Sanders Opens Probe of Amazon's Safety Record

Facts

On Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy informing him of the opening of a Senate investigation into the company’s warehouse safety practices.¹
Sanders called Amazon one of the “most dangerous” employers in the US, and cited a union-backed Strategic Organizing Center study that found the company’s injury rate was 70% greater in 2022 than that of non-Amazon warehouses.²
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is conducting the investigation and has set up a website for current and former Amazon employees to confidentially share their workplace experiences.³
In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly challenged Sanders’ assertions, writing that the company takes safety “very seriously,” has seen a reduction in recordable injuries of almost a quarter since 2019, and, in the last four years, has put more than $1B into spending on safety.⁴
Sanders has previously used his chairmanship of the HELP committee to draw attention to the working practices of some of the US's most powerful companies, including Starbucks and Moderna.⁵

Left narrative, as provided by Guardian. Sanders continues to be an advocate for vital labor unions that protect workers’ rights and safety. In the face of attempts by Amazon and other major corporations to crush employees' unionization efforts, the US needs someone like Sanders to prevent exploitation.
Right narrative, as provided by The Street. Sanders seemingly won’t rest until he destroys capitalism; he is consistently hell bent on attacking some of the premier companies of the US and cutting into their hard-earned profits. Amazon is doing what it can to improve working conditions for its employees, but no company can have a perfect record. Sanders should be working with the companies that provide livelihoods to American people, rather than investigating them.