Perhaps inspired by AOC and her ‘democratic socialist’ compadres, more than 400 lawmakers from around the world have signed a letter demanding Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos raise employee wages, and pay more in taxes (we presume they mean both Amazon the company and Bezos personally).
In an open letter, the lawmakers said that they were writing to put Bezos, the world’s richest man, “on notice”, and that “Amazon’s days of impunity are over”.
The movement is calling on Amazon to pay its “workers, its taxes, and its environmental costs fairly”.
We, elected representatives and public officials from around the world, hereby put you on notice that Amazon’s days of impunity are over. Last Friday, 27 November, workers, activists, and citizens around the world joined forces to demand justice from Amazon. Today, we pledge to stand with this movement in every congress, parliament, and statehouse where we work. In short, we write to you now with a single commitment: to Make Amazon Pay.
The letter was signed by several American lawmakers, including Ilhan Omar, who is still pushing to cancel rent and mortgages across the US until the COVID crisis is over, and Rashida Tlaib. Another signatory is California Rep. Ro Khanna who once said he would support making stock buybacks illegal outright (crashing the market, and the retirement savings of millions of Americans, in the process).
The movement even comes with its own hashtag, #MakeAmazonPay. The lawmakers claim in the letter that a coalition of not just Amazon workers, but workers all over the world would heroically band together to ensure that Amazon shoulders both its fair share of taxes while also covering “environmental costs” associated with its business.
The letter also knocked Amazon for its efforts to intimidate workers exploring unionization efforts.
“…[W]hile your personal wealth has risen by around $13 million per hour in 2020, these workers enter dangerous working conditions, enjoy little or no increase in their pay, and face retaliation for their efforts to defend themselves and organize their colleagues.”
Responding to the letter and its claims, an Amazon rep said the company accepts scrutiny from policymakers but also pushed back against parts of the new letter, saying that Amazon is “paying billions of dollars in taxes globally” and “has a strong track record of supporting our employees, our customers, and our communities, including providing safe working conditions, competitive wages, and great benefits.”
The letter and the protests were apparently organized by a group called “Progressive International”…
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