveniently located time clocks. At our facility they placed three right at the production floor entry door in the back of the plant, three at the production floor entry door at the front of the plant and one in an area shared by us and the stowers and several in key locations around the production floor. I never noticed any backup at the time clocks.
Ecommercebytes newsletter is an online newsletter covering internet commerce. They recently featured a series of stories written by a workcamper at Amazon this year. One of his complaints was the security screening process at the end of the shift.
As I recall it was not all that bad and did not normally take a half hour as he reported. It DID take some time but so did getting out of the paring lot. Nothing different than any other major factory job.
Thetravelingcooler wrote: If your willing to work, do what they ask, like not having to pay rent for your spot, an bank the cash..it's a good job.
This is very true. If you keep in mind that you are there to do a job for a short time to bulk up your finances and move on then you will be fine. If you start acting like you can do things better than their way then you will have troubles. If you forget why you are there and start acting like this is your career and YOUR plant and YOUR department then you WILL NOT LAST LONG!
Best thing is to go there, work as hard as you can, earn all the money you can, do what you are told, do not be a smart-alec (as I detected the writer in the Ecommercebytes article is) and do your JOB and maintain a positive attitude then you will do just fine, have a good time, get to know some really nice people (full time and woorkcamer) and leave with a sense of accomplishment and a pocket full of dough! - OT? Yep. When I worked them back in Christmas of 08, at the coffeyville location,(in a tent!) we were on mandatory 55 hour weeks by the start of Nov., had as much as 60 hours in a week, but that was optional. I enjoyed the work, as most that I worked with. We had a few who dropped out for various reasons, from medical to not wanting to do it the Amazon way. To be fair tho, it was a new experience for everyone, from Amazon to the work campers.
If I was full timing an not enjoying life on a sandbar(I'm much younger then your average work camper) I'd go back. I met some fine folks, enjoyed the work, an the camping out. Bring some good shoes, invest in some insole pads, an life will be good. They didn't schedule bathroom breaks for us, you were expected to be an adult about such things. The main 2 complaints I herd were A. The lunch break is to short, as the walk from a time clock to the the lunch room was a pain depending on where you were at in the FC. ( I was a stocker/picker). B. Was the learning of the hand held scanners. I didn't mind but again I'm younger then most you folks an used those things all the time in my past work. Taught quite a few of my fellow work campers how to use them. As the training we received rather sucked. I don't blame Amazon for that, but the workers at the Coffeyville location. There was a bit of animosity from some of their regular workers.
If your willing to work, do what they ask, like not having to pay rent for your spot, an bank the cash..it's a good job. If you don't like those things, you'll want to look elsewhere. I get sad at this time of the year, as I know won't return till I decide to go full time. Getting married, an moving to my sandbar an working for myself, put that on hold for another couple years. lol.
Oh an my own personal complaint besides the lunch thing was, the 2 inches of water in my tent(only happened once), an the snow at the end..lol. Spending a winter in Coffeyville in a tent is..an adventure. I'd do it all again tho, just this time, I'd make sure my tent didn't get flooded. LOL. The folks I met an worked with made it all worthwhile.
Thetravelingcooler - Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself. - Mark Twain JAXFL wrote:
Because I work 50 to 60 hours a week.... do they pay overtime for the 10-20 hours over each week? How long is a contract?
You get overtime for every hour over 40, plus a bonus at the end of the season. Starting dates vary based on your availability and company requirements but everyone finishes up a day or 2 before Christmas.- Because I work 50 to 60 hours a week.... do they pay overtime for the 10-20 hours over each week? How long is a contract?
SuperDutyFiver wrote:
Article on MSN about Amazon Campers helping out with the Christmas rush
This is the same AP article as the OP linked to.
BTW, I'm currently employed at Amazon Campbellsville and enjoy what I'm doing. As mentioned before it's not for everybody. Will I sign up for next year? Yes. The pros far out weight the cons. Because I work 50 to 60 hours a week I never see the Xmas crowds at the mall.- There is a camp ground across the street in Campbellsville. Fills up very quickly.
I concur with most everything mentioned here.
It is a physically demanding job. You are on your feet and moving for about ten hours per day except for two breaks and one lunch.
The pay is fair until you include the camp sites... then it is better than fair. Campbellsville camp sites came electricity, water and sewer included.
It IS a job where you are to do as you are told... their way. OF COURSE IT IS!
It is a job for building up the bank account and little else. I did venture out a few times while I was there and did some sightseeing but the main reason to be there was to make money.
When I was there we had a couple of detractors and disgruntled that went to the local media and made some disparaging remarks. To each his own, I say but they were WRONG! Amazon treated us well... in some ways better than I was treated while I was in the military. I say, if you do not like the job then LEAVE! Amazon will not make you stay and will not punish you if you leave
If you DO leave that means there are more opportunities for folks like me that want to work hard for a few months so that there is money in the coffers to travel hard the rest of the year. musicman54 wrote:
is there camp ground near by
I know one of the Kansas campgrounds is within site of the warehouse. This blog has writes up from her experience last year and some of the issues encountered this year due to the weather.
Interstellar Orchard
