Elizabeth Warren Tangles With Amazon Over Taxes

CAMBRIDGE, MA — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is the latest national figure to spar with Amazon in a week when the online retail giant has gone on the offense on social media over issues like bathroom breaks and the minimum wage.

On Thursday evening, Warren posted a video on Twitter saying she would seek to close loopholes in the tax code that allow "giant corporations like Amazon" to avoid large payments. The Amazon News Twitter account said it was only following the tax laws that Warren and the rest of Congress wrote.

The week began with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders announcing he would visit Amazon workers in Bessemer, Ala., who are trying to form a union. The prompted new Amazon CEO Dave Clark to liken the company's work culture to Sanders' own progressive vision. Clark also questioned why Vermont's minimum wage was stuck at $11.75.

"I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but that’s not quite right because we actually deliver a progressive workplace," Clark wrote in a tweet.

Following that, Amazon News responded to Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, who resurfaced allegations that Amazon warehouse workers lack bathroom access.

"You don’t really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you? If that were true, nobody would work for us," the Amazon News Twitter account replied to Pocan.

In response, The Intercept published a report with internal documents showing Amazon executives knew about bathroom problems among warehouse workers and delivery drivers.

Warren responded to Amazon late Thursday night, threatening to "break up Big Tech so you’re not powerful enough to heckle senators with snotty tweets."

"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," Warren tweeted.