Amazon Fires Back at AOC: She’s ‘Just Wrong’ to Say We Pay ‘Starvation Wages’
Amazon said Monday that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is “just wrong” for accusing the company of paying its employees starvation wages.
ABC News’ This Week host Jon Karl reminded AOC that she once said an economic system that has billionaires is immoral, and asked if in a true progressive system Jeff Bezos would remain a billionaire.
Ocasio-Cortez said she wasn’t really concerned whether Bezos was a billionaire or not, but whether the average Amazon worker was making a living wage, had guaranteed healthcare, and could send their kids to college tuition-free.
“If that’s the case, and Jeff Bezos is still a billionaire, that’s one thing. But if his being a billionaire is predicated on paying people starvation wages, and stripping them of their ability to access healthcare, also if his ability to be a billionaire is predicated on the fact that his workers take food stamps so I’m paying for him to be a billionaire…” said Ocasio-Cortez.
“Do you think that’s why he’s a billionaire, because he pays his workers starvation wages?” Karl asked.
Ocasio-Cortez said she thinks it is a “very large part of the equation.”
Amazon tweeted that AOC is “just wrong” because Amazon pays a $15 minimum wage and full benefits from day one, and they also lobby to raise the federal minimum wage.
.@AOC is just wrong. Amazon is a leader on pay at $15 min wage + full benefits from day one. We also lobby to raise federal min wage. https://t.co/crWp5fPEzS
— Amazon News (@amazonnews) June 17, 2019
“When you have a very large workforce, and you underpay every single person, and then you also participate in taking billions of dollars of government subsidies, I think that could be part of it,” she said.
“But if he’s willing to give up all of his government subsidies, if we’re willing to charge fair taxes, if we’re willing to pay people a living wage, send people to college tuition-free, guarantee everyone healthcare and he’s still a billionaire then well that’s a fight we can have another day.”
Last year, Amazon raised its minimum wage to $15, and announced its public policy team would be lobbying to increase the federal $7.25 minimum wage.
Bezos’ net worth is $117 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He’s only received an annual salary of $81,840 since since 1998, but most of his wealth comes from owning one sixth of Amazon’s stock.
