‘Illegal conditions’: Bernie Sanders launches investigation into Amazon

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Tuesday announcing an investigation into “dangerous and illegal conditions at Amazon’s warehouses.”

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, chaired by Sanders, issued a letter to Amazon announcing an investigation into working conditions at company facilities, looking into claims of rampant workplace injuries due to unsafe conditions, according to the letter. Amazon disagrees with the accusations in the letter and pointed to its standing invitation for Sanders to tour one of its facilities in statements given to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“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,” the letter reads. “Mr. Jassy, there is only one explanation for Amazon’s repeated failure to protect its warehouse workers: unacceptable corporate greed.”

Amazon denies the claims of the letter. “We’ve reviewed the letter and strongly disagree with Senator Sanders’ assertions,” Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly told the DCNF.

“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,” Amazon said in statements given to the DCNF. “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.”

Amazon has been the target of complaints of poor working conditions and low wages in the past, prompting the company to raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2018, according to Reuters.

In recent years, efforts to unionize at Amazon facilities have seen mixed results, with a facility in Staten Island, New York, successfully voting to unionize while one in Bessemer, Alabama, did not.

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