Thread by @stacyfmitchell

Wow. @SenSanders is really getting under Amazon’s skin. This response on their corporate blog is a feat of corporate-speak — sort of hilarious and enraging all at once. Let’s break this down… 1/

blog.aboutamazon.com/company-news/r…

@SenSanders Amazon: “the average hourly wage for a full-time associate in our fulfillment centers… is over $15/hour” — This stat uses some tricks. The big one is not counting the temps who work in Amazon’s warehouses. They’re about 40% of the workforce. 2/

@SenSanders Amazon’s temps are paid less. The get “up to $12.00/hr” in Chattanooga and “up to $11.25/hr” in Columbia, SC, for instance. Emphasis on the “up to.” Check out these listings. /3
jobs.integritystaffing.com/go/integrity@a…

@SenSanders For $11.25/hr in Columbia, “you must be able to lift up to 49 pounds … stand/walk for up to 10-12 hours, and be able to frequently push, pull, squat, bend, and reach.” /4
jobs.integritystaffing.com/job/West-Colum…

@SenSanders Amazon: “Sanders’ references to SNAP… are also misleading because they include people who only worked for Amazon for a short period of time.” — Here’s the thing… /5

@SenSanders … Nearly all Amazon warehouse workers are short-term. Turnover for direct hires is 50% within a year. Then add the temps. /6

@SenSanders Amazon: “We encourage anyone to compare our pay and benefits to other retailers.” —  Why not compare to other warehouses? We did. In 2016, Amazon paid 15% less than the average for comparable warehouse work. Here’s our data. /7
ilsr.org/wp-content/upl…

@SenSanders We also did what Amazon suggests: compare its wages to other retailers. We found Amazon pays the same as Walmart — $12/hr in 2016 — for work that is much more physically demanding. /8

@SenSanders In other words, no matter how you slice it, Amazon stands out as an especially bad employer, even in a low-wage economy. /9

@SenSanders Amazon: We “created over 130,000 new jobs last year alone.” — Every 1 new Amazon job comes with the elimination of 2 existing retail jobs. This is scary. 10% of US employment is in retail. /10

@SenSanders The key thing here is that this job loss isn’t just about automation. It’s about monopoly power, in two ways: Amazon dominates logistics and uses that power to extract a lot of labor from workers for little money. /11

@SenSanders And second, there should be a flush of new businesses creating new jobs. But monopoly power – exercised by Amazon and others – has impeded that normal replenishment. New business formation is 1/3 what it used to be. /12

@SenSanders Amazon: “Senator Sanders’ references to SNAP, which hasn’t been called ‘food stamps’ for several years…” — That’s an odd aside. Is this an attempt to make Sanders seem outdated and not with it? /13

@SenSanders By the way, “food stamps” is common usage. The NY Times even has an entire topic area on “food stamps”: nytimes.com/topic/subject/… /14

@SenSanders Oh, and last thing: if you’ve worked for Amazon, Sanders wants to hear your story: /15 sanders.senate.gov/share-your-exp…

@SenSanders And for our in-depth examination of Amazon’s labor practices, see our report. 16/16 ilsr.org/amazon-strangl…