Bernie Sanders has criticized Jeff Bezos for trying to discourage workers at Amazon's Bessemer warehouse from joining a union.
As reported by Insider, the Amazon CEO had declined Sander's invitation to testify at a Senate hearing on income inequality, which took place yesterday (March 17).
At the Senate Budget Committee hearing, titled The Income and Wealth Inequality Crisis in America, the 79-year-old hit out at the two richest men in the world, Bezos and Elon Musk.
Check out this powerful testimony from an Amazon worker in Alabama at the Senate hearing:"Bezos and Musk now own more wealth than the bottom 40%. Meanwhile, we're looking at more hunger in America than at any time in decades," Sanders said, per Insider.
"If he was with us this morning, I would ask him the following question; Mr. Bezos, you are worth $182 billion — that's a B," he added. "One hundred eighty-two billion dollars, you're the wealthiest person in the world."
In a question directed at the absent billionaire, Sanders asked: "Why are you doing everything in your power to stop your workers in Bessemer, Alabama, from joining a union?"
As reported by the Independent, the e-commerce giant has reportedly pushed employees against the idea of a labor union via text messages, meetings, and an anti-union website.
Watch the entire hearing below:The company even launched a campaign called "Do It Without Dues" to allegedly dissuade employees from unionization, per Insider.
Sanders accused Bezos of preventing his underpaid employees from collectively bargaining for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.
"Jeff Bezos has become $77 billion richer during this horrific pandemic while denying hundreds of thousands of workers who work at Amazon paid sick leave," Sanders went on to claim.
Amazon workers in Bessemer are voting to decide whether they will join the first labor union in the firm's history, the Independent reports.
Jennifer Bates, an employee at the Bessemer warehouse who testified at the hearing, said the push for a union could potentially create a more "level playing field."
"Amazon brags it pays workers above the minimum wage," she said. "What they don't tell you is what those jobs are really like. And they certainly don't tell you what they can afford."
In response to Bates' remarks, an Amazon spokesperson told Insider:
"We take employee feedback seriously, including Ms. Bates's, but we don't believe her comments represent the more than 90% of her fulfillment center colleagues who say they'd recommend Amazon as a great place to work to friends and family.
"We encourage people to speak with the hundreds of thousands of Amazon employees who love their jobs, earn at least $15 an hour, receive comprehensive healthcare and paid leave benefits, prefer direct dialogue with their managers, and voted Amazon #2 on the Forbes best employers list in 2020."
According to Forbes, Bezos, the richest person in the world, has a net worth of $183.8 billion.
