Bernie Sanders Continues With His Attacks on Amazon

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders on Monday continued with his attacks on Amazon by sharing videos on Twitter that accuse the company of using “Orwellian language.”

“Listen to how Amazon uses its own lingo to blur the distinction between billionaire CEO Jeff Bezos and the average Amazon employee making minimum wage, according to journalist @J_Bloodworth,” Sanders tweeted as he shared one of the videos.

According to The Hill, in one of the videos James Bloodworth, who wrote a book about the working conditions at Amazon, says that the company uses Orwellian language to blur the distinction between you as a worker and what the management was doing.

“You weren’t allowed to call the warehouse a warehouse. You had to call it a fulfillment center,” he says. “You weren’t allowed to call each other workers or bosses. You had to call everyone associates. Presumably, this was something done to blur the distinction between Jeff Bezos, who earns billions of pounds a year, and the average order picker, who earns minimum wage.”

Last week, Sanders introduced a bill that would charge large companies for the federal welfare programs that support their low-wage workers, The Hill wrote.

“Last week I introduced a bill to give billionaires like Bezos and the Waltons a choice: pay workers a living wage, or pay for the public assistance your low-wage workers rely on,” Sanders said.

Sanders in an additional statement last week also said that “the American people are tired of subsidizing multi-billionaires” as he introduced the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act or Stop BEZOS Act.

“At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, when the 3 wealthiest people in America own more wealth than the bottom 50 percent and when 52 percent of all new income goes to the top one percent, the American people are tired of subsidizing multi-billionaires who own some of the largest and most profitable corporations in America,” Sanders said.

In August, Amazon denied Sanders’s assertions that the company mistreats its workers.

“In addition to highly competitive wages and a climate controlled, safe workplace, Amazon provides employees with a comprehensive benefit package including health insurance, disability insurance, retirement savings plans, and company stock,” the company said.