Sanders brings Amazon union battle to D.C., calling Bezos and warehouse worker to testify

[Donkees]

The Vermont independent and frequent Amazon critic will focus on the Bessemer, Ala., union drive as part of a Senate Budget Committee hearing on income inequality

Jay Greene
March 12, 2021 at 6:00 a.m. EST

Excerpt:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will bring the high-stakes labor battle against Amazon to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, when a union-supporting worker will testify before the Senate Budget Committee.

The hearing, which will focus on income inequality, will include testimony from Jennifer Bates, who trains employees at Amazon’s warehouse in Bessemer, Ala. That’s the facility where 5,805 employees are in the middle of an election to decide whether they will be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Sanders has also invited Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos, the world’s wealthiest person, to testify at the hearing. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

“What you are seeing right now in Bessemer is an example of the richest person in this country spending a whole lot of money to make it harder for ordinary working people to live with dignity and safety,” Sanders said in an interview with The Post.

The committee hearing, which begins at 11 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, will focus on “The Income and Wealth Inequality Crisis in America.” Other witnesses include former labor secretary Robert Reich; Scott Winship, director of poverty studies at the American Enterprise Institute; and Sarah Anderson, director of the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/03/12/sanders-amazon-union-bezos/

[Donkees]

1. 'Why is Jeff Bezos denying hazard pay, paid sick leave & economic dignity to workers ...

Why is Jeff Bezos denying hazard pay, paid sick leave & economic dignity to workers, while he became $78 billion richer during the pandemic & is now worth $183 billion? Bernie invited Mr. Bezos to testify in the Budget Committee to answer that question.

Link to tweet

[Donkees]

2. Bezos declines invitation from Sanders to testify before Senate Budget Committee

By Ryan Nobles and Brian Fung CNN Business

Updated 2:35 PM ET, Fri March 12, 2021

Excerpt:

(CNN)Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will not be testifying before the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday, according Mike Casca, a spokesman for Senator Bernie Sanders, the chair of that committee.

The company told the panel Friday that the Amazon (AMZN) founder is unable to attend next week's hearing on inequality, Casca told CNN.

In a statement, the e-commerce giant said that it is supportive of a $15 minimum wage, a policy the company implemented for its own workforce several years ago.

"We fully endorse Senator Sanders' efforts to reduce income inequality with legislation to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour for all workers, like we did for ours in 2018," an Amazon spokesperson told CNN.

The hearing is scheduled to include testimony from Jennifer Bates, an Amazon employee who is at the center of an attempt to unionize one of the company's warehouses in Alabama.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/12/tech/bezos-sanders-senate-budget-testify/index.html

[malaise]

3. Good

Time to end this fucking greed

[Donkees]

4. Bernie: It's unfortunate Mr. Bezos won't join our hearing.

It’s unfortunate Mr. Bezos won’t join our hearing. While he’s become $78 billion richer during the pandemic, families are struggling to survive, so why is he spending a whole lot of money to stop workers from organizing a union at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama?

Link to tweet