Former White House press secretary and current Amazon senior vice president of global corporate affairs Jay Carney took some heat on Twitter after the online superstore fired an employee for “safety issues” regarding its policy of protecting workers from COVID-19.
It all started when Amazon employee Chris Smalls, who worked as an assistant manager at the company’s Staten Island, New York facility, was fired after walking out with other workers on Monday to express dissatisfaction with worker safety conditions.
Today, Amazon worker #ChrisSmalls helped lead an Amazon walkout for lack of COVID19 compliance that put workers, customers and New York in danger
Today, Chris Smalls was shamefully fired by the wealthiest man in the world @JeffBezos #AmazonStrike
Signhttps://t.co/XDmSTDupIy pic.twitter.com/fYoo5GGQsZ
— CPD Action (@CPDAction) March 31, 2020
While Smalls called his firing a “targeted retaliation,” Amazon claims he was dismissed for “multiple safety issues.”
“Mr. Smalls received multiple warnings for violating social distancing guidelines and putting the safety of others at risk,” an Amazon statement read. “He was also found to have had close contact with a diagnosed associate with a confirmed case of COVID-19 and was asked to remain home with pay for 14-days, which is a measure we’re taking at sites around the world. Despite that instruction to stay home with pay, he came onsite today, March 30, further putting the teams at risk. This is unacceptable and we have terminated his employment as a result of these multiple safety issues.” (RELATED: Sen Sanders, Mayor Bill De Blasio, Toss Support Behind Amazon Worker Who Was Fired For Breaking Coronavirus Quarantine)
Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted on Wednesday the CPD Action post featuring Smalls along with a message of support:
“It’s disgraceful that Amazon, which is owned by the richest man in the world, is not only failing to protect its workers but has now fired a worker for protesting dangerous conditions,” Sanders wrote. “I stand with Chris and all Amazon workers fighting for their safety.”
It’s disgraceful that Amazon, which is owned by the richest man in the world, is not only failing to protect its workers but has now fired a worker for protesting dangerous conditions. I stand with Chris and all Amazon workers fighting for their safety. https://t.co/CRm750EvK3
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 31, 2020
He then called the company’s actions “absolutely immoral.”
Amazon’s warehouse workers protested because people are getting sick on the job.
Their demands were not radical: a safer workplace, protective gear and paid sick leave.
Amazon’s response? Retaliate by firing a worker who helped organize the walk-out. That is absolutely immoral. https://t.co/qBfGrDx53l
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 1, 2020
Replying to Sanders’ post, the former Obama press secretary wrote, “I’m confused. Thought you wanted us to protect our workers? Mr. Smalls purposely violated social distancing rules, repeatedly, & was put on Paid 14-day quarantine for COVID exposure. 3/30 he returned to the site. Knowingly putting our team at risk is unacceptable.”
. @SenSanders, I’m confused. Thought you wanted us to protect our workers? Mr. Smalls purposely violated social distancing rules, repeatedly, & was put on Paid 14-day quarantine for COVID exposure. 3/30 he returned to the site. Knowingly putting our team at risk is unacceptable. https://t.co/WR49t6Qkij
— Jay Carney (@JayCarney) April 1, 2020
Carney also retweeted a message from another Amazon SVP calling Sanders “misinformed.”
You have been misinformed again Sen. Sanders. Mr. Smalls purposely violated social distancing rules multiple times and on 3/28 was put on Paid 14-days of quarantine due to COVID exposure. 3/30 he returned to the site. Knowingly putting our team at risk is unacceptable. https://t.co/pRDW4ztrpq
— Dave Clark (@davehclark) April 1, 2020
Carney continued by making a poke at critics:
I wonder if folks on Twitter who respond to facts and ideas they don’t like with ad hominem vitriol ever pause to wonder why they’re not very good at winning people over to their point of view.
— Jay Carney (@JayCarney) April 2, 2020
Meanwhile, Sanders supporters and other left-wingers took to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with Carney and Amazon:
This is what selling your soul looks like, in case anyone was wondering pic.twitter.com/qH4FB3u7L3
— Luke Savage (@LukewSavage) April 2, 2020
What if we skip the ad hominem vitriol and Amazon just provided all its workers with paid sick leave? https://t.co/KQEpWXm8Tn https://t.co/Mckqaai6sQ
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) April 2, 2020
lay off, folks! jay is just out here trying to tweet “facts” and “ideas” on behalf of the world’s richest man who pays him handsomely to throw any shred of credibility he got from serving in the white house into an amazon-branded dumpster fire. https://t.co/a6RccUFcQF
— mike casca (@cascamike) April 2, 2020
in addition to the chorus of “fuck you”s there were plenty of people responding to your lies with facts, unfortunately it’s not easy to win a corporate PR flack over to your point of view using facts since they’re paid to be ignorant https://t.co/wuh5zO1IR1
— Current Affairs (@curaffairs) April 2, 2020
Amazon resident Wormtongue @JayCarney dusts off a classic. In this fiction, only the left owes it to corporatists to “win people over to their point of view.” Carney types need only hold their very lucrative ground, lob bullshit and insults down, then decry the lack of “unity.” https://t.co/wBtQETfzEP
— Bill Corbett (@BillCorbett) April 2, 2020
if I had billions of dollars to bribe every unscrupulous liar-for-hire to support Medicare for all, I’d do that, but alas https://t.co/g3ujzyuDKc
— ryan cooper (@ryanlcooper) April 2, 2020
weird that the market has selected so hard for talentless PR guys who crumble into performative self-pitying subtweets the first time they get ratio’d. ah well nothing no one could’ve done otherwise https://t.co/pQ2Z0IOgaI
— Nathan Bernhardt (@jonbernhardt) April 2, 2020
your boss is the richest man on planet earth and owns one of the biggest newspapers in the country. probably people have given up on trying to counter the views of Amazon with “facts & logic” because its power is an insurmountable barrier to debate https://t.co/EOG3BE2wWO
— Bill Humphrey (@BillHumphreyMA) April 2, 2020
They’re not trying to win you over, my dude. https://t.co/7WrQwt8e7m
— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) April 2, 2020