- Bezos declined Sanders’ invitation to testify at a hearing, but the senator addressed him harshly.
- Sanders criticized Amazon’s reaction to a union campaign in Alabama, despite the CEO’s record wealth.
- The hearing included the testimony of a union worker from Amazon’s Bessemer warehouse.
- See more stories on the Insider business page.
At a hearing on Wednesday morning, Senator Bernie Sanders spoke critically about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who declined Sanders’ invitation to testify, and about Elon Musk, the two richest men.
“Bezos and Musk now have more wealth than the poorest 40%. In the meantime, we are seeing more hunger in America than at any other time in decades,” said Sanders in his opening speech at the Senate Budget Committee hearing. , which was entitled Income and wealth inequality crisis in America.
“If he were with us this morning, I would ask the following question … Mr. Bezos, are you worth $ 182 billion – that’s a B,” said Sanders. “One hundred and eighty-two billion dollars, you are the richest person in the world. Why are you doing everything in your power to prevent your workers in Bessemer, Alabama, from joining a union?”
The unionization campaign being voted on at Amazon’s Bessemer service center has been the focal point of a high-profile labor dispute between the giant “store of everything” and the retail, wholesale and department store union. Amazon aggressively pressured its workers to vote against unionization, launching a campaign called “Do it without debt” to encourage workers to maintain the status quo.
Sanders pointed to the disparity between Bezos’ growth in wealth during the pandemic and the struggles of ordinary workers.
“Jeff Bezos got $ 77 billion richer during this horrific pandemic, while denying hundreds of thousands of workers who work at Amazon paid sick leave,” he said.
Jennifer Bates, a Bessemer warehouse employee who testified at Wednesday’s hearing, said union efforts were an attempt to “level the playing field”. Bates cited difficult working conditions, long hours and a lack of job security as the main drivers of union efforts.
“Amazon boasts of paying workers above the minimum wage,” she said. “What they don’t say is what these jobs really are. And they certainly don’t say how much they can afford.”
When asked what having a union would mean for her and her co-workers, Bates said it would result in their voices being “amplified” and a “sense of empowerment”, not just at Amazon in Bessemer, but across the country. “
“We take employee feedback seriously, including that of Ms. Bates, but we do not believe that their comments represent more than 90% of their colleagues at the distribution center who say they would recommend Amazon as a great place to work for friends and family. “, an Amazon spokesman told Insider. “We encourage people to speak to hundreds of thousands of Amazon employees who love their jobs, earn at least $ 15 an hour, receive comprehensive health care and paid leave benefits, prefer direct dialogue with their managers and voted for Amazon # 2 on Forbes’ list of best employers list in 2020. “
Although much of the audience was devoted to the struggle to join Amazon, which will be decided in late March, Sanders said that “Amazon and Jeff Bezos are not alone” and condemned the “corporate greed” that drives income inequality.
Others who testified at the hearing included former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who said unions were important and cited the sharp decline in union membership since the height of work in the mid-twentieth century.
Sanders has openly criticized Amazon, while President Joe Biden has taken a softer approach when referring to the union movement. In a statement in early March, Biden condemned the “anti-union propaganda” of large companies, but did not even mention Amazon.