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You might have heard stories of corona-profiteers trying to sell masks and hand sanitizer for obscene prices. But these individuals have nothing on Amazon. While much of the US economy is in trouble, the Amazon corporation is not. Orders are surging and workers are coping with increased demands and dangerous conditions in the workplace. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, Amazon has stepped up its use of third-party suppliers to ship non-essential products and has fired employees calling out public health threats while Jeff Bezos has earned $24 billion in wealth since the start of this pandemic.
Dania Rajendra, Executive Director of Athena Coalition, describes how an alliance of grassroots organizations, workers and consumers are collaborating with workers to call the billionaire corporation to account. Amazon’s supply chains may be helping consumers and their communities under lock down right now, but their business model is a direct threat. Could Amazon be brought under public check — even be seized as a utility? Rajendra joins Laura to explain why now is a time to think bigger and bolder about the institutions that shape our economy.
“It’s going to take all of us to figure out how to restore public oversight over private power.”
Guests:
- Dania Rajendra, Executive Director of Athena Coalition
For more information about the Athena Coalition, visit https://athenaforall.org/
Amazon’s stock climbed 5.3% in March alone, yet Amazon employees say their work conditions are unsafe, and they’re losing their jobs for speaking out. Dania Rajendra tells Laura that the workplace is where the corporation has the most control. How they treat the people who work there and the conditions under which they work tells us a lot about their governing philosophy and what it will mean as Amazon expands its market share and its dominance over our economic, political and social life grows.
