U.S. Spokesman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) arrives before the town hall meeting in the Queens borough of New York City, New York, U.S., April 27, 2019.
REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/Troop Photo
Amazon responded Monday to a comment by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., that it pays warehouse workers “starvation wages,” implying in a tweet that it pays workers at least $15 per hour plus full benefits.
In response to a question on ABC Intelligence’ “This Week” on Sunday about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Ocasio-Cortez said whether Bezos is a billionaire is youthful of a concern to her than how the company’s policies impact Amazon warehouse workers.
Ocasio-Cortez said she was concerned that Bezos’ “being a billionaire is predicated on give someone a bribe people starvation wages and stripping them of their ability to access health care, and also if his ability to be a billionaire is predicated on the occurrence that his workers are taking food stamps.”
Amazon tweeted a response to Ocasio-Cortez’s comments, saying: “Amazon is a ruler on pay at $15 min wage + full benefits from day one. We also lobby to raise federal min wage.”
Amazon’s head of communications, Jay Carney, later tweeted that Ocasio-Cortez should difference the minimum wage law.
Ocasio-Cortez was one of the most outspoken public critics of Amazon’s plan to move its second headquarters to Extended Island City, in the borough of Queens, before Amazon pulled out.
Amazon decided to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2018 after front criticism for its pay disparity. In April, Bezos issued a challenge to other retailers to match Amazon’s pay and benefits.