XPost: alt.business, sac.politics, alt.politics.republicans   
   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   From: emailbarry@yahoo.com   
      
   Amazon has had enough of Bernie Sanders. The online retailer on   
   Wednesday accused the Vermont senator of spreading "misleading   
   statements" about the pay it offers workers, while urging Sanders to   
   visit one of the company's fulfillment centers.   
      
   "We have been in regular contact with his office and have offered   
   several opportunities for Senator Sanders and his team to tour one of   
   our fulfillment centers (FCs)," Amazon said in a blog post. "To date   
   he has still not seen an FC for himself."   
      
   Sanders, who has repeatedly highlighted the disparity in income   
   between Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the richest person in the world, and   
   his workers, plans to introduce legislation on September 5 that would   
   make large employers like Amazon foot the bill for federal aid   
   received by their workers, including food stamps and Medicaid.   
      
   "All over this country, many Amazon employees, who work for the   
   wealthiest person on Earth, are paid wages so low they can't make ends   
   meet," Sanders said in a statement.   
      
   Sanders added that he asked to visit a fulfillment center in Kenosha,   
   Wisconsin, last month, but that Amazon was unable to accommodate him.   
   He's now working out details for a visit to a center in Chester,   
   Virginia, next month, Sanders said.   
      
   Amazon defended its pay practices. The average hourly wage for a   
   full-time worker at one of the company's warehouses comes to over $15   
   an hour once stock and bonuses are factored in, Amazon said. Beyond   
   offering its workers a "climate-controlled, safe workplace," Amazon   
   also pointed to the employee benefits it offers, including health   
   insurance, retirement plans and paid leave.   
      
   The company said it created 130,000 new jobs in the U.S. last year.   
      
   Amazon has pushed back recently against claims that it exploits   
   workers, including an expose by a British journalist who said the   
   company treats employees "like robots." Amazon has encouraged   
   employees dubbed "FC ambassadors" -- employees at its fulfillment   
   centers -- to respond on Twitter when the company is criticized for   
   poor working conditions or pay.   
      
   More than two dozen accounts have cropped up to reply to Sanders and   
   others, with all adopting a similar look and tone, including a photo   
   of the account owner inside an Amazon warehouse and cheerful talk   
   about time spent as pickers or packers at Amazon sites.   
      
   The FC ambassadors "are employees who have experience working in our   
   fulfillment centers," an Amazon spokesperson said by email, while   
   declining to comment on how many held the positions or how much they   
   were paid. "It's important that we do a good job of educating people   
   about the actual environment inside our fulfillment centers, and the   
   FC ambassador program is a big part."   
      
   Sanders isn't alone in accusing Amazon of having a large swath of   
   workers on federal aid. In Arizona alone, nearly a third of the   
   company's roughly 6,000 workers participated in the Supplemental   
   Nutrition Assistance Program, the federal anti-poverty program   
   formerly known as food stamps, according to an April report by New   
   Food Economy, a nonprofit news site.   
      
   Amazon, which collected $4 million in subsidies in the state, ranked   
   as the 28th-largest employer in Arizona but placed fifth for the   
   number of workers enrolled in SNAP, the site reported.   
      
   In Pennsylvania, an estimated $24.8 million in subsidies support 13   
   warehouses that employ about 10,000 workers, 1,000 of whom do not earn   
   enough to purchase groceries, the group found. Amazon placed as the   
   19th largest employer in Pennsylvania in 2017, and fifth in terms of   
   the number of employees using SNAP.   
      
   The U.S. Department of Agriculture is testing a program under which a   
   number of online grocery sellers, including Amazon, accept food   
   stamps.   
      
   In his statement, Sanders also pointed to "disturbing stories about   
   working conditions at fulfillment centers run by Amazon and its   
   contractors," noting that they rank on the National Council for   
   Occupational Safety and Health's list of most dangerous places to work   
   in the U.S.   
      
   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-bernie-sanders-misleading-accusations/   
      
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