Discussion

• @gregpak Greg Pak on x

  Rooting for them. https://twitter.com/...

• @rbreich Robert Reich on x

  Amazon is using local police in Bessemer, Alabama to surveil and harass workers trying to form a union there. This sort of abuse of power is why Amazon workers need a union. And it's why Amazon needs to be broken up. https://twitter.com/...

• @grimkim Kim Kelly on x

  There is a constant police presence at Amazon's Bessemer warehouse. They've kicked me off their property a few times already. Imagine how the workers feel having to pass by city cops every time they go to work, where they're then surveilled and searched before they can leave. htt…

• @oxfamamerica @oxfamamerica on x

  We stand in solidarity with @Amazon workers organizing to form a union to improve working conditions at the company's plant in Bessemer, AL. @BAmazonUnion @RWDSU https://twitter.com/...

• @fshakir Faiz on x

  Before they spoke publicly at the event in Alabama yesterday, @BernieSanders and @KillerMike spent time listening intently to the stories of Amazon's workers. Powerful and moving https://twitter.com/...

• @left_voice @left_voice on x

  We are in AL to discuss with workers and organizations that have been on the ground supporting Amazon. Here we interview @itstandforancom, a member of the @BhamDSA and working-class Southern native who has been organizing support for the union for the past months. @BAmazonUnion h…

• @senwarren Elizabeth Warren on x

  I didn't write the loopholes you exploit, @amazon - your armies of lawyers and lobbyists did. But you bet I'll fight to make you pay your fair share. And fight your union-busting. And fight to break up Big Tech so you're not powerful enough to heckle senators with snotty tweets. …

• @aoc Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on x

  This you? https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @delrey Jason Del Rey on x

  New: Amazon's Twitter war with @berniesanders & @SenWarren came after Jeff Bezos expressed dissatisfaction with the company not pushing back aggressively on criticism execs feel is inaccurate or misleading, Recode has learned https://www.vox.com/...

• @berniesanders Bernie Sanders on x

  Jeff Bezos, worth $180 billion, is getting nervous. He's afraid that if Amazon workers in Alabama vote to unionize, it'll give workers all over America the courage to take on his greed & win economic justice. He's spending millions against this union to keep billions for himself.…

• @amazonnews @amazonnews on x

  This is extraordinary and revealing. One of the most powerful politicians in the United States just said she's going to break up an American company so that they can't criticize her anymore. https://twitter.com/...

• @amazonnews @amazonnews on x

  There's a big difference between talk and action. @SenSanders has been a powerful politician in Vermont for 30 years and their min wage is still $11.75. Amazon's is $15, plus great health care from day one. Sanders would rather talk in Alabama than act in Vermont.

• @delrey Jason Del Rey on x

  The tweets were so surprising to many Amazon employees that a security engineer at the company filed a trouble ticket over concerns that the tweets “may be a result of unauthorized access.” https://twitter.com/...

• @karaswisher Kara Swisher on x

  And @DelRey gets the goods on who the mad tweeter of Amazon is. The obvious suspect, natch! https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @uhshanti @uhshanti on x

  alternate headline: world's richest giant man baby gets repeatedly ratioed https://twitter.com/...

• @iankullgren Ian Kullgren on x

  Not sure why Amazon execs think this approach will do anything except stir up the left even more. It's a ton of “earned” media for Sanders, Warren, Pocan, and their people know it. https://twitter.com/...

• @martinsfp Martin Sfp Bryant on x

  “Amazon leaders were following a broad mandate from the very top of the company: Fight back.” https://twitter.com/...

• @libbycwatson Libby Watson on x

  The Muskification Of Jeff https://twitter.com/...

• @ericpauldennis EPD Total Landscaping on x

  Tl;dr: Amazon started a pissing contest over employees pissing in bottles because Bezos was pissed about being crapped on. https://twitter.com/...

• @benkuchera @benkuchera on x

  Amazon's recent propaganda campaign makes me think the company is more scared than it's been in quite some time. https://www.vox.com/...

• @gunnelswarren Warren Gunnels on x

  The fact that Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama have the guts to take on the unquenchable greed of Jeff Bezos, the richest man alive worth $180 billion, is really getting under his skin. And you absolutely love to see it. https://www.vox.com/...

• @mattzeitlin Matthew Zeitlin on x

  Lots of aggressive or perhaps excessive calling attention to itself PR that may seem out of character for a company comes from this exact impulse https://twitter.com/...

• @kantrowitz Alex Kantrowitz on x

  An Amazon employee filed a support ticket when they saw what @amazonnews was tweeting last week. “Suspicious activity.” They were in disbelief. https://www.vox.com/...

• @jordanchariton Jordan on x

  Jeff Bezos really is Dr. Evil https://www.vox.com/...

• @jamesrbuk James Ball on x

  It showed that it was a PR tactic aimed at the boss rather than the public, not least because it was monumentally terrible PR. https://twitter.com/...

• @mattgoldberg Matt Goldberg on x

  It's really inspiring to know that no matter how wealthy you may become, you can still be egregiously stupid. https://twitter.com/...

• @ubiquity75 Dr. Sarah T. Roberts on x

  Is this Bezos? Because a paid social media manager wouldn't be this terrible, right? https://twitter.com/...

• @davidcicilline David Cicilline on x

  Really good reporting by @DelRey here. Disappointing to see Amazon engage in such childish attacks on Members of Congress. They should be more concerned with following the law. https://www.vox.com/...

• @mattsideashop @mattsideashop on x

  Bezos and Bernie are both d bags but at least Bezos made his money selling products as opposed to Bernie becoming a millionaire off of empty promises and tax dollars https://twitter.com/...

• @cruickshank Robert Cruickshank on x

  Of course. Those tweets weren't some rando going rogue. They were and are policy set from the top on down. https://twitter.com/...

• @mattdpearce Matt Pearce on x

  Speaking from personal experience but nothing makes some executives behave more erratically than a serious union drive. They start losing control of the narrative inside their own companies. https://twitter.com/...

• @mkorn19 Matt Korn on x

  Brands like Google, Disney, and Coke have brilliant people working for them in coms/social...and a lot of those brilliant folks are really snarky. Want to know why Disney isn't snarky? It's not the brand. Why isn't Coke? It's not good for the brand. Ego. Ruins. Everything. https:…

• @bobbyallyn Bobby Allyn on x

  Even an internal Amazon support ticket was like wtf is up with those tweets, reports @DelRey https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @cascamike Mike Casca on x

  tough read here for @JayCarney. bezos is not happy, but his top executive for communications continues to sit on the sidelines. https://twitter.com/...

• @marwilliamson Marianne Williamson on x

  Jeff Bezos is pissed? Well, we're pissed. And everyone can tell his PR campaign means nothing other than the fact that he's getting nervous. Game on, babe. https://www.vox.com/...

• @pt Parker on x

  It's an interesting comparison, though Musk calls bad press lies and Amazon is just calling lies lies. We'd do well to distinguish between those responses and not just tribe up against any angry rich guys. https://twitter.com/...

• @conor64 Conor Friedersdorf on x

  One great thing about America: every citizen is powerful enough to heckle U.S. Senators with snotty tweets anytime we want, and when a Senator suggests she will change that, she is abusing her power. https://twitter.com/...

• @warondumb Kyle Whitmire on x

  I was on the fence about this unionization thing until I saw Amazon's official Twitter account. Not a good look, y'all. https://twitter.com/...

• @canderaid Gapeway Pundit on x

  im normally a pretty big warren stan but her twitter intern needs to simmer down a little https://twitter.com/...

• @notpatrick Patrick Beja on x

  Seriously, what is Amazon doing? Like they need more reasons for people to hate them?? I'd guess it was a lone Community Manager's misguided work, but these days you really can't be sure. Might be Bezos trolling to shots and giggles for all we know... 😩 https://www.theverge.com/.…

• @owenjones84 Owen Jones on x

  Here is my documentary featuring an Amazon worker who has to pee in a bottle: https://www.youtube.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @qasimrashid @qasimrashid on x

  Amazon spent $19M on lobbyists to write the tax laws. You then paid $0 tax on $12B profit. Had you paid even the reduced 21% corp tax you'd would've paid $2.5B in tax. TL:DR $19M in lobbying to avoid $2.5B in taxes while Amazon workers urinate in bottles & live off food stamps. h…

• @paulg Paul Graham on x

  Politicians call Bezos greedy for having $x billion. But he didn't do this by taking more Amazon shares. He did it by growing revenues and thus the share price. So if he'd opted not to build AWS, that would have been the more moral choice, because then he'd have been less greedy?

• @arrizstephen Stephen Arriz on x

  @profgalloway I remember you saying Amazon had more PR employees than the @washingtonpost had journalists. Whelp! Looks like they can only cover it up for so long. https://twitter.com/...

• @michaelsteele Michael Steele on x

  .@SenWarren disagreement is not the same as heckling. You need to check yourself if you seek to silence critics of your decisions or actions as a senator. Regardless of your disdain for their “snotty tweets”, Amazon can tweet snot at you all day. Bring tissue, not cancel culture.…

• @sonnybunch Sonny Bunch on x

  literally the only good thing about this site is being able to heckle politicians with snotty tweets https://twitter.com/...

• @nataliesurely Natalie Shure on x

  “if <insert horrific working conditions here> were true, nobody would work for us” is such age-old baloney it's addressed within first few pages of Capital. It frames boss/worker relationship as voluntary arrangement btwn two equals, but only the latter depends on it for survival…

• @simondolan @simondolan on x

  This last insidious line is what @amazon really want. Raising the min wage to $15 an hour would succeed in killing small business. Amazon can pay $15 an hour if they want- why do they require it to be mandatory for all? https://twitter.com/...

• @alwaystheself Professor Fleming on x

  May every obnoxious Amazon tweet inspire unionization.. https://twitter.com/...

• @dakami Dan Kaminsky on x

  Amazon and Uber are actually in a position to advocate for bathroom access for people who leave their home. I mean, it's hilarious and stupid that's gotten difficult, but our culture is hilarious and stupid sometimes. Here, it's embarrassed to complain. Workers need bathrooms. ht…

• @mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x

  Not sure “no bad tweets” is a viable goal for antitrust policy. https://twitter.com/...

• @charlescwcooke Charles C. W. Cooke on x

  “Break up Big Tech so you're not powerful enough to heckle senators with snotty tweets” is perhaps more telling than Warren intended. https://twitter.com/...

• @adamjohnsonnyc Adam H. Johnson on x

  Just an all time corporate meltdown, why not just ignore it! You're worth $1.5 trillion, spend more on lobbying than any group on earth, have a film studio and microphones listening in on millions of homes! You're more powerful than god you don't have to tweet through it! https:/…

• @koush @koush on x

  At this point, I'm certain this boneheaded tweeting through it is a ruse. Buried during this news cycle was Amazon cutting off their entry level workers from the internal company directory. An unprecedented action intended to stymie the organization efforts of 500,000 employees. …

• @fpwellman Fred Wellman on x

  I've only been in PR for a couple of decades or so. This is extraordinarily poor thinking for a corporate behemoth that rakes in billions a month. Nobody on Earth thinks Amazon is a victim of anything. If they think they're going to win the public opinion on this it's a mistake. …

• @dancrenshawtx Dan Crenshaw on x

  Lol I'm pretty sure literally every American is powerful enough to heckle you with snotty tweets. Nice grandstanding though. Really stuck it to em. https://twitter.com/...

• @amazonnews @amazonnews on x

  @repmarkpocan 1/2 You don't really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you? If that were true, nobody would work for us. The truth is that we have over a million incredible employees around the world who are proud of what they do, and have great wages and health care from day…

• @tomwarren Tom Warren on x

  @amazonnews you know what's extraordinary? Bottles of piss. https://www.theverge.com/...

• @oliviakatbi Olivia Katbi Smith on x

  Ok this is obviously Dave Clark tweeting on this account lmao no one working in PR would ever do this https://twitter.com/...

• @mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x

  Like the tweet thing was dumb, but that's in fact not why Warren wants to break up Amazon. She's laid out her idea about it being bad for a company to sell first-party goods while also operating a sales platform, and it's just not very compelling.

• @karaswisher Kara Swisher on x

  It is fascinating that they are doubling down here with this bonkers strategy, which means IMHO it pretty much has to come from Bezos. Maybe now that his archenemy Trump is gone, he feels emboldened. But I wonder who the Dan Scavino of Amazon is here.

• @codytfenwick Cody Fenwick on x

  lol people need to chill a little, Warren sending a barbed tweet to a gigantic company that is trolling critics on Twitter is not the pathway to authoritarianism, I promise you https://twitter.com/...

• @augustjpollak August J. Pollak on x

  There's an incredibly strong possibility that this single PR Twitter account is going to become so hated it will be responsible for the first actual tax increase in this country in 30 years https://twitter.com/...

• @jroberts332 James Roberts on x

  Apparently, Amazon News might be the company's Worldwide Consumer CEO overriding the PR ppl and taking matters into his own hands. It feels like this is all building to... something. If that something benefits Amazon, expect other huge orgs to experiment with combative comms too …

• @slpng_giants @slpng_giants on x

  @amazonnews Look, sorry you lost your social media manager position at Breitbart, but you're representing a massive corporation now. Time to start tweeting like it.

• @dmedin11 Daniel Medina on x

  Maybe Amazon PR dept needs a union? https://twitter.com/...

• @randileeharper @randileeharper on x

  at one point, i had direct access to one of the main amazon twitter accounts. i had to deal directly with PR a *lot*. this is just... not what that company does. what the fuck.

• @marwilliamson Marianne Williamson on x

  Jeff Bezos could single-handedly make life fundamentally better (allow unions, fairer employee pay structure) for almost a million people without sacrificing anything in his own life. What a gift he could give to himself & to the world.(I wonder what #AmazonPR will say to that)

• @randileeharper @randileeharper on x

  i just want to point out - amazon very, very rarely involves themselves in politics, especially at a PR level. https://twitter.com/...

• @kasie Kasie Hunt on x

  This PR strategy is extremely confusing to me, especially considering it's directed at a member of Congress who, you know, has at least some power? Maybe it just reflects the tech companies' disdain for Congress...which I get but which also seems dangerous for them? https://twitt…

• @repmarkpocan Rep. Mark Pocan on x

  Paying workers $15/hr doesn't make you a “progressive workplace” when you union-bust & make workers urinate in water bottles. https://twitter.com/...