Tax Jeff Bezos: Amazon employees mad at Jeff Bezos for minting money, withholding it amid pandemic

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has once again landed in a soup with Amazon workers protesting against reduced employee benefits. Amazon’s employees have compared the world’s richest man to the ruler of an autocracy. While Jeff Bezos has made billions even amid a pandemic, the workers of the company are not so happy because of the work environment, sub par warehouse safety standards and unfair pay. Amazon is reportedly cracking down on workers who have been questioning Amazon for neglect. The company’s workers have been protesting around Jeff Bezos’ New York residence for over two months now.

However, the latest round of protests has been kicked off by a fired Amazon worker called Christian Smalls. Protestors demanded Amazon to allow employees form unions and also asked for a “a federal wealth tax on the top 3% of earners in the United States,” according to a press release from Smalls’ group, the Congress of Essential Workers, Fox Business reported. Several other protests have already taken place at Jeff Bezos’ NYC residence while the world has been grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the statement, the e-commerce giant has done little to keep employees safe even while dealing with coronavirus. The employees complain about lack of personal protective equipment and other lapses. “Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic essential workers have suffered disproportionate exposure in the workplace due to a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), negligent safety guidelines, callous and unrealistic performance standards, and inadequate compensation,” the statement said. The e-atelier had put an end to the provision of wage increases and double overtime pay amid the pandemic even while e-commerce is one of the sectors which has boomed amid the pandemic. 

Meanwhile, Amazon workers are not the only ones asking to tax Jeff Bezos. US Senator Bernie Sanders said that the country will tax “billionaires’ outrageous pandemic wealth”. “We are going to tax Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and the other billionaires’ outrageous pandemic wealth accumulation so we can provide healthcare to all our people,” he said in a tweet last week.