“I’m sorry Mr. Bezos won’t join our hearing on income and wealth inequality,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders
ADVERTISEMENT
“As the wealthiest person on earth, I’d love to hear his reasoning as to why he is vigorously opposing a union organizing effort at Amazon which would improve wages and benefits for struggling workers,” said Sanders, who publicly invited Bezos to attend earlier this month.
An Amazon spokesperson told The Hill that Bezos is “unable to attend the hearing.” They did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about the reasons for his absence.
Bezos’s absence from Wednesday’s hearing comes as Amazon faces increasing scrutiny from Congress, both over its market power and concerns that it did not sufficiently protect its employees from the coronavirus pandemic. The CEO testified before Congress for the first time last summer after previously having relied on senior executives to be his presence in Washington.