WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A senior Amazon.com Inc. official punched U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders for planning a Friday visit to meet with company workers in Alabama, who are voting whether they form a union.
“I often say we’re Bernie Sanders entrepreneurs, but it’s not entirely right because we really offer a progressive job,” tweeted Dave Clark, the chief executive of Amazon’s global consumer business.
In another tweet, Clark said, “If you want to hear about $ 15 an hour and health care, Senator Sanders will speak at the center. But if you want to earn at least $ 15 an hour and have good healthcare, Amazon is hiring. “
Sanders is a supporter of a minimum wage of $ 15 an hour – a fee Amazon pays its workers. A Sanders spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is not the first politician to visit the facility. Earlier this month, a group of U.S. lawmakers visited the Alabama warehouse to lend their support to workers there.
Several labor leaders and lawmakers have said union elections are one of the most important in U.S. history.
The election has also garnered the support of President Joe Biden, who issued a statement defending workers’ rights to form unions. Although he did not mention Amazon, he referred to “workers in Alabama.”
Reuters reported Wednesday that the Retail Wholesale and Department Store union that wanted to organize Amazon warehouse employees in Alabama could contest hundreds of ballots as ineligible, establishing a possible vote-counting battle with the company.
Amazon has long discouraged attempts to organize itself among its more than 800,000 American employees.
Complaints from many workers about a grueling or insecure job have made company syndication a key target for the American labor movement.
Nandita Bose reports to Washington; Edited by Stephen Coates