Progressive US senator Bernie Sanders joined the drive on Friday to unionise Amazon workers in Alabama, as clashes intensified between politicians and the e-commerce company before a deadline for a vote that could lead to Amazon's first union in the US.
Mr Sanders, senator for Vermont, was joined by actor Danny Glover and rapper "Killer Mike" Render for the visit.
This marks the latest high-profile appearances during efforts among 5,800 employees at Amazon's warehouse in Bessemer to form a union, which culminates next week.
"If Amazon workers in Alabama can prevail in forming a union, it can be done all over this country," Mr Sanders, a former presidential candidate said.
The months-long drive led by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union has sparked national attention and intense debate over workplace conditions at Amazon, which has more than 800,000 US employees.
Amazon has argued that most of its workers don't want or need a union and that it already provides more than most other employers, with a minimum $15 hourly wage and other benefits.
Dave Clark, head of Amazon's consumer business, said the company delivers on the goals of Mr Sanders.
"I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but that's not quite right because we actually deliver a progressive workplace," Mr Clark tweeted.
But unions and political leaders have argued that Amazon employees face constant pressure and monitoring, with little job protection, highlighting the need for collective bargaining.
Union president Stuart Appelbaum said the struggle is "about the unregulated technologies Amazon uses to monitor every movement of its workers, including the amount of time they spend in the restroom … and, most importantly, about the lack of dignity, respect and just treatment too many Americans experience at work."
Mr Sanders and others say the Amazon battle highlights growing economic inequality at a time when billionaires, such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, have seen their wealth increase during the pandemic.
"All I want to know is why the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, is spending millions trying to prevent workers from organising a union so they can negotiate for better wages, benefits and working conditions," Mr Sanders tweeted before his visit.
Tensions have escalated as Amazon has fired back against criticism from lawmakers and others.
"If you want to hear about $15 an hour and health care, Senator Sanders will be speaking downtown," Mr Clark tweeted, while pointing out that in Mr Sanders's state of Vermont, the minimum hourly wage is $11.75.
"But if you would like to make at least $15 an hour and have good health care, Amazon is hiring."
Mark Pocan, a representative from Wisconsin, responded to Amazon by saying that, "Paying workers $15 per hour doesn't make you a 'progressive workplace' when you union-bust and make workers urinate in water bottles."
Amazon fired back: "You don't really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you? If that were true, nobody would work for us."
The tech company meanwhile escalated a feud with Elizabeth Warren, another senator, who accused Amazon of avoiding taxes.
"You make the tax laws @SenWarren; we just follow them," Amazon said on Twitter. "Amazon has paid billions of dollars in corporate taxes over the past few years alone."
Ms Warren hit back with a barbed tweet at the company.
"I didn't write the loopholes you exploit, @amazon – your armies of lawyers and lobbyists did," she wrote.
"But you bet I'll fight to make you pay your fair share. And fight your union-busting. And fight to break up Big Tech so you're not powerful enough to heckle senators with snotty tweets."
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- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
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Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
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Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
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RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
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Chelsea: Jorginho (83'), Abraham (87')
Full list of Emmy 2020 nominations
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Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
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115 Special programme for artists
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
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Investment raised: $4 million
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
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Range: 400km
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What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
