*By Madison Alworth* Bernie Sanders has set his political sights on Amazon and will introduce new legislation on Sept. 5 that would target the e-commerce giant and other companies of similar size and influence. But can the Vermont Senator actually shake the seemingly unshakable company? TechCrunch editor Brian Heater thinks not ー he's not even certain the measure will pass. "That is kind of a big if," he said Thursday in an interview on Cheddar. "The bigger picture here for a company like Amazon is just the negative PR surrounding it." The legislation will demand higher wages for warehouse employees and other entry-level workers at corporations with millions or billions in net profits. "What he's targeting is what he calls 'corporate welfare,'" Heater said. "The fact that \[CEO Jeff Bezos is\] making all of this money, they are one of the most profitable companies in the world right now, and a lot of the factory workers, according to Sanders and some reports, are receiving Medicaid, are on food stamps, have government subsidized housing." The unfortunate conditions for Amazon's workers are not the stuff of breaking news. As early as 2012, outlets like [Mother Jones](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-free-online-shipping-warehouses-labor/), [Gawker](http://gawker.com/true-stories-of-life-as-an-amazon-worker-1002568208), and [the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/nov/28/being-homeless-is-better-than-working-for-amazon) published exposés on the company's exploitative practices. Amazon has been fairly tight-lipped on the accusations ー until now. The company posted a statement on Wednesday directly related to the controversy and Sanders's claims. "Senator Sanders continues to make inaccurate and misleading accusations against Amazon. We have been in regular contact with his office and have offered several opportunities for Senator Sanders and his team to tour one of our fulfillment centers (FCs). To date he has still not seen an FC for himself," the company [wrote](https://blog.aboutamazon.com/company-news/response-to-senator-sanders/). Sanders called for submissions on Tuesday from current or former Amazon workers, [asking them](https://www.sanders.senate.gov/share-your-experiences-working-at-amazon) to tweet out their experiences of mistreatment or share them on his personal site. The cause is very on-brand for the Democratic Socialist, Heater said, but the impact may be largely symbolic. "Income inequality was a really big part of his message in 2016 when \[Sanders]\ ran for president," he said. "A lot of people rely on Amazon for just about every part of their life. I don't know that it's ultimately going to have a tremendous effect on the company's bottom line." So far investors don't seem to be worried. Amazon shares are trading at record highs, inching closer to making it the second trillion dollar market cap company in the U.S. For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/bernies-beef-with-amazon).

Share:
More In Business
Tech leader who navigated the internet’s 90s crash weighs in on AI
Former Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers learned all about technology’s volatile highs and lows as a veteran of the internet’s early boom days during the late 1990s and the ensuing meltdown that followed the mania. And now he is seeing potential signs of the cycle repeating with another transformative technology in artificial intelligence. Chambers is trying take some of the lessons he learned while riding a wave that turned Cisco into the world's most valuable company in 2000 before a crash hammered its stock price and apply them as an investor in AI startups. He recently discussed AI's promise and perils during an interview with The Associated Press.
Tesla sales jump after months of boycotts
Tesla reported a surprise increase in sales in the third quarter as the electric car maker likely benefited from a rush by consumers to take advantage of a $7,500 credit before it expired on Sept. 30. The company reported Thursday that sales in the three months through September rose 7% compared to the same period a year ago. The gain follows two quarters of steep declines as people turned off by CEO Elon Musk’s foray into right-wing politics avoided buying his company’s cars and even protested at some dealerships. Sales rose to 497,099 vehicles, compared with 462,890 in the same period last year.
Load More