Dozens Gather Outside Jeff Bezos' NYC Apartment In Protest

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Approximately 60 people gathered outside Jeff Bezos' New York City penthouse Wednesday night, protesting, they said, a lack of safe and adequate working conditions for Amazon employees as the online retail giant rakes in millions from the coronavirus pandemic.

“F--k Jeff Bezos, tax Jeff Bezos,” protesters chanted outside of the billionaire's home on Fifth Avenue near Madison Square Park, according to a video posted to the NYC Protest Updates Twitter account.

A report released Tuesday by The Brookings Institution's "The Avenue" found that since March, Bezos, the richest man on the planet, has increased his fortune by $75.6 billion — 42 times the cost of all pandemic hazard pay that Amazon will have given its roughly 1 million workers through the end of this year.

His large profit margins as many Americans, including Amazon workers, struggle to survive the pandemic has drawn harsh criticism from the public, including politicians.

"Jeff Bezos, the wealthiest man alive, became $83 billion richer over the past 9 months while Amazon made record profits," said U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont in a tweet this week. "Meanwhile, Amazon workers are risking their lives to fill holiday orders and are denied paid sick leave and hazard pay. This ugly corporate greed must end?"

"Jeff Bezos and Walton siblings have become $116 billion richer during the pandemic. That’s 35 times the total extra COVID pay given to ALL 2.5 million Amazon and Walmart workers," said Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. "Not since the Gilded Age of the 19th century have we witnessed this degree of greed."

During Wednesday's protest, stacks of Amazon boxes were piled within a four block radius of one organizer’s home, a testament to the necessity of Amazon workers during the pandemic, NYC Protest Updates 2020 reported.

The protest was put on by The Congress of Essential Workers, a network of essential workers and allies fighting for, it says, the elimination of billionaires, wealth redistribution and protecting the working class from "exploitative CEOs" like Bezos.

This latest protest is just one of many held in recent months against the online retail giant. Earlier this month, Amazon workers and community members protested outside Bezos' NYC home demanding state lawmakers back a bill that would establish stronger health and safety standards at Amazon and other corporations as well as give workers a stronger role in their enforcement.

“Every day I come into work, I’m scared that I’ll get sick or take COVID back to my family and friends. We’ve asked Amazon again and again to protect us from the pandemic, but they just ignore us and do whatever it takes to make more profits,” said Dakar Omari Wallace, an Amazon worker at the JFK8 fulfillment center on Staten Island, in a news release.

“We’re done relying on Amazon to make change on its own. We need our state lawmakers to step in and pass protections that can keep us safe and empower us to raise concerns without worrying about retaliation. We don’t have time to waste.”

The advocacy group ALIGN NY is advocating for the passage of the NY HERO Act, or the New York Health and Essential Rights Act, a bill in the state legislature that would strengthen health and safety protections at Amazon and other corporations where workers have been at risk, including stricter PPE and testing guidelines.

It would also give workers more power to monitor and enforce health and safety violations and protect them from retaliation for voicing concerns. A coalition of more than 65 unions, worker centers, and community organizations representing millions of workers across the state sent a letter to state legislators last week urging them to support the bill.

Following Wednesday night's protest, TCOEW hinted that more protests against Amazon could be the works for 2021.

"Thank you for those who attended our event tonight here in NYC, there's more to come in 2021," organizers said.

Meanwhile, Amazon maintains that it has been taking measures for months to protect its workers from the coronavirus as well as provide them with pay incentives. According to the company, it has provided over $2.5 billion in bonuses and incentives for its teams globally in 2020.

"Combined with other holiday pay incentives, in this quarter alone we are investing over $750 million in additional pay for our front-line hourly workforce, on top of our industry-leading $15 national minimum wage. This brings our total spent on special bonuses and incentives for our teams globally to over $2.5 billion in 2020, including a $500 million thank you bonus earlier this year," Dave Clark, SVP of Amazon Worldwide Operations, said in a post on the company's website.

On Dec. 16, Clark said he also sent a letter to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advocating for vaccine access for frontline Amazon employees delivering for customers during the pandemic.