Amazon Exec Taunts Bernie Sanders as Less Progressive Than His Company, Gets Buried by Reports About Awful Working Conditions

Reed RichardsonMar 24th, 2021, 8:58 pm
 

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Amazon executive Dave Clark tried to start an online beef with Sen. Bernie Sanders, taunting the Vermont socialist as not as “progressive” as his company — but the move backfired as critics soon bombarded his Tweet with damning news articles about awful working conditions at its warehouses.

On Wednesday, Clark went on the offensive against Sanders, apparently in response to news that the senator will be meeting with activists on Friday at the company’s Bessemer, Alabama warehouse, which is in the midst of high-profile unionization drive.

To start a short Twitter thread, Clark said he welcomed Sanders to Alabama and offered appreciation for “his push for a progressive workplace.” But the Amazon exec’s tone they turned sharply toward sarcasm.

“I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but that’s not quite right because we actually deliver a progressive workplace,” Clark snarked.

“So if you want to hear about $15 an hour and health care, Senator Sanders will be speaking downtown,” Clark added in a reply, before another swipe at the senator. “But if you would like to make at least $15 an hour and have good health care, Amazon is hiring.”

But almost immediately after posting his anti-Sanders rant, Clark was bombarded with replies and quote tweets pointing to news reports contradicting his claim of Amazon’s “safe and inclusive work environment.”

One critic even noted that Sanders’ years-long support for the Fight for 15 movement was credited with pushing the company to adopt a $15 per hour starting wage — the same progressive wage that Clark was now attempting to taunt Sanders with.

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