*** 3rd *** REVISED NOTICE: SPECIAL OPEN MEETING NOTICE OF THE ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSION

The 2021 U.S. Drought Monitor forum will be held virtually on October 21-22, 2021. To register, visit the registration page. A draft agenda will be posted on the registration page soon.

https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap.aspx 

Map released: September 16, 2021

https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/jpg/20210914/20210914_usdm.jpg 

Data valid: September 14, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

Stakeholder Meeting and Workshop
to Receive Updates Regarding Drought Preparation

Tuesday, September 21, 2021
10:009:00 A.M.

ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSION

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Matthew J. Neubert SECRETARY Carolyn D. Buck Phone: 602-542-3931 CDBuck@azcc.gov

COMMISSIONERS Chairwoman Lea Márquez Peterson Sandra D. Kennedy Justin Olson Anna Tovar Jim O'Connor

 

  3rd REVISEDN O T I C E

SPECIAL OPEN MEETING NOTICE OF THE ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSION

Water Preparedness 2021
Docket No. W-99999A-21-0265

Stakeholder Meeting and Workshop
to Receive Updates Regarding Drought Preparation

Tuesday, September 21, 2021
10:009:00 A.M.

Hearing Room One
1200 W. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007

                                                                            

This shall serve as notice of an open meeting at the above location for consideration and discussion of the items on the agenda and other matters related thereto.  Commissioners may attend the proceedings in person, or by telephone, video, or internet conferencing,and may use this open meeting to ask questions about the matters on the agenda. The parties to the matters to be discussed or their legal representatives are requested, though not required, to attend telephonically.  The Commissioners may move to executive session, which will not be open to the public, for the purpose of legal advice pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03 (A) (3) on the matters noticed herein.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, only essential Commission staff will attend in person. The public is strongly discouraged from attending in person.  The public will be able to participate by either watching and listening to the meeting online or listening to the meeting via telephone.  Participants will be invited to and may attend by video or internet conferencing. For those wishing to enter an appearance or provide public comment, please use the dial in phone numbers. Once the item for which you are appearing or providing public comment is concluded, please hang up and watch the live stream.

Persons with a disability may request reasonable accommodations by contacting the Commission Secretary listed above at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled commencement of the Open Meeting. 

Agendas are also available online at:  azcc.gov/agendas

Dial-in Phone Number:1-866-705-2554 Passcode to Speak: 241497

                                        1-866-705-2554 Passcode to Listen Only: 2414978

This meeting will be available online at:  http://www.azcc.gov/live

AGENDA     

1. Opening Remarks - Commissioners (ITEM ADDED)
   
   
2. Introductions - Staff (ITEM ADDED)
   
   
3. Arizona Department of Water Resources (“ADWR”)
   
   
4. Central Arizona Project (“CAP”) and Central Arizona Water Conservation District (“CAWCD”)
   
   
5. Arizona Water Banking Authority (“AWBA”) (ITEM ADDED)
   
   
6. EPCOR/Rio Verde Utilities
   
   
7. Arizona Water Company
   
   
8. Global Water-Santa Cruz Water Company (ITEM ADDED)
   
   
9. Liberty Utilities ((Litchfield Park Water and Sewer, Bella Vista Water, and Rio Rico Water and Sewer)
   
   
10. Robson Communities (Lago Del Oro Water Company, Pima Utility Company, Quail Creek Water Company, and Picacho Water Company)
    
    
11. Far West Water & Sewer, Inc.
    
    
12. Sahuarita Water Company L.L.C.
    
    
13. Community Water Company of Green Valley
    
    
14. Bermuda Water Company, Inc.
    
    
15. Doney Park Water
    
    
16. Vail Water Company
    
    
17. Valley Utilities Water Company, Inc.
    
    
18. Sunrise Water Company
    
    
19. Avra Water Cooperative, Inc.
    
    
20. Pueblo Del Sol Water Company
    
    
21. Big Park Water Company
    
    
22. Camp Verde Water System, Inc.
    
    
23. Valley Pioneer's Water Company, Inc.
    
    
24. Rose Valley Water Company
    
    
25. Farmers Water Company
    
    
26. Goodman Water Company
    
    
27. Morenci Water and Electric Company
    
    
28. Ray Water Company, Inc.
    
    
29. Utility Source, LLC
    
    
30. Graham County Utilities, Inc.
    
    
31. Closing Remarks - Commissioners and Staff (ITEM ADDED)

NOTE: NO VOTES ON ANY SUBSTANTIVE MATTER WILL BE TAKEN DURING THIS MEETING.

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Arizona Corporation Commission | 1200 W. Washington Street | Phoenix, AZ 85007

NEWS RELEASE: (Really?] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | ADEQ Celebrates 30 Years of Achievements during Arizona Pollution Prevention Week September 19 - 25, 2021

Say a few words about this . . .

ADEQ Celebrates 30 Years of Achievements during Arizona Pollution Prevention Week September 19 - 25, 2021 PHOENIX (September 16, 2021) – To recognize pollution prevention measures that both enhance efficiency in manufacturing and help conserve Arizona’s natural resources for future generations, Governor Doug Ducey has declared September 19 - 25, 2021, as Arizona Pollution Prevention (P2) Week. P2 Program participants include facilities classified as hazardous waste generators from academic institutions, semiconductor and plating industries and many other business sectors.  Governor Ducey's P2 Week Proclamation > “30 years marks a major milestone for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Pollution Prevention Program,” said Laura Malone, ADEQ Waste Programs Division Director. “Integrating pollution prevention practices into business operations leads to thoughtful use of materials and conserves resources that otherwise would be spent managing excess waste. Since the P2 Program began, ADEQ has successfully worked with more than 400 facilities to reduce their waste generation and/or toxic substance use to less than the program thresholds, which benefits their bottom line and Arizona’s environment.” During P2 Week, ADEQ recognizes our customers’ ongoing commitment to pollution prevention in Arizona, which has resulted in the following tangible achievements: Led to a net cost-savings of over $406 million for P2 Program participants Conserved more than 4 billion gallons of water – enough water to supply more than 75,000 Arizonans for an entire year Diverted more than 700,000 tons of solid waste from landfills Saved over 1.5 billion kilowatt hours of electrical energy – enough energy to power nearly 128,000 Arizona households for a year Prevented: Use of nearly 25,000 tons of toxic substances Generation of more than 50,000 tons of hazardous waste Creation of more than 950 million gallons of wastewater ADEQ will celebrate P2 Week by sharing participants’ recent innovations and pollution prevention achievements that are benefiting Arizona communities and the environment and 335 participating facilities.  In 2019, the P2 Program migrated to a virtual platform allowing for easier and faster submittals while reducing paper waste and the necessity to send reports through the mail. Since 2016, close to 350,000 employees have been trained in P2 best practices for Arizona facilities.  ADEQ continues to share new resources and provide guidance for facilities through the P2 website to assist in finding more opportunities for reductions. ADEQ’s P2 engineers are available for site visits to collaborate on reduction opportunities. To contact the P2 Program, call 602-771-8083 or email P2@azdeq.gov. ADEQ P2 Program | Learn More >  Tell us how you are preventing pollution with #P2Week2021 on social media. We’ll also be posting how Arizona businesses are continuing to improve their operations and processes and reducing waste at the source. Follow ADEQ on Twitter > | Facebook > | Instagram >   Additional Resources U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Pollution Prevention Week | View > # # # Contact ADEQ Public Information Officer | 602-540-8072 (cell) | Email > About ADEQ Under the Environmental Quality Act of 1986, the Arizona State Legislature established the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality in 1987 as the state agency for protecting and enhancing public health and the environment of Arizona. For more information, visit azdeq.gov.

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QUESTIONS? Contact Us

ADEQ Informational Webinar | NWPR Repeal & State Surface Water Protection Program | Sept. 29, 2021

As you are likely aware, a District Judge in Arizona issued an order to vacate and remand the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021 | Click here to view the order > The order has the effect, and the Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed, of setting Clean Water Act regulations in Arizona to those in place before the effective date of the NWPR. ADEQ will continue to follow applicable federal and state laws in its administration of the Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (AZPDES) Program. In order to inform permittees and other stakeholders on how ADEQ will be regulating under the current federal rule, ADEQ is hosting the following virtual informational webinar: Date: Sept. 29, 2021 Time: 2 p.m. Location: Online via GoToWebinar | Click here to register > After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. During this webinar, ADEQ will also share the first technical white paper associated with our upcoming rulemaking on our new State Surface Water Protection Program. This paper discusses the Protected Surface Waters List and identifies the feedback ADEQ is seeking from stakeholders. When available, the white paper will also be posted on our website with instructions on how to submit comments online. Thank you for taking the time to help us protect surface water in Arizona! ADEQ welcomes your participation and input. Questions? Learn more at azdeq.gov/SWPP Contact Program Manager David Lelsz, Ph.D., at Lelsz.David@azdeq.gov or 602-771-4651

About ADEQ Under the Environmental Quality Act of 1986, the Arizona State Legislature established the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality in 1987 as the state agency for protecting and enhancing public health and the environment of Arizona. For more information, visit azdeq.gov. ADEQ will take reasonable measures to provide access to department services to individuals with limited ability to speak, write or understand English and/or to those with disabilities. Requests for language translation, ASL interpretation, CART captioning services or disability accommodations must be made at least 48 hours in advance by contacting the Title VI Nondiscrimination Coordinator, Leonard Drago, at 602-771-2288 or Drago.Leonard@azdeq.gov. For a TTY or other device, Telecommunications Relay Services are available by calling 711. ADEQ tomará las medidas razonables para proveer acceso a los servicios del departamento a personas con capacidad limitada para hablar, escribir o entender inglés y/o para personas con discapacidades. Las solicitudes de servicios de traducción  de idiomas, interpretación ASL (lengua de signos americano), subtitulado de CART, o adaptaciones por discapacidad deben realizarse con al menos 48 horas de anticipación comunicándose con el Coordinador de Anti-Discriminación del Título VI, Leonard Drago, al 602-771-2288 o Drago.Leonard@azdeq.gov. Para un TTY u otro dispositivo, los servicios de retransmisión de telecomunicaciones están disponible llamando al 711.

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QUESTIONS? Contact Us

SPECIAL FEATURE POST: Zarco Guerrero

Your MesaZona blogger first Zarco met back in June 2015 in a visit to his studio/workshop when he was working in designs for mandalas super-sized into iron rounds mounted on the exterior of El Rancho del Arte and a mega-super-sized 10-foot red neon sculpture on the exterior of El Rancho del Sol - two phases on one of the City of Mesa's forays into innovative, equitable and affordable housing by Eric and Kyle Payne's Community Development Partners.

More about his works there - and in "A Portal To The Past" can be seen in related links farther down after this more recent article:

Zarco Guerrero, a Man of Many Faces in Mesa, AZ

Mask maker Zarco Guerrero uses his art as a tool for positive change in the community, celebrating cultural diversity.

(Reference: https://www.yurview.com/arizona/zarco-guerrero-masks-artist-mesa/ )

By YurView September 15, 2021

 

"Chicano artist Zarco Guerrero is a sculptor, mask maker and performance artist in Mesa, Arizona, creating positive social change through his art which includes music, poetry and theater.

Guerrero has exhibited and received international acclaim and many prestigious awards. He’s the founder of Xico, Inc, the Cultural Coalition, Inc, and has been instrumental in the development of Latino Arts throughout the state of Arizona.

Watch the video above to learn more about Guerrero’s one-of-a-kind masks, or read the full interview transcription below (lightly edited for clarity).

• Chicano Artist Zarco Guerrero
• The Art of Mask Making
• Celebration of Cultural Diversity

Chicano Artist Zarco Guerrero

Zarco Guerrero (00:08) – My name is Zarco Guerrero. I’m from Mesa, Arizona, I’m a Chicano artist. I do sculpture, and I do mask making. And I celebrate our vibrant cultural diversity here in the Valley.

(00:25) – I work in various mediums. Here in my studio, it’s obvious that I do a lot of wood carving. I have in the past. I was on a mission for many years to carve as many masks in as many different styles as I could.

(00:43) – Why mask? Because it allows us to disappear. When I put on a mask, I feel like I’m disappearing. Zarco’s gone. Now it’s that character who has to be brought to life. So the mask conceals who I am. But now it reveals another character.

The Art of Mask Making

ZG (01:08) – Two hardest parts are getting started because, you know, regardless of how many decades I’ve been doing this, there’s always some apprehension. Am I going to be able to do this the way I see it? So you begin with that, but that very quickly fades. And you know, the enthusiasm to get it done.

(01:32) – And before you know it, you reach a point where… yeah, this is finished, or this is as far as I can take it. And getting to that point is a little bit difficult. But that’s part of being an artist. You can’t just start something, you have to finish it.

(01:52) – Well, my favorite part is, when I make a mask, making it is one thing, but to have someone wear the mask, and for that person to bring the mask to life. That’s where I really get my thrills from, from seeing that. And now this inanimate object is dancing, is breathing, is moving, is chanting. To me, it’s fascinating. It’s like creating, making my own movies.

Celebration of Cultural Diversity

ZG (02:22) – Art can be a tool to do many things. And I think we want to use it as a tool for positive change in our community. What’s fascinating about this community and probably many communities around the country, is what I call a renaissance, a rebirth of cultural celebration, and especially amongst families of Mexican descent.

(02:46) – And what’s fascinating is that a lot of these kids, these young kids, they don’t speak Spanish. They’ve never been to Mexico, and many times their parents were born in this country, yet they have this love to celebrate Mexican culture. zarkmask.com 

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11 June 2015

UPDATE on Rancho del Arte: Stunning Artwork Changes Streetscape of New Urban Downtown Mesa

Mandalas by Mesa Artist Zarco Guerrero

Your MesaZona blog first did an online report of this construction project way back in March - you can scroll down in Flipcard view to read those details.
In fact it was the second posting that started me off highlighting new infill development that is regenerating the original downtown as transit-oriented affordable living attracting new residents along the path of the Valley Metro Central Mesa Lightrail Extension.

The image to the left was snapped on Monday, June 8th after many times this huge installation caught my eye going out of town or returning watching as construction by Icon Builders was progressing in the last couple of months.  
It is eye-catching on a macro-scale with its monumental size announcing the name of the building as well as the composition incorporating the universal mandalas designed by long-time resident and local artist Zarco Guerrero who spoke highly of the investor/developer Community Development Partners CEO Eric Paine for his initiative to involve the work of a Mesa artist in the ironwork design with a series of meetings to talk about the project that's part of the regeneration of the New Urban Downtown Mesa. . .

It took yours truly far too long to realize this not too long ago in a trip to not-so-far away Mexico and Mexico City where the days come alive all over again for more than a week. One day just doesn't do it, especially here in a city like Mesa where there is an historical dis-connect with our shared histories - it's just not  only the history and short-sighted stories after the arrival of The Pioneers from Utah who call settlements of earlier and First Peoples "Pre-History".

There are some friendly reminders of those who came before, expressed using iconic images, masks and costumes from the traditional Dias de Los Muertos celebrations in Mexico on a street corner here in downtown Mesa
Here to the right there is just one >
Street performance-art from The Cultural Coalition, a local group that updates, re-vitalizes and brings cultures together that remind us who we are today.


Cultural Coalition, Inc., provides unique cultural programs which foster community engagement and are dedicated to the education, promotion, and development of Indigenous arts and artists in Arizona. For more information, visit http://www.culturalcoalition.com

Zarco Guerrero is a sculptor, mask maker and performance artist, born in Mesa, AZ whose family has lived in the region for centuries.
He has dedicated his artistic endeavors to create positive social change through the arts. He adopted Cesar Chavez's ideology of art as a social service. His art includes music, poetry and theatre.

• He is the founder of Xicanindio Artes (now Xico, Inc.), the Cultural Coalition, Inc., and has been instrumental in the development of Latino Arts statewide.
• He has exhibited and received international acclaim and many prestigious awards.
• In 1985, PBS broadcast a one hour documentary about his art entitled "The Mask of El Zarco".
• He received the Japan Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Arizona Governors Arts Award, the Artistic Excellence Award from American Hispanics in Higher Education and the Esperanza Teacher of the Year Award among many others.
• He also won the 2012 Ari-Zoni Award for his ground breaking work as a mask maker in Childsplay's 2011 production of The Sun Serpent.
• He is the recipient of the Doris Duke Foundation grant to present theatre to Latino communities in Arizona
• 2015 Master Fellow with the Southwest Folklife Alliance.

Later this month there are a number of events all intended to keep this centuries-old tradition alive. You can visit more information by hitting-up this link on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/zarcoguerrero 

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Zarco Guerrero: The Origin Of Dia De Los Muertos on Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/110700448 

 

A local nonprofit is providing opportunities for artists and art education by offering artistic opportunities in two Valley apartment complexes.

El Rancho del Arte and El Rancho del Sol showcase art and poetry throughout the complex, both by professional artists and by youth living in the apartments.

Cultural Coalition, an organization providing cultural programs for the development of artists in Arizona manages the after-school art and homework program for children living in the residences.

(Photographer Ray Hernández image > shows Carmen talking to the guests on the LFA Forum in the commercial kitchen facilities inside El Rancho Del Sol)

__________________________________________________________________________

For more information, details and how YOU can encourage, participate or support, please go to > Cultural Coalition

culturalcoalition.com/

2017 A Year of Highlights: Donate. Dec 21, 2017 | No Comments. The Cultural Coalition is a collective of artists who practice both visual and performing arts, and gather every year for a … Read More ...

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Here's an image from the Grand Opening Celebration of El Rancho Phase 2 that took place on  Tue 07 November 2017 for the ribbon cutting ceremony in front of one of the entry gates to the two buildings where design elements and words from Zarco Guerrero are incorporated into the design:

 

More about Zarco Guerrero can be found by clicking/hitting the following link

Cultural Coalition » Zarco Guerrero

culturalcoalition.com/project/zarco-guerrero/

Zarco Guerrero [Juañeno/Acjachemem] has been a force in the Arizona art scene since the early seventies, as a multi-media artist and community arts advocate. He has participated in the Artist in Education program of the Arizona Arts Commission and has conducted workshops throughout the U.S. since 1972.

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5th Annual Luncheon Honorees - Carmen & Zarco Guerrero Vignette

 

 

TOM TOMORROW 3 Days Ago

District 6 Inner-and-Outer Loops + Ex-Urban Fringes Are Creating A Sub-Culture of Re-Segregated Bedroom-Communites

READ THIS

Home USA News

Social media recoils as Bloomberg praises Amazon’s warehouse-based exurban ‘factory towns’ as ‘the future of working class’

17 Sep, 2021 23:40                                

 

RT International | 11:42 GMT, Sep 19, 2021    

 

17 Sep, 2021 23:40 While many are aghast at the idea, fellow billionaires are praising it.

Insert Amazon's massive new distribution centers, soon to be surrounded by infrastructure built to serve workers, are being compared to Gilded Age 'company towns'. 

The e-commerce empire founded by Jeff Bezos will offer the American working class a better option than scraping to get by in increasingly expensive cities, investment adviser Conor Sen wrote in a Friday op-ed for Bloomberg, the financial news outlet whose namesake is billionaire former New York mayor and failed presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg.

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BLOGGER INSERT

Fast-forward to update the moving visual we get this stunning infographic derived from the American Community Survey that shows where the growth moved from 2013-2017 >
The ACS data indicates that 89.8% of major metropolitan growth since the 2010 Census has occurred in the suburbs and exurbs that include metrics for City Sector Model categories - and the Earlier Suburbs and Later Suburbs and Exurbs.
[Here in Mesa, the usual reference is to "The Outer Loops" and "The Inner Loops" and west-east "Tech Corridors"] 
Suburban and Exurban expansion essentially follows the earlier car-driven commuter-culture and pre-existing patterns, which was were detailed in the four previous annual analyses.
The study provides a mid-decade snapshot (2015) of US demography.
Link: SuburbanAlliance.com 17 Dec 2018
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Generally, urban core growth was the exception, as only 16 of the 53 major metropolitan areas had population gains in their urban cores.
The predominant trend continues. At least since World War II, most population growth has been concentrated in the suburbs and exurbs.
Despite all the blather and pronouncement about a “back to the city” wave, things have not changed very much overall several decades.

Only 10.2 percent of the major metropolitan growth throughout the United States was in the urban core, which includes the City Sector Model CBD (central business district) and its adjacent Inner Ring.

The Tech Economy’s Untold Story

Job growth is shifting from media-favored “superstar” cities to more sprawling metro regions and the suburban periphery.

Joel Kotkin  January 20, 2019

The decisions by Amazon and Google to expand into the New York area have led some pundits to claim that the nation’s high-tech economic future will be shaped in dense urban areas.
“Big cities won Amazon and everything else,” proclaimed Neil Irwin of the New York Times. “We’re living in a world where a small number of superstar companies choose to locate in a handful of superstar cities where they have the best chance of recruiting superstar employees.”
Yet the trends in job creation, particularly in technology, are not nearly as favorable to the “superstars” as some urbanists imagine.
If one looks at data, not press releases, a more nuanced picture emerges, with much of the fastest growth—including in tech—shifting dramatically not to the elite, dense urban centers but to more sprawling regions and the suburban periphery. . .
_________________________________________________________________________________
That comes with some cautious take-aways however:
SUMMARY:
Increasingly, then, the job market embodies two basic models:
one based on middle-class, middle-income jobs, and another that lives off youthful energy and produces both high-end and lower-end employment.
The media celebrate superstar-city economies but ignore how the vast majority of new employment occurs in lower-cost cities and suburbs, which now generate roughly 80 percent all jobs and most population growth. Suburbs also are seeing a strong influx of the educated, those earning over $75,000, and those between the ages of 30 and 44
About the "Innovation Economy""
Cities may not want to assume the super-high prices, congestion, “woke” politics, and massive inequality that attend the arrival of thousands of temporary, temperamental, young creative types working on the more glamourous—but also more fleeting—side of the innovation economy..
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“Let’s call them ‘factory towns,’” Sen suggests, apparently in an effort to avoid the baggage that accompanies the concept of “company towns.” Popular in the late 19th century among the new breed of mega-corporations – railroads, steel mills, and the like – many of these dormitory communities held workers as veritable prisoners, paying them in scrip that was only redeemable at the company-run store and retaining groups of thuggish Pinkerton “detectives” to stamp out any attempts to unionize.

Billionaire’s union-busting company good for working people, says media outlet owned by another billionaire. https://t.co/fpwVmKJNZP

— Anand Giridharadas @ The.Ink (@AnandWrites) September 17, 2021

Amazon’s “factory towns,” however – Sen writes – are supposedly marked by rising wages, massive job creation and the potential for a “higher likelihood of success” in “solving inequality” than “high-cost metropolitan areas.” He believes that those should be encouraged, at one point even calling these ‘Bezosvilles’ the "future of a large segment of the working class.”

The writer waits until the conclusion to acknowledge the “new issues” that will “need addressing,” little details like “adequate amounts of housing, schools and healthcare facilities.”

Sen is known for his ruling-class-friendly takes, which recently included a call for Americans to embrace the idea of “build-to-rent” communities rather than strive to attain the once-commonplace ideal of homeownership. However, many on social media couldn’t help but notice that it took a financier writing for a news outlet belonging to a fellow billionaire to say anything nice at all about Amazon’s silent conquest of the sprawling spaces between American cities – and the populations that call those spaces home.

Bloomberg in bed with Amazon arguing to bring back neo-slavery company towns? Color me shocked. pic.twitter.com/L4YrfJMG4j

— Phillip Dupree (@phillip_dupree) September 16, 2021

“Two out of two billionaires agree…” cracked one tweeter.

Others had to control their gag reflex at the idea that Amazon, which made billions of dollars off the Covid-19 pandemic that saw millions lose their livelihoods and is legendary for tight schedules forcing workers to relieve themselves in plastic bottles, was capable of being a friend to the working class.

#Amazon the saviour of the #workingclass - stop the world I want to get off. "Amazon’s New ‘Factory Towns’ Will Lift the Working Class - Bloomberg" https://t.co/USnoLSu8WN

— Lisa Mckenzie (@redrumlisa) September 16, 2021

this sentence in the Bloomberg article about amazon's "factory towns" is going to make go insane pic.twitter.com/w3u1YM4GPc

— carrion crawl banished for rocking too hard (@dead_influencer) September 16, 2021

Some saw the company inching ever closer to ‘The Warehouse,’ a dystopian yet increasingly realistic send-up of modern American mega-capitalism as practiced by an Amazonesque firm called “Cloud,” while others drew their cultural references from the era of the original “company towns.”

Oh COME ON NOW. THE WAREHOUSE was a warning, not a goddamn guidebook. https://t.co/u9AFi4as5S

— Rob Hart (@robwhart) September 16, 2021

You load 16 pallets, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. St Peter don't you call me cause I can't go I owe my soul to Jeff Bezoshttps://t.co/srjPAGwxJE

— Alexander Williams (@N3v3rSayDi3) September 16, 2021

Amazon has trumpeted a recent starting wage increase – from $17 per hour to about $18 per hour – in an effort to attract workers who sat out the pandemic collecting unemployment and now need jobs. The company reportedly plans to hire another 125,000 workers in the US and is deploying unusually generous benefits, like hefty sign-on bonuses and tuition assistance, to convince job-searchers it’s a better bet than Wal-Mart or other mega-retailers.

Every worker forced to live and work in perpetual debt in the company town will get a free Amazon prime account 💓

— Read Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire (@JoshuaPotash) September 16, 2021

Leaked pic of new Amazon Company Town bathrooms pic.twitter.com/VB64X3Ix4c

— Loccc (@LokLockLocke) September 17, 2021

However, Amazon's reputation for union-busting – which in one memorable case reportedly extended to changing the timing of traffic lights outside a warehouse in order to prevent workers from discussing organization efforts – along with eerie micromanaging of employees’ appearance and sloppy attempts to refute workers’ stories of ‘peeing in bottles’ have made it a decidedly unsympathetic character in the class war."

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