https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/3/28/22354604/amazon-twitter-bernie-sanders-jeff-bezos-union-alabama-elizabeth-warren Skip to main content Amazon started a Twitter war because Jeff Bezos was pissed Snarky tweets targeting Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren came after the CEO told execs they weren't pushing back hard enough on critics. By Jason Del Rey@DelRey Mar 28, 2021, 4:55pm EDT Share this story * Share this on Facebook * Share this on Twitter * Share All sharing options Share All sharing options for: Amazon started a Twitter war because Jeff Bezos was pissed * Reddit * Pocket * Flipboard * Email Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Alex Wong/Getty Images This story is part of a group of stories called Recode Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing -- and changing us. Amazon has long been at odds with Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren over their criticisms of the company's labor and business practices. But the discord reached a new height last week when Amazon aggressively went after both on Twitter in an unusual attack for a large corporation. With each new snarky tweet from an Amazon executive or the company's official Twitter account, insiders and observers alike asked a version of the same question: "What the hell is going on?" Turns out that Amazon leaders were following a broad mandate from the very top of the company: Fight back. Recode has learned that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos expressed dissatisfaction in recent weeks that company officials weren't more aggressive in how they pushed back against criticisms of the company that he and other leaders deem inaccurate or misleading. What followed was a series of snarky and aggressive tweets that ended up fueling their own media cycles. The timing was likely not coincidental. Bezos and other Amazon leaders are on edge as the company is facing the largest union election in its history at its Bessemer, Alabama warehouse. Election results will be tallied early this week, and Amazon officials understand that if a majority of the employee voters vote to unionize, it could set off a chain reaction at other facilities, with the potential to force the e-commerce giant to overhaul how it manages its hundreds of thousands of front-line US workers. There was terror inside the executive ranks of Amazon the last time a union election was held at a US Amazon facility -- and that was only a small subset of a warehouse's workforce, the majority of whom voted against unionization. That vote happened in early 2014, and consisted of just 27 technicians and mechanics at an Amazon warehouse in Delaware. In Alabama, though, the stakes are much higher with nearly 6,000 workers eligible to vote. Bezos knows all of this well. Are you a current or former Amazon employee and have thoughts on this topic? Please email Jason Del Rey at jason@recode.net or jasondelrey@protonmail.com. His phone number and Signal number are available upon request by email. So when news broke last week that Sanders was planning to visit Alabama in the final days of voting, top Amazon executive Dave Clark fired off a Twitter thread that started with the following post. "I welcome @SenSanders to Birmingham and appreciate his push for a progressive workplace," Clark's account posted on Wednesday. "I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but that's not quite right because we actually deliver a progressive workplace." 1/3 I welcome @SenSanders to Birmingham and appreciate his push for a progressive workplace. I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but that's not quite right because we actually deliver a progressive workplace https://t.co/Fq8D6vyuh9 -- Dave Clark (@davehclark) March 24, 2021 A few hours later, the official "Amazon News" media relations Twitter account, with more than 170,000 followers, snapped back against House Rep. Mark Pocan, who had questioned Clark's "progressive workplace" assertion by alluding to stories of Amazon's pace of work being so demanding that workers have to "urinate in water bottles." "You don't really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you?" the official Amazon News account tweeted. "If that were true, nobody would work for us." 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 one. -- Amazon News (@amazonnews) March 25, 2021 And after a back-and-forth with Sen. Elizabeth Warren that began with her criticizing the company's tax payments, the same Amazon account "quote-tweeted" Warren with this message: 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://t.co/Nt0wcZo17g -- Amazon News (@amazonnews) March 26, 2021 An Amazon spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment. If Bezos wanted the news cycle off of the union drive for a bit, it sort of worked. But instead of talking about the union, media outlets and industry observers have been focused on the rarity and judgment of a trillion-dollar company sparring with powerful lawmakers on Twitter. Amazon's pushback on the congressman's comment about workers peeing in bottles also ignited a new news cycle after The Intercept revealed internal Amazon communications acknowledging that contractors who deliver Amazon packages sometimes defecate in bags and urinate in bottles. Amazon warehouse workers who've spoken to Recode over the years say it is indeed rare to hear of a warehouse employee -- as opposed to a delivery driver -- urinate in bottles at work. But the bigger point many make is that it's not uncommon for workers to take other measures, such as limiting how much they drink, to reduce their need to use the bathroom for fear of missing their production quotas or getting written up by supervisors for too much "time off task," as Amazon calls it. Inside of Amazon, rank-and-file employees were also perplexed by the company's Twitter approach. "Suspicious activity on @amazonnews Twitter account," was the title of one internal support ticket -- called a trouble ticket inside the company -- filed by an Amazon security engineer last week, according to a screenshot viewed by Recode. "Over the past two days, there have been two threads by @amazonnews in response to comments made by US Government officials that have received considerable attention," the ticket reads. "The tweets in question do not match the usual content posted by this account." The security engineer noted that the tweets were posted using Twitter's web app rather than Sprinklr, the social media management software typically used by the Amazon News account to post tweets. The tweets, according to the security engineer, "are unnecessarily antagonistic (risking Amazon's brand) and may be a result of unauthorized access." The support ticket was closed without action, according to a source. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Millions turn to Vox to understand what's happening in the news. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. Help us keep our work free for all by making a financial contribution from as little as $3. Next Up on Recode The Latest 1. How a $25 million donation to help students got ensnared in politics San Francisco is once again fighting over billionaires' philanthropic power. 2. What Covid-19 testing looks like in the age of vaccines Testing can do things for us now that it couldn't do before. 3. Amazon employees accuse the company of union-busting after it removes workers from an internal directory The new controversy centers on Amazon deleting the profiles of hundreds of thousands of entry-level warehouse employees. 4. At least one member of Congress thinks we need a government agency to regulate social media companies During a hearing with tech CEOs, Rep. Peter Welch asked if they'd be open to a new federal agency focused on social media platforms. 5. 10 ways office work will never be the same From where we work to how our work is measured, office work will be permanently different after the pandemic. More in The Latest Sign up for the newsletter Recode Daily Email (required) [ ] By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice and European users agree to the data transfer policy. Subscribe The Latest on Vox Children playing on a playground wearing masks Children playing on a playground wearing masks How a $25 million donation to help students got ensnared in politics By Theodore Schleifer [gif] [GettyImage] What to expect at the Derek Chauvin murder trial By Rachel Ramirez A Q sign and an American flag seen outside the US Capitol. A Q sign and an American flag seen outside the US Capitol. The elites have failed By Sean Illing An illustration of a gavel over Joe Biden An illustration of a gavel over Joe Biden The Supreme Court's coming war with Joe Biden, explained By Ian Millhiser Ramona Quimby, Age 8 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 Celebrating Ramona Quimby's enduring appeal, in honor of Beverly Cleary By Constance Grady [gif] [1187789984] The world's biggest banks have pumped trillions into fossil fuel projects in the past 5 years By Jariel Arvin Chorus * Terms of Use * Privacy Notice * Cookie Policy * Do Not Sell My Personal Info * Licensing FAQ * Accessibility * Platform Status * Contact * Send Us a Tip * Masthead * About Us * Editorial Ethics and Guidelines Vox Media Vox Media logo. Advertise with us Jobs @ Vox Media (c) 2021 Vox Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved [REC_Wordma]