Hot Labor Summer has arrived in Washington.
As numerous American union workers negotiate contracts and consider strikes, the latest salvo in the summer labor fight comes from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. On Tuesday, he launched an investigation into Amazon’s labor practices, his office announced in a press release.
Sanders informed Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy in a letter on Tuesday about the start of an investigation into the company’s “egregious health and safety violations.”
“The company’s quest for profits at all costs has led to unsafe physical environments, intense pressure to work at unsustainable rates, and inadequate medical attention for tens of thousands of Amazon workers every year,” Sanders wrote in the letter. “The time has come for Amazon to stop willfully violating workplace safety laws with impunity and commit to changing its operations to protect the health and safety of its workers.”
Amazon responds to Bernie Sanders investigation
Steve Kelly, an Amazon spokesperson, pushed back on Sanders’ allegations in a statement to USA TODAY.
“We’ve reviewed the letter and strongly disagree with Senator Sanders’ assertions,” Kelly wrote.
Sanders, a longtime critic of Amazon’s labor practices, demanded in the letter that Jassy provide data on injury and turnover rates at Amazon warehouses. He also requested information on the company’s productivity goals and its adherence to safety regulations.
He called on current and former Amazon employees to share their experiences working in the company’s warehouses with the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee.
Kelly also defended Amazon’s working conditions in the statement, writing that the company takes “the safety and health of our employees very seriously.”
“There will always be ways to improve, but we’re proud of the progress we’ve made which includes a 23% reduction in recordable injuries across our U.S. operations since 2019,” Kelly wrote. “We’ve invested more than $1 billion into safety initiatives, projects, and programs in the last four years, and we’ll continue investing and inventing in this area because nothing is more important than our employees’ safety.”
Bernie Sanders leads fight against CEOs
Amazon is Sanders’ latest target as chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee. He launched an investigation into Starbucks earlier this year and forced Howard Schultz, the founder and former CEO of Starbucks, to testify before the committee under threat of subpoena.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Sanders left open the possibility that Jassy and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos might be called to testify before the committee.
“That’s an absolute possibility,” he told the Washington Post.
“Amazon is one of the most valuable companies in the world worth $1.3 trillion and its founder, Jeff Bezos, is one of the richest men in the world worth nearly $150 billion,” Sanders wrote in the letter. “Amazon should be one of the safest places in America to work, not one of the most dangerous.”
Previous coverage:Former Starbucks CEO testifies during Senate hearing on treatment of employees unionizing
