Senate Mike Braun, Indian, discusses the Amazon union in Alabama and the stimulus bill.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Friday turned down a request from Senator Bernie Sanders, I-VT, that he testify during a forthcoming hearing of the Senate Budget Committee on income equality.
The hearing, scheduled for Wednesday, will examine issues of wealth and inequality amid ongoing pressure among Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama to unite. Sanders invited Bezos to testify along with a warehouse employee in the middle of the union.
Critics have criticized Bezos, the richest man in the world, for the huge increase in his personal net worth amid an economic downturn during the coronavirus pandemic. An Amazon representative said Bezos would not be able to attend the trial.
LAW DEVELOPMENT BEING MADE OVER BITCOIN
“We fully endorse Senator Sanders’ efforts to reduce income inequality with legislation to increase the federal minimum wage for all employees to $ 15 per hour,” Amazon said in a statement first obtained by Bloomberg. .
Amazon has raised its minimum wage to $ 15 an hour amid pressure from Sanders and other lawmakers. The e-commerce giant has argued that its compensation and benefits, which include a retirement plan as well as health care, vision and dental coverage, are better than competing companies.
Sanders has repeatedly asked Amazon and other large U.S. companies to increase their workers.
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‘I invited Jeff Bezos to testify in the Budget Committee next week to explain to the American people why he thinks it’s appropriate to spend a whole lot of money denying economic dignity to Amazon employees, while 78 billion dollars richer the pandemic, “Sanders wrote on Twitter about the invitation.
Sanders and other Senate Democrats have called for the inclusion of a measure in President Biden’s $ 1.9 billion coronavirus relief package that would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 per hour over the next few years.
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The Senate MP has ruled that the measure cannot be included in the bill. Senate lawmakers later rejected Sanders’ amendment, which sought to include the pay rise anyway.
In February, Amazon formally endorsed the push for an increased federal minimum wage.