Erin Scott / Reuters
Representative. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Friday that Amazon’s operations are a “scam” because they do not create financial security for employees.
“‘Work’ is not a job that leaves you homeless & on food stamps. It’s a scam,” she said. he said on Twitter.
Ocasio-Cortez cited a Bloomberg news report outlining how many warehouse employees on Amazon are struggling to pay bills, with as many as 4,000 on food stamps.
The report said Amazon has turned logistics work from a professional career choice to “entry level” work for many. As Amazon employees have risen sharply through the pandemic, a safety situation in its warehouses has failed to maintain, according to the report.
“This is why it is not ‘Amazon jobs’ & we should instead focus our public investments + incentives on small businesses, public infrastructure, and employee colleagues who support it a respectable life, “Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter.
Ralph D. Freso / Reuters
“Bloomberg ‘s decision is a false one – it will transcend 50 years of economic thinking, and undermine supply and demand law,” an Amazon representative told Bloomberg.
The daily life of the employees in Amazon warehouses has long been an interesting topic on Capitol Hill. Earlier this month, a group of lawyers led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren called for greater clarity on warehouse damage.
“We are now at the start of another dangerous season for Amazon warehouse workers, and the company’s responses to regular searches have once again raised our concern that Amazon is unwilling to value customer safety. above corporate profit, ”the group said in a joint statement.
Amazon did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
The U.S. National Labor Relations Board said this week that it had found merit in the allegations that Gerald Bryson, who worked at Amazon’s Staten Island performance center, was shot in retaliation for complaining about health and safety policies in the warehouse.
Ocasio-Cortez has taken aim at Amazon again, often raising the question of the amount of corporate taxes it pays. Taxes from corporations could help pay for schools, hospitals, and other public infrastructure, she said frequently.
—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 29, 2020
In 2019, she questioned why Amazon paid zero in federal revenue taxes on more than $ 11 billion in profits.
“Why should a corporation that adds nothing to the pot be able to take billions from the public?” she said at the time on Twitter.