Erin Scott/Reuters
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday called Amazon jobs a “scam” because some workers have struggled to pay bills.
- In nine states, more than 4,000 Amazon employees are on food stamps, according to Bloomberg News.
- “A ‘job’ that leaves you homeless & on food stamps isn’t a job. It’s a scam,” said Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday said Amazon’s jobs are a “scam” because they’re not creating financial security for workers.
“A ‘job’ that leaves you homeless & on food stamps isn’t a job. It’s a scam,” she said on Twitter.
Ocasio-Cortez referenced a Bloomberg News report detailing how many Amazon warehouse workers struggle to pay bills, with as many as 4,000 on food stamps.
The report said Amazon has turned logistics work from a professional career option to “entry-level” work for many. As Amazon’s workforce has soared during the pandemic, safety conditions in its warehouses have failed to keep pace, according to the report.
“This is why ‘Amazon jobs’ aren’t it & we should instead focus our public investments + incentives on small businesses, public infrastructure, & worker cooperatives that actually support dignified life,” said Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter.
Ralph D. Freso/Reuters
"Bloomberg's conclusion is false - it violates over 50 years of economic thought, and suspends the law of supply and demand," an Amazon representative told Bloomberg.
The daily lives of the workforce in Amazon's warehouses has long been a point of interest on Capitol Hill. Earlier this month, a group of lawmakers led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren called for greater transparency into injuries in warehouses.
"We are now at the beginning of another dangerous season for Amazon warehouse workers, and the company's responses to repeated Congressional inquiries have only escalated our concern about Amazon's unwillingness to value worker safety above corporate profit," the group said in a joint statement.
Amazon did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
The US National Labor Relations Board this week said it had found merit in the claims that Gerald Bryson, who worked at Amazon's Staten Island fulfillment center, was fired in retaliation for protesting health and safety policies in the warehouse.
Ocasio-Cortez has taken aim at Amazon repeatedly, often calling into question the amount of corporate tax it pays. Taxes from corporations could help pay for schools, hospitals, and other public infrastructure, she has often said.
—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 29, 2020
In 2019, she called into question why Amazon paid zero in federal income taxes on more than $11 billion in profit.
"Why should corporations that contribute nothing to the pot be in a position to take billions from the public?" she said at the time on Twitter.