"Outrageous, obscene": labor union president slams Bezos for thanking Amazon workers for paying for his space flight

Record ID: 1627786

  • Title: "Outrageous, obscene": labor union president slams Bezos for thanking Amazon workers for paying for his space flight
  • Date: 21st July 2021
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JULY 21, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) RETAIL, WHOLESALE AND DEPARTMENT STORE UNION (RWDSU), PRESIDENT, STUART APPELBAUM, SAYING: "Let me point out, not only did workers and customers pay for his ride, but taxpayers as well, who paid for the infrastructure in many ways that made this possible. And Jeff Bezos has the audacity to take money from workers and customers and taxpayers when he often pays no taxes himself. It's just wrong."
  • Embargoed: 4th August 2021 21:50
  • Keywords: Amazon customer Amazon employee Blue Origin Jeff Bezos New Shepard space flight space ship
  • Location: WEST TEXAS, TEXAS, + NEW YORK, NEW YORK, + BESSEMER, ALABAMA, UNITED STATES/ IN SPACE
  • City: WEST TEXAS, TEXAS, + NEW YORK, NEW YORK, + BESSEMER, ALABAMA, UNITED STATES/ IN SPACE
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA005EMSC85J
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A labor union president blasted Jeff Bezos after the Amazon founder and the world's richest man thanked Amazon workers for funding his trip to space aboard his company Blue Origin's New Shepard launch vehicle.
    "I thought it was absolutely outrageous, obscene for Jeff Bezos to talk about his workers paying for his flight," said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, in an interview with Reuters, Tuesday (July 20). "These are people who put their lives on the line during the pandemic and did not receive adequate support from Jeff Bezos."
    Bezos soared some 66.5 miles (107 km) above the Texas desert and returned safely to Earth, a historic suborbital flight that is expected to help usher in a new era of space tourism.
    The 57-year-old American billionaire took a trip to the edge of space lasting 10 minutes and 10 seconds.
    After landing, Bezos and his crewmates exchanged hugs and popped champagne while roughly two dozen family members and company employees cheered.
    "He could have done a lot more for humanity if instead he paid his workers fairly and spent the money that was necessary to protect their health and safety and their lives," said Appelbaum.
    Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000. This first crewed space flight was a step toward developing a fleet of reusable spacecraft.
    Blue Origin plans for two more New Shepard passenger flights this year.
    Bezos said Blue Origin has not determined its pace of flights after that but is approaching $100 million in private sales.
    (Production: Aleksandra Michalska)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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