The big thing Next week, union officials will begin tallying votes from workers at the Bessemer, Alabama Amazon warehouse, in what has become a blistering battle for Amazon to maintain control over its massive logistics network. In the run-up, Amazon is running a full-blown political campaign as it aims to avert crisis and keep public opinion where it wants it. This week, the company stepped up its public relations efforts in a process that involved clapbacks at U.S. senators while grilling critics from the official @amazonnews Twitter account. Amazon is going militant with America’s liberal wing and it’s putting its lobbying dollars and communications prowess to harder work than ever. Dave Clark — one of Amazon’s most powerful executives — responded to news of Senator Bernie Sanders meeting with Amazon union organizers by tweeting, "I welcome [Sanders] 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." A couple days later the @amazonnews Twitter account got in a fight with Elizabeth Warren about the company’s corporate tax burden. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) sent TechCrunch a lengthy response to the tweet, saying, “How arrogant and tone deaf can Amazon be? Do they really believe that the wage they pay – which is below what workers in nearby unionized warehouses receive and below Alabama's median wage – gives them the right to mistreat and dehumanize their employees, put their workers' health and safety in jeopardy, require them to maintain an unbearable pace, which even Amazon itself admits that a quarter of their workforce won't be able to meet, and to deny working men and women the dignity and respect they deserve.” The Bessemer warehouse is just one year old, launching in the midst of America’s first COVID lockdowns, a time when consumer demand surged for Amazon’s services. After years as a seemingly neutral party in conversations around Big Tech despite consistent rumblings from labor advocates, Amazon has seen its power swell to unforeseen heights amid the pandemic, and the company is going on the offensive as it aims to prevent any broad sway in public opinion surrounding workers organizing. This certainly won’t be the last high-profile unionization attempt, but Amazon is throwing plenty of resources at this case as they aim to flex their strength and prevent cascading dominoes. My colleague Brian dug in further to these conversations; you can read his story here. | 
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