Fl. Sen. Marco Rubio Calling For Probe Into Amazon After Report It Mistreats Workers On Leave

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Oct 26, 2021

Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, made a call on Tuesday for the federal government to launch an investigation into massive e-retailer Amazon after a report from The New York Times seemed to reveal the company mishandled workers’ benefits.

Rubio put out a statement call on both President Joe Biden and the Department of Labor to look into the company after it “seemed to acknowledge” that it was guilty of shortchanging vulnerable workers who were put on leave.

Quite a few workers for the company have been let go due to faulty attendance software and have then struggled to get back to work amid a very backed-up human resources system, the Times went on to say in its report.

“For too long, massive companies headquartered in America have taken advantage of our laws to the detriment of working men and women,” the Florida senator said in his statement. “We cannot allow that to continue.”

via Newsmax:

He also referenced his own past issue with Amazon. In February, Rubio, and fellow Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos complaining about censorship of conservative books.

“There are plenty of American businesses that are loyal to our country, respect their employees and want the best for their communities, but Amazon is not one of them,” Rubio went on to say.

“The company has more than enough resources to be the country’s self-appointed woke censor — banning conservative books and blocking traditional charities from participating in its AmazonSmile program — but apparently not enough to properly administer benefits owed to its employees,” the senator said.

“Amazon does not deserve the benefit of the doubt, which is why I am calling on President Biden to investigate these claims,” he added. “For too long, massive companies headquartered in America have taken advantage of our laws to the detriment of working men and women. We cannot allow that to continue.”

Rubio made similar arguments in a commentary, throwing his support behind a unionization movement at a Bessemer, Alabama, Amazon warehouse.

That election is likely to be re-run after a local National Labor Relations Board officer determined Amazon had interfered in the vote by pushing for the installation of a mailbox in front of the building during the mail-in election, The Hill reported.

The Hill then pointed out that Rubio has not put his support behind the PRO Act, which is a massive piece of labor reform legislation that has already been passed by the House. Supporters of the bill say it will help shift the advantage during NLRB elections away from employers and bring it over to the workers.