Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has rejected a request to discuss issues related to income inequality before the Senate Budget Committee, the company confirmed to CNBC.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent and chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, had invited Bezos to appear before the committee as part of a hearing on income inequality scheduled for March 17.
Bezos has faced criticism from Sanders and other lawmakers for his work practices during the coronavirus pandemic, including the end of risk pay for front-line workers, while Amazon was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the e-commerce boom driven by pandemic.
“I invited Jeff Bezos to testify in the Budget Committee next week to explain to the American people why he thinks it appropriate to spend a lot of money denying economic dignity to Amazon workers, while he has become richer in 78 billion the pandemic, “Sanders wrote in a tweet.
Sanders is a frequent critic of Amazon and has previously examined the company for the pay gap between its top executives and workers who pick up, package and deliver packages at customers ’doors. Following criticism from Sanders and other labor advocates, Amazon in 2018 announced it would raise the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour.
An Amazon spokesman told CNBC in a statement that the company supports Sanders’ efforts to raise the federal minimum wage. “We fully support Senator Sanders’ efforts to reduce income inequality with legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 per hour for all workers, as we did for ours in 2018, ”the spokesman said.
Sanders has also expressed support for Amazon, Bessemer, Alabama warehouse workers who are currently voting to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The effort has also received support from several Democratic lawmakers, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and President Joe Biden.
Amazon has strongly opposed the unionization effort. Last month he held mandatory meetings with workers at the Bessemer facility in which the case against the union was declared. The company also created a website urging workers to “do it without quotas.”