Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders challenged Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to explain the reports of the retail giant’s alleged aggressive anti-union tactics being used to prevent workers from organizing at U.S. facilities.
Bezos, who until his recent divorce was the richest man on earth with $ 184 billion, declined to attend this week’s Senate Budget Committee hearing on income inequality. Sanders, who chairs the committee, personally invited the billionaire founder. The national focus was on thousands of workers trying to form a union at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. Bipartisan lawmakers, including President Joe Biden and Florida Republican Party Senator Marco Rubio, have publicly declared their support for the Alabama workers’ union plan.
During his appearance on MSNBC on Sunday, Sanders poked Bezos and said he, of all people, “can pay them more.” The senator then asked why the billionaire would choose to oppose workers who organize to guarantee permanent, rather than temporary, improvements in security and employment.
“I say to Jeff Bezos, the richest person on the planet: What is your problem with Amazon workers organizing themselves for better working conditions and better wages? You are worth $ 182 BILLION. You can’t keep having it when so many are fighting, “Sanders told MSNBC presenter Ali Velshi in response to Bezos’ refusal in his invitation to the Senate.
According to the pro-union working group representing Amazon employees in Alabama, workers are looking for “just cause” instead of “at ease” jobs, the ability to challenge newsroom and terminations perceived as illegal and safer conditions amid the pandemic. In October, the company revealed that 20,000 of its employees in the U.S. had tested positive or were considered positive for COVID-19. After the reaction, these were the last figures produced by the company.
A worker from Bessemer, Alabama, recently filed a lawsuit for unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board, which cited the creation of DoItWithoutDues.com by Amazon’s corporate wing. The website makes false claims about employees in Alabama, a “right to work” state, who are forced to pay union fees.
The Washington Post reported last week that anti-union pamphlets started popping up in the bathrooms of Amazon’s warehouses, encouraging workers to oppose pro-union votes. The “aggressive fight” to halt union efforts was the main focal point of Sanders’ criticism this week.
Newsweek contacted the Amazon and Sanders office for additional comments on Sunday.
In a previous statement sent to Newsweek Last November, Amazon spokeswoman Lisa Levandowski said: “We respect the right of our employees to join a union or not, but the fact is that Amazon already offers what these groups claim to want.
“We don’t believe that this group represents the majority of our employees’ opinions. Our employees choose to work at Amazon because we offer some of the best jobs available everywhere we hire and encourage anyone to compare our overall salary, benefits and work environment. for any other company with similar jobs. “
The Sanders Senate’s official website for years has presented petitions that support unionization efforts in multi-billion dollar corporations like Amazon and Walmart. A recent Sanders petition and fundraising campaign delivered a message from Sanders to Bezos.
“It is beyond absurd that you earn more money in ten seconds than an average Amazon employee earns in an entire year … Meanwhile, thousands of Amazon employees are forced to rely on food stamps, Medicaid and public housing because their salaries are very low. I don’t believe ordinary Americans should subsidize the richest person in the world because you pay inadequate salaries to your employees, “wrote Sanders.
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