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[homoe]

Originally Posted by PlatinumPearl

Bernie Sanders rips into Jeff Bezos: 'You are worth $182 billion ...
why are you doing everything in your power to stop your workers' from unionizing?'

* Bezos declined Sanders' invitation to testify at a hearing, but the senator had harsh words for him.

* Sanders criticized Amazon's countering of a union drive in Alabama despite the CEO's record wealth.

* The hearing included testimony from a pro-union worker at Amazon's Bessemer warehouse.


At a hearing on Wednesday morning, Sen. Bernie Sanders spoke critically about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who declined Sanders' invitation to testify, and Elon Musk, the two wealthiest men.

"Bezos and Musk now own more wealth than the bottom 40%. Meanwhile, we're looking at more hunger in America than at any time in decades," Sanders said in his opening remarks at the Senate Budget Committee hearing, which was titled The Income and Wealth Inequality Crisis in America.

"If he was with us this morning, I would ask him the following question ... Mr. Bezos, you are worth $182 billion — that's a B," Sanders said. "One hundred eighty-two billion dollars, you're the wealthiest person in the world. Why are you doing everything in your power to stop your workers in Bessemer, Alabama, from joining a union?"

The unionization push being voted on at Amazon's Bessemer fulfillment center has been the focal point of a high-profile labor dispute between the behemoth "everything store" and the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. Amazon has aggressively pushed its workers to vote against unionization, launching a campaign called "Do It Without Dues" to encourage workers to stick to the status quo.

Sanders pointed out the disparity between Bezos' wealth growth during the pandemic and the struggles of rank-and-file workers.

"Jeff Bezos has become $77 billion richer during this horrific pandemic, while denying hundreds of thousands of workers who work at Amazon paid sick leave," he said.

Jennifer Bates, an employee at the Bessemer warehouse who testified at Wednesday's hearing, said the unionization efforts were an attempt to "have a level playing field." Bates cited tough working conditions, long hours, and a lack of job security as major drivers of the unionization efforts.

"Amazon brags it pays workers above the minimum wage," she said. "What they don't tell you is what those jobs are really like. And they certainly don't tell you what they can afford."

When asked what having a union would mean to her and her coworkers, Bates said it would result in their voices being "amplified" and a "sense of empowerment, "and not just at the Amazon in Bessemer but all over the country."

"We take employee feedback seriously, including Ms. Bates's, but we don't believe her comments represent the more than 90% of her fulfillment center colleagues who say they'd recommend Amazon as a great place to work to friends and family," an Amazon spokesperson told Insider. "We encourage people to speak with the hundreds of thousands of Amazon employees who love their jobs, earn at least $15 an hour, receive comprehensive healthcare and paid leave benefits, prefer direct dialogue with their managers, and voted Amazon #2 on the Forbes best employers list in 2020."

While much of the hearing was devoted to the Amazon unionization fight, which will be decided at the end of March, Sanders said "Amazon and Jeff Bezos are not alone" and decried the "corporate greed" that drives income inequality.

Others who testified at the hearing included former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who said unions were important and cited the steep decline in union membership since the labor heyday of the mid-1900s.

Sanders has been a vocal critic of Amazon, while President Joe Biden has taken a softer approach in referencing the union drive. In a statement earlier in March, Biden condemned "anti-union propaganda" from large companies but stopped short of naming Amazon.



Source: businessinsider.com
Website: https://www.businessinsider.com/bern...n-union-2021-3
Date: March 17, 2020

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[homoe]

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Perhaps to make sure Amazon workers are paid and treated fairly until they can unionize, Philanthropist Mackenzie Scott, Bezo's ex wife & her new hubby, could donate funds through their giving pledge!

If he won't do the right thing maybe she will, considering she wouldn't have half that amount of money made off the worker's backs at Amazon!

[homoe]

DoorDash’s Latest Move Is Another Healthy Reminder That It Is, In Fact, a Giant Parasite!

The delivery app is suing NYC over a law that would give restaurants access to customer data — showing once again that it cares about the wellbeing of restaurants about as much as any bloodsucker cares about its host.

DoorDash is yet again showing that it sees restaurants as merely a supplier in its relationship with diners, despite more and more customers seeing companies like DoorDash as an unfortunate middleman between them and restaurants. The delivery app — the largest in the country — is suing New York City over a new law that would require it to share customer data with restaurants, claiming that it is a violation of the First Amendment.

https://www.eater.com/2021/9/15/2267...ta-nyc-lawsuit

[homoe]

Brett Molina, USA TODAY Fri, September 24, 2021, 10:45 AM

If you're planning to get toilet paper, paper towels or bottled water on your next Costco shopping trip, you might find there's a limit to how much you can buy. You can blame supply-chain issues and the rise of the delta variant.
During the retailer's quarterly earnings call Thursday, Costco chief financial officer Richard Galanti cited supply chain issues such as port delays, container shortages and COVID disruptions for the limits on purchases.

Galanti also cited a spike in demand linked to the delta variant, which has quickly spread across the U.S.

[homoe]

USA TODAY Tue, September 28, 2021,

Americans who have been frustrated with the slow service of the U.S. Postal Service since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic probably won’t be thrilled to hear this: The service is about to get even slower.

Starting Friday, USPS will “implement new service standards for First Class Mail and Periodicals,” a spokeswoman for USPS, said in an email to USA TODAY. The changes mean an increased time-in-transit for mail traveling long distances, such as from New York to California. Frum said that “most first class mail (61%) and periodicals (93%) will be unaffected” by the changes. Single-piece first-class mail traveling within the same region will still have a delivery time of two days.

USPS defines first-class mail as “standard sized letters and flats,” Frum said. That’s different from first-class packages, which are typically used for shipping smaller, lightweight packages. Currently, first-class mail and first-class packages have the same delivery standards, but that will change beginning Friday.

The changes to service standard times are part of USPS’s 10-year strategic plan, announced by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in March. The plan has drawn heavy criticism from elected officials. DeJoy took his position in June 2020 despite no previous experience in the USPS. The position of Postmaster General is not appointed or nominated by a president, but rather appointed by the independent Postal Service Board of Governors.

Sidebar: Trump may not of appointed this S.O.B. directedly but you know darn well he pulled some strings or greased some palms to get him in there!

[homoe]

Originally Posted by homoe

USA TODAY Tue, September 28, 2021,

Americans who have been frustrated with the slow service of the U.S. Postal Service since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic probably won’t be thrilled to hear this: The service is about to get even slower.

Starting Friday, USPS will “implement new service standards for First Class Mail and Periodicals,” a spokeswoman for USPS, said in an email to USA TODAY. The changes mean an increased time-in-transit for mail traveling long distances, such as from New York to California. Frum said that “most first class mail (61%) and periodicals (93%) will be unaffected” by the changes. Single-piece first-class mail traveling within the same region will still have a delivery time of two days.

USPS defines first-class mail as “standard sized letters and flats,” Frum said. That’s different from first-class packages, which are typically used for shipping smaller, lightweight packages. Currently, first-class mail and first-class packages have the same delivery standards, but that will change beginning Friday.

The changes to service standard times are part of USPS’s 10-year strategic plan, announced by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in March. The plan has drawn heavy criticism from elected officials. DeJoy took his position in June 2020 despite no previous experience in the USPS. The position of Postmaster General is not appointed or nominated by a president, but rather appointed by the independent Postal Service Board of Governors.

Sidebar: Trump may not of appointed this S.O.B. directedly but you know darn well he pulled some strings or greased some palms to get him in there!

God only knows now when my Chicago Magazine will arrive...

[homoe]

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U.S. Postal Service Announces Proposed Temporary Rate Adjustments for 2021 Peak Holiday Season. Temporary rates go into effect at 12:00 a.m., Central Time, on Oct. 3, 2021, and remain in place until 12:00 a.m., Central Time, Dec. 26, 2021.