Top Amazon official swipes at Bernie Sanders over planned Alabama visit
By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Amazon.com Inc official took a jab at U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders for planning a Friday visit to meet the company's workers in Alabama, who are voting on whether to form a union.
"I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but that's not quite right because we actually deliver a progressive workplace," Dave Clark, the chief executive of Amazon's worldwide consumer business tweeted on Wednesday.
Bernie Sanders wearing a suit and tie: Senate panel holds hearing on Biden budget nominee Neera Tanden© Reuters/POOL Senate panel holds hearing on Biden budget nominee Neera Tanden
In another tweet, Clark said, "if you want to hear about $15 an hour and health care, Senator Sanders will be speaking downtown. But if you would like to make at least $15 an hour and have good health care, Amazon is hiring."
Sanders is a big supporter of a $15 an hour minimum wage - a rate Amazon pays its workers. A spokesman for Sanders 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 the union election is one of the most important ones in U.S. history.
The election has also earned support from President Joe Biden, who released a statement defending workers' rights to form unions. While he did not mention Amazon, he referenced "workers in Alabama."
Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Retail Wholesale and Department Store union seeking to organize Amazon's warehouse employees in Alabama might dispute hundreds of ballots as ineligible, setting up a potential vote-count battle with the company.
Amazon has long discouraged attempts among its more than 800,000 U.S. employees to organize.
Allegations by many workers of a grueling or unsafe workplace, have turned unionizing the company into a key goal for the U.S. labor movement.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)
计划在阿拉巴马州访问的亚马逊高级官员在伯尼·桑德斯(Bernie Sanders)
南迪塔·博斯(Nandita Bose)
华盛顿(路透社)-一位高级亚马逊官员对美国参议员伯尼·桑德斯(Bernie Sanders)进行了猛烈抨击,因为他计划周五进行访问,以会见该公司在阿拉巴马州的工人,他们正在就是否成立工会进行投票。
亚马逊全球消费者业务首席执行官戴夫·克拉克(Dave Clark)在推特上说:“我经常说我们是雇主的伯尼·桑德斯(Bernie Sanders),但这并不完全正确,因为我们实际上提供了一个进步的工作场所。”
伯尼·桑德斯(Bernie Sanders)穿西装打领带©Reuters / POOL 参议院专家组就拜登预算候选人尼拉·坦登举行听证会
克拉克在另一条推文中说:“如果您想每小时听到15美元的报酬和医疗保健,桑德斯参议员将在市区讲话。但是,如果您希望每小时至少赚15美元并有良好的医疗保健,亚马逊正在招聘。 ”
桑德斯(Sanders)是每小时15美元最低工资的坚决支持者-亚马逊向其工人支付的工资水平。桑德斯的发言人没有立即回应置评请求。
他不是第一个访问该设施的政客。本月初,一群美国议员访问了阿拉巴马州的仓库,以向那里的工人提供支持。
几位劳工领袖和立法者表示,工会选举是美国历史上最重要的选举之一。
选举也得到了总统拜登的支持,他发表了一份声明,捍卫工人成立工会的权利。尽管他没有提到亚马逊,但他提到了“阿拉巴马州的工人”。
路透社周三报道称,试图组织亚马逊在阿拉巴马州的仓库员工的零售批发和百货商店工会可能会质疑数百次不合格的选票,从而与该公司展开了潜在的计票之战。
长期以来,亚马逊一直不鼓励其超过80万名美国雇员进行组织。
许多工人对工作环境恶劣或不安全的指控已经使公司的工会化成为美国劳工运动的主要目标。
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