[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 26, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2146-S2148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Corporate Greed

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, the American people are increasingly 
outraged by the level of corporate greed that we are seeing in this 
country. As you know, while prices are rapidly increasing, corporate 
profits are soaring: in the oil industry in what we pay at the gas 
pumps; in the food industry in what we pay in grocery stores; in 
housing and in so many other areas. Meanwhile, while the very, very 
rich get richer, because of inflation, many workers are now seeing a 
decline in their real wages.
  During this pandemic, unbelievably--and I hope that everybody knows 
this--while workers have been struggling, the billionaire class, people 
who are worth at least $1 billion, have seen a $2 trillion increase in 
their wealth; and the level of income and wealth inequality today is 
the highest that it has been in over 100 years.
  Two people--Mr. Musk and Mr. Bezos--now own more wealth than the 
bottom 42 percent of American society--over 130 million people. Two 
people own more wealth than the bottom 130 million Americans.
  In the midst of all of this--inflation, inequality, corporate greed--
working people have declared loudly and clearly that enough is enough. 
We must end the corporate greed that is hurting so many of our 
families. Workers are now fighting back in a way that I have not seen 
for a very long time to improve their standard of living, to get the 
wages and benefits they desperately need, and to get a seat at the 
negotiating table in a way that has not taken place in a very, very 
long time.
  Workers throughout this country are now in the process of organizing 
unions at a grassroots level and are prepared to go out on strike when 
the greed of large corporations prevents them from receiving decent 
wages and decent benefits. During the last couple of years, I have 
personally been involved in a number of union-organizing campaigns and 
strikes throughout the country--from John Deere, Nabisco, and Kellogg's 
in the Midwest to the Warrior Met strike in Alabama--which continues 
today--to the Kroger grocery store strike in Colorado, and many 
others--and I have to say that I have been incredibly impressed by the 
solidarity and the courage of those workers who are prepared to stand 
up for justice against very powerful corporate interests.
  As I am sure the Presiding Officer knows, a historic union victory 
was achieved nearly 1 month ago by Amazon workers in Staten Island. 
Amazon is one of the most profitable and one of the most powerful 
corporations in America. It is also one of the largest employers in our 
country, with close to a million workers.
  We are talking, when we talk about Amazon, about a company that made 
a record-breaking $36 billion in profit last year--$36 billion. And 
that was a 453-percent increase from where it was before the pandemic. 
In other words, Amazon today is doing unbelievably well, and, in fact, 
it is doing better as a company than it has ever done before.

  We are talking about a company that is owned by Mr. Jeff Bezos, the 
second wealthiest person in America, worth $170 billion. Let me repeat 
that. He is not the wealthiest; he is only the second wealthiest, worth 
$170 billion.
  And here is something that is interesting and tells you about our 
corrupt political system and our regressive and unfair tax system. We 
are talking about a company--Amazon--that makes huge profits, that paid 
nothing--zero--in Federal income taxes in 2017 and 2018 and paid a 
lower tax rate, Federal tax rate, than a nurse or a firefighter last 
year, after making billions in profits. The average nurse, firefighter, 
or grocery store worker has an effective tax rate that is higher than 
what Amazon's was last year.
  We are also talking about Mr. Bezos as an individual, who, in a given 
year, despite his extraordinary wealth, has also paid zero--nothing--in 
Federal taxes.
  It is funny. On Sunday, I was in New York City, and I stopped in a 
McDonald's and was talking to one of the guys who works there. I asked 
him how much money he made. He makes $15 an hour. And then he came back 
and said: Well, they take out over a dollar in Federal taxes. So a guy 
working in McDonald's for $15 an hour probably has a higher tax rate 
than the second wealthiest person in this country.
  That is what happens here in Washington when you are somebody like 
Mr. Bezos or some other billionaire and you make a lot of campaign 
contributions and you have an army of accountants and lawyers who help 
you avoid your tax responsibilities.
  Mr. President, during the pandemic the last several years, Mr. Bezos, 
like

[[Page S2147]]

many other billionaires, did very, very well. In fact, since March of 
2020, Mr. Bezos became $65 billion richer, in just a couple of years--
huge increase in his wealth. So, Mr. President, if you ask me why 
people in this country are really, really angry, I will tell you, and 
that has a lot to do with the reality that, in the midst of the 
pandemic, in the midst of the massive economic dislocation that we have 
seen, we have lost tens of thousands of essential workers, people who 
live paycheck to paycheck, who had no choice. They had to go into a 
warehouse. They had to go into a grocery store. They had to drive a 
bus. They had to do all of the things that keep America going; and as a 
result of that, having to go to work, thousands of them contracted 
COVID and many thousands actually died. That is what happens when you 
are an ordinary worker in America living paycheck to paycheck. You 
don't have a choice. You have got to go to work to feed your family.
  And during that same period, the billionaires and Mr. Bezos made out 
like bandits. Bezos himself became $65 billion richer. Jeff Bezos has 
enough money to own a $500 million yacht--$500 million yacht. He has 
enough money to afford a $175 million estate in Beverly Hills. He has 
enough money to afford a $78 million, 14-acre estate in Maui. He has 
enough money to own a $23 million mansion right here in Washington, DC, 
which has 25 bathrooms. So if you are in Washington, DC, and you have 
to go to the bathroom, you know someplace that you can possibly go. Mr. 
Bezos has enough money to buy a rocket ship to blast William Shatner to 
the edge of outer space.
  Yet even though Mr. Bezos can afford all of these mansions and his 
$500 million yacht and his rocket ship, Mr. Bezos refuses to pay his 
workers at Amazon decent wages, decent benefits, or provide decent 
working conditions.
  That, Mr. President, is what excessive greed is all about, and that 
is why the American people are saying enough is enough. The American 
people want action from the President; they want action from Congress; 
and we have got to deliver.
  From the very beginning of the union-organizing effort until today, 
Mr. Bezos and his company have done everything possible--legal and 
illegal--to defeat the union effort. In fact, Amazon cannot even come 
to grips with the reality that workers in Staten Island won their union 
election fair and square. In order to stall the process out, Amazon's 
lawyers have appealed that election result to the NLRB. Their strategy, 
as is often the strategy of corporate interests confronting unions, is 
to use their incredible resources, their unending amount of money, to 
stall, stall, and stall.
  In every way possible, Amazon is refusing to negotiate a fair first 
contract with the Amazon Labor Union. In fact, Amazon has been engaged 
in a massive attempt to undermine the union organizing drive in direct 
violation of labor laws and regulations.
  Let's be clear. Amazon has already been penalized more than $75 
million for breaking Federal discrimination and labor laws. Amazon is 
currently being sued by the National Labor Relations Board to reinstate 
a worker who was illegally fired for organizing a union. To date, there 
are currently 59--59--unfair labor cases against Amazon pending at the 
National Labor Relations Board. Several current and former employees at 
Amazon have alleged that the company has engaged in illegal harassment 
and discrimination based on race, gender, and sexual orientation.
  Amazon misclassifies delivery drivers as independent contractors 
rather than employees in order to evade tax, wage, and benefit 
responsibilities.
  Amazon's inadequate workplace safety policies also pose grave risks 
to workers. If you can believe it--and this really is quite 
unbelievable--according to a New York Times investigation, Amazon 
warehouses have a 150-percent turnover rate--150 percent a year. 
Workers come into the warehouses; they are worked as hard as humanly 
possible. And then after they are exhausted and physically broken down, 
they leave and then a whole new set of workers comes in and the process 
continues. Further, in some locations, their workplace injury rates are 
more than 2\1/2\ times the industry average.
  I was in Staten Island on Sunday talking to some Amazon workers, and 
they tell me that injuries take place every single day, and many of 
them go unreported. Last December, six Amazon workers died after they 
were required to continue working during unsafe weather conditions in a 
warehouse that did not have appropriate safety facilities or policies.
  It is abundantly clear that time and time again, Amazon has engaged 
in illegal anti-union activity. Amazon may be a large and profitable 
corporation, it may be owned by one of the wealthiest people in 
America, but it cannot be allowed to continue to violate the law and 
the rights of its employees. If working people are asked to obey the 
law, they do it, or they get punished. That same principle must be 
upheld for a large and powerful corporation like Amazon.
  That is why this morning, I sent a letter to President Biden urging 
him to sign an Executive order to prohibit companies like Amazon that 
have violated labor laws from receiving Federal contracts paid for by 
the taxpayers of America.
  Let me quote directly from the letter:

       Dear President Biden, last September, I was delighted to 
     hear you State that you ``intend to be the most pro-union 
     President leading the most pro-union administration in 
     American history.''

  That is from President Biden.

       At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, where 
     too many workers are falling behind, your sentiment [Mr. 
     President] is exactly right. We need to build the trade union 
     movement in America and allow [more] workers to engage in 
     collective bargaining.
       One of the most effective ways for you [President Biden] to 
     begin accomplishing this important goal would be to ensure 
     that no corporation that is engaged in illegal anti-union 
     activities receives a contract paid for by the taxpayers of 
     the United States.

  That would be enormously effective in curtailing the illegal 
activities of companies like Amazon. I then continued in saying in my 
letter to the President:

       As you will recall [Mr. President], during the presidential 
     campaign you promised to ``institute a multi-year federal 
     debarment for all employers who illegally oppose unions'' and 
     to ``ensure federal contracts only go to employers who sign 
     neutrality agreements committing not to run anti-union 
     campaigns.

  That is what President Biden said as a candidate for President.
  Then I say in my letter:

       That campaign promise was exactly right. Today, I am asking 
     you to fulfill that promise . . . As you may know, Amazon, 
     one of the largest and most profitable corporations in 
     America, is the poster child as to why this anti-union 
     busting Executive Order is needed now more than ever.

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full text of the 
letter be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                   April 26, 2022.
     President Joseph R. Biden,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear President Biden: Last September, I was delighted to 
     hear you state that you ``intend to be the most pro-union 
     President leading the most pro-union administration in 
     American history.''
       At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, where 
     too many workers are falling behind, your sentiment is 
     exactly right. We need to build the trade union movement in 
     America and allow more workers to engage in collective 
     bargaining.
       One of the most effective ways for you to begin 
     accomplishing this important goal would be to ensure that no 
     corporation that is engaged in illegal anti-union activities 
     receives a contract paid for by the taxpayers of the United 
     States.
       As you will recall, during the presidential campaign you 
     promised to ``institute a multi-year federal debarment for 
     all employers who illegally oppose unions'' and to ``ensure 
     federal contracts only go to employers who sign neutrality 
     agreements committing not to run anti-union campaigns.'' That 
     campaign promise was exactly right. Today, I am asking you to 
     fulfill that promise.
       The essence of your plan for strengthening union organizing 
     was to make sure that federal dollars do not flow into the 
     hands of unscrupulous employers who engage in union-busting, 
     participate in wage theft, or violate labor law.
       In order to implement that plan, I urge you to sign an 
     Executive Order preventing companies that violate federal 
     labor laws from contracting with the federal government.
       As you may know, Amazon, one of the largest and most 
     profitable corporations in America, is the poster child as to 
     why this anti-union busting Executive Order is needed now 
     more than ever.

[[Page S2148]]

       According to filings with the U.S. Department of Labor 
     (DOL), Amazon spent over $4 million on consultants last year 
     alone in an effort to prevent its warehouses from unionizing. 
     As part of their illegal anti-union activity, they forced 
     workers to attend closed-door anti-union meetings and 
     discriminated against pro-union workers. After workers in 
     Staten Island, New York voted overwhelmingly to join the 
     independent Amazon Labor Union, Amazon has not only refused 
     to negotiate a first contract with them but refuses to 
     recognize that the union exists even though the National 
     Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certified their union victory.
       Amazon has been penalized more than $75 million for 
     breaking federal discrimination and wage laws and is 
     currently being sued by the NLRB to reinstate a worker who 
     was illegally fired for organizing a union. The NLRB has 
     found multiple instances of illegal opposition to unions by 
     Amazon, and there are currently 59 open Unfair Labor Practice 
     cases pending before the NLRB. Numerous current and former 
     employees have alleged that Amazon engaged in illegal 
     harassment and discrimination based on race, gender, and 
     sexual orientation. Amazon misclassifies delivery drivers as 
     independent contractors rather than employees to evade tax, 
     wage, and benefit responsibilities. Amazon's inadequate 
     workplace safety policies also pose grave risks to workers. 
     In some cases, their workplace injury rates are more than 2.5 
     times the industry average. Last December, six Amazon workers 
     died after they were required to continue working during 
     unsafe weather conditions in a warehouse that did not have 
     appropriate safety facilities or policies.
       Mr. President: It is abundantly clear that time and time 
     again Amazon has engaged in illegal anti-union activity. 
     Amazon may be a large and profitable corporation, it may be 
     owned by one of the wealthiest people in America, but it 
     cannot be allowed to continue to violate the law and the 
     rights of its employees. The time has come to tell Amazon 
     that if it wants another federal contract, it must obey the 
     law.
       Since 2004, Amazon has received thousands of federal 
     contracts worth billions of dollars. The Washington Post, 
     also owned by Mr. Bezos, reported that Amazon is in line to 
     receive a cloud contract from the National Security Agency 
     worth up to $10 billion--a contract that it should not 
     receive as long as it continues to violate labor laws. 
     Another Bezos-owned company, Blue Origin, may also receive a 
     contract from NASA worth up to $10 billion to fly a spaceship 
     to the moon after more than 20 current and former employees 
     alleged that this company repeatedly discriminated against 
     workers and did not adhere to safety protocols.
       Mr. President: Taxpayer dollars should not go to companies 
     like Amazon and multi-billionaires like Jeff Bezos who 
     repeatedly break the law.
       And let's be clear, it is not just Amazon and Blue Origin. 
     According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, 
     federal contractors were required to pay nearly $225 million 
     in back wages to workers for Service Contract Act violations 
     between 2014 and 2019. An investigation completed by the 
     Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
     found that nearly 30 percent of the top 200 violators of 
     workplace safety and wage theft were government contractors.
       The federal government spends more than $600 billion each 
     year on contracts to thousands of companies who employ more 
     than 4 million contract workers. These workers, just like 
     every worker in America, deserve fair pay and benefits, safe 
     workplaces, and the right to a union.
       I urge you to ban companies who break federal labor laws 
     from receiving federal contracts.
       Sincerely,
                                                  Bernard Sanders,
                                                     U.S. Senator.

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, President Biden, more than any other 
President I can recall, has talked over and over again about being pro-
union. I appreciate very much what the President has said, and I know 
him to be absolutely sincere when he says it. But just this afternoon, 
in an article published in POLITICO, an article that dealt with my 
letter to the President, this is what the article said:

       A White House official said that the President ``has stated 
     consistently and firmly that every worker in every state must 
     have a free and fair choice to join a union and the right to 
     bargain collectively with their employer.'' The official, who 
     declined to be named, added that Biden believes ``there 
     should be no intimidation, no coercion, no threats, and no 
     anti-union propaganda from employers while workers are making 
     that vitally important choice about a union.''

  That is a statement from a White House spokesman this afternoon.
  What I would say is that what this official said that President Biden 
doesn't want is precisely what is happening in Amazon right now. There 
is intimidation. There is coercion. There are threats and anti-union 
propaganda. In fact, what President Biden says should not be happening 
is precisely what is happening at Amazon.
  Therefore, it is my view that the time for talk is over. The time for 
action is now. Taxpayer dollars should not go to companies like Amazon 
and multibillionaires like Jeff Bezos who repeatedly break the law. No 
government--not the Federal Government, not the State government, and 
not the city government--should be handing out corporate welfare to 
union busters and labor law violators.
  Today, I say to President Biden: You promised to prevent union 
busters like Amazon from receiving lucrative contracts from the Federal 
Government. Keep that promise.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.