"White House Pushback Against Bezos After Critical Tweets Following Meeting with Amazon Union"

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos [Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The White House countered Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, who criticized President Joe Biden's economic policies, by bringing up the issue of the Amazon union.

According to local media, Andrew Bates, Deputy Press Secretary of the White House, stated in a press release on the 16th (local time), "It is not surprising that Bezos posted a critical tweet right after President Biden met with union leaders, including those from Amazon."

The claim is that Bezos's somewhat unusual political criticism is due to President Biden's recent actions related to the Amazon union issue. Earlier this month, President Biden invited about 40 labor leaders, including union officials from Amazon and Starbucks, to the White House to encourage them.

Amazon maintains a no-union management policy in the United States. However, after workers won a unionization vote held recently in Staten Island, New York, Amazon showed a sensitive reaction by firing a managerial employee responsible for union response immediately after the vote.

On the same day, Deputy Press Secretary Bates also pointed out, "There is no need to make a big leap to explain why the wealthiest people in the world oppose an economic agenda for the middle class." Bezos is ranked as the world's second richest person. Bates emphasized that the Biden administration is contributing to reducing the fiscal deficit by asking the wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.

However, Bezos also criticized the White House's statement on the same day, saying it "is clouding the issue." Previously, Bezos had criticized the Biden administration for pushing stimulus measures amid an overheated economy, increasing the risk of inflation.