I wasn't surprised to watch that Amazon doesn't have a union for their workers, but it is disappointing. I wonder though if any of the problems the workers are having (bathroom breaks, etc.) would fall under OSHA violations? I would assume Amazon is subject to OSHA regulations like any other company.
That's an interesting point because it does strike me as inefficient to walk 700 yards back and forth to pick up one thing and then back again. I would guess they're just not employing sufficient personnel. Though the overall 'rate' would likely increase significantly even if personal ones don't.
This isn't an unsolvable problem either. And they could contract it out, so it's not like they have to hire someone full time to optimize the warehouses. I guess that goes back to having a union though.