Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has declined a request to discuss income inequality issues before the Senate Committee on Budgets, the company confirmed to CNBC.
Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent Vermont and chair of the Senate Committee on Budgets, had invited Bezos to appear before the committee as part of a hearing on income inequality scheduled for March 17.
Bezos has been criticized by Sanders and other lawmakers for his labor practices during the coronavirus pandemic, including ending risk-related pay for frontline workers, while Amazon was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic-driven e-commerce boom.
“I invited Jeff Bezos to testify in the Committee on Budgets next week to explain to the American people why he feels it is appropriate for him to spend a great deal of money denying employees at Amazon economic dignity, while in the course of time has gotten $ 78 billion richer, the pandemic, ”Sanders wrote in a tweet
A frequent Amazon critic, Sanders previously viewed the company due to the wage differentials between the top executives and employees who pick up, pack, and deliver parcels to the customer’s door. Following criticism from Sanders and other workforce advocates, Amazon announced in 2018 that it would raise its minimum wage to $ 15 an hour.
An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC in a statement that the company supports Sanders’s efforts to raise the federal minimum wage. “We fully endorse Senator Sanders’ efforts to reduce income inequality with legislation to increase the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour for all employees, as we did for ours in 2018,” the spokesman said.
Sanders has also expressed support for employees at Amazon’s warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, who are currently voting on whether or not to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The effort has also received the approval of multiple Democratic lawmakers, Republican Senator Marco Rubio and President Joe Biden.
Amazon has vigorously opposed the efforts of unions. Last month, it held mandatory meetings with workers at the Bessemer facility to defend the case against union organization. The company also set up a website urging workers to “do it for free”.