Former Obama administration official Jay Carney, now Amazon’s vice president of global corporate affairs, is defending Amazon against allegations by its employees in Alabama who claim the multinational corporation’s workplace policies amount to abuse.
Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) visited Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, whose votes are currently being tallied to decide if they will be the first Amazon workers to unionize in the United States.
In interviews with Sanders, Amazon workers at the Bessemer Amazon warehouse accused the corporation of surveilling them on the job, implementing harsh packaging quotas, ignoring workplace injuries, and refusing to allow workers to use the warehouse’s elevators.
“These people in the name of convenience getting shit dropped at our door are being used and abused because it’s peak season,” rapper Killer Mike said at a rally.
One Amazon worker, 51-year-old Linda Burns, said Amazon is “treating us like robots rather than humans.” Burns said she has run out of paid sick leave despite having tendinitis.
In response, Carney — who started working in an executive role at Amazon soon after leaving the Obama administration in 2014 — defended Amazon’s workplace policies in a post online.
With all due respect, Senator [Bernie Sanders], you’re wrong on this,” Carney wrote. “We treat our employees with dignity and respect. We offer a $15 min wage, health care from day one, and a safe, inclusive workplace.”
Americans by a majority support Amazon workers unionizing. A February survey of nearly 1,200 likely U.S. voters found that 69 percent support Amazon workers unionizing — including 69 percent of swing voters, 55 percent of Republicans, and 81 percent of Democrats.
The clash between Carney and Sanders comes after Amazon spokespeople responded to statements made by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) where she noted the corporation’s use of tax loopholes “to pay close to nothing in taxes.”
In the midst of economic lockdowns that have crippled small and medium-sized businesses, Amazon has profited billions and made 2020 the corporation’s most profitable year. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, similarly, boosted his fortune by 60 percent since March 2020.
Despite Amazon’s broad corporate power in the market, the corporation has skated by for years without paying federal income taxes. In 2020, the corporation paid federal income taxes for the first time since 2016. The amount paid by Amazon was just $162 million last year, a fraction of its 2019 $13.9 billion pre-tax reported income. For context, Amazon paid in federal income taxes just 1.2% of its pre-tax reported income last year.
The Bessemer unionization vote is expected to conclude sometime in the coming week. Since the effort began, union representatives say there have been more than 1,000 Amazon workers who have inquired about unionizing.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.