Amazon Workers Demand Fair Pay & Conditions as Company Continues Undercutting Rivals
While online shoppers around the world flocked to Amazon's mega-sale "Prime Day" this week, the retail giant faced growing outrage from protesters, workers and lawmakers for its unsafe working conditions and collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Demonstrators in Seattle delivered a petition with over 270,000 signatures to Amazon headquarters demanding it stop exploiting workers and cooperating with ICE. Lawmakers, including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ilhan Omar, co-signed a letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration demanding a full investigation into Amazon's workplace conditions on Tuesday, citing reports of Amazon workers facing severe physical and mental distress while on the job. Also on Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel challenged an Amazon executive on allegations that the company competes against its own sellers. We speak with Angeles Solis, lead organizer on the workplace justice team at Make the Road New York, and Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, who testified about Amazon Tuesday before a House Judiciary Subcommittee.