John,
Billionaires - including Big Tech CEOs - saw their profits soar during the pandemic1, while working people have struggled to make ends meet.
In response, Senators introduced the “Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act,” a bill that would tax chief executives2 who make more than 50 times the median income of their employees.
America's billionaires hold $4.1 trillion in wealth - two-thirds more than the amount held by the bottom 50% of the US population - and they gained over $1 trillion during the pandemic alone3. But billionaires use loopholes and other sneaky tactics to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. This shifts the burden of funding pandemic relief onto workers who are already struggling.
Tell lawmakers to make billionaire CEOs pay their taxes.
SIGN NOW
One billionaire in particular was called out during the bill’s Senate hearing: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. Bezos is the richest person in the world, with an estimated worth of $179 billion4. But Bezos has gotten rich because Amazon systematically disenfranchises its workers, including declaring an all-out war5 against Amazon workers’ unionization effort in Bessemer, Alabama.
While Bezos and other CEOs rake in money, workers are unable to pay their bills, are afraid to take time off when they are ill, and fear retaliation for speaking out against their employer. During the pandemic, Amazon workers have been forced to do their jobs without PPE6 and often without following CDC guidelines related to COVID. Amazon drivers have resorted to urinating in bottles while driving to avoid productivity penalties7, and have recently been forced to agree to biometric surveillance or lose their job8.
This abusive behavior is unacceptable, and it only serves to increase Bezos’s wealth at the expense of workers’ privacy and safety.
Fairly taxing the unreasonably wealthy people in America could easily fund pandemic recovery efforts and provide consistent funding for programs to support working people. Amazon and other Big Tech corporations receive billions of dollars in tax breaks9, while many of its employees rely on public assistance like food stamps to survive10. This corruption amounts to corporate welfare, where taxpayers end up supporting workers while billionaires like Jeff Bezos become richer and richer instead of paying their fair share.
Lawmakers can actually make Big Tech CEOs pay their taxes - but they need to hear from you. Sign the petition to tell your Senators to sign on to the bill.
In solidarity with workers,
Erica & the Team at ❤️Fight
1 Washington Examiner: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/big-tech-ceos-personal-wealth-booms-during-the-pandemic-up-by-over-380b
2 Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/03/17/amazon-union-sanders-hearing/
3 Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2021/01/26/report-american-billionaires-have-added-more-than-1-trillion-in-wealth-during-pandemic/
4 Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/
5 Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/03/09/amazon-union-bessemer-history/
6 Tech Crunch: https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/12/amazon-faces-lawsuit-alleging-failure-to-provide-ppe-to-workers-during-pandemic/
7 The Intercept: https://theintercept.com/2021/03/25/amazon-drivers-pee-bottles-union/
8 Vice: https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy8n3j/amazon-delivery-drivers-forced-to-sign-biometric-consent-form-or-lose-job
9 Fortune: https://fortune.com/2019/12/06/big-tech-taxes-google-facebook-amazon-apple-netflix-microsoft/
10 Wired: https://www.wired.com/story/truth-about-amazon-food-stamps-tax-breaks/
Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.
