Bernie Sanders on Big Tech
Senator Bernie Sanders holds a strongly critical stance toward Big Tech, framing major technology corporations and their leaders as an "oligarchy" that prioritizes massive profits over worker well-being and economic fairness. His primary focus involves combating their use of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to eliminate jobs while simultaneously opposing their alleged aggressive anti-union tactics.
Sanders advocates for comprehensive policy changes to ensure that the wealth generated by technological advancement benefits working people rather than concentrating further at the top. He directly targets powerful executives like Jeff Bezos for overseeing poor working conditions and vast wealth accumulation while his workers allegedly rely on public assistance.
While he critiques Big Tech's power structure, Sanders has also found considerable support from employees within these companies, particularly those in blue-collar and progressive white-collar roles. His political actions reflect this tension, as he champions policies to curb corporate power while often receiving significant grassroots financial backing from the industry's workforce.
Context
Bernie Sanders's critique of Big Tech is rooted in his broader progressive opposition to neoliberal capitalism and wealth concentration, which he frequently calls a "rigged economy." He views the leading tech companies—often referring to figures like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg—as modern-day "oligarchs" whose influence corrupts politics, especially through campaign finance.
His focus on Big Tech executives as symbols of excessive wealth inequality draws a direct parallel between their personal fortunes and the struggles of the companies' own workforces. Sanders frequently juxtaposes the billions made by founders with the reliance of their warehouse or contract employees on public assistance programs.
Actions Taken
- Policy ReportReleased a comprehensive report, The Big Tech Oligarchs' War Against Workers, warning that AI and automation could eliminate nearly 100 million U.S. jobs.
- Policy ProposalProposed policy solutions to benefit workers from AI/automation, including a 32-hour workweek with no pay loss and requiring corporations to share profits and give workers board seats.
- LegislationIntroduced the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (Stop BEZOS) Act, requiring large corporations like Amazon to cover federal benefits used by their employees.
- Congressional OversightChallenged Jeff Bezos to testify before the Senate Budget Committee regarding income inequality, following scrutiny of Amazon's anti-union efforts and worker injury rates.
Key Quotes
The same handful of oligarchs who have rigged our economy for decades — Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and others — are now moving as fast as they can to replace human workers with what they call 'artificial labor,' ... If we do not act, the result could be economic devastation for working people across this country.
Working people built this country... They deserve to benefit from new technology, not be thrown out on the street while billionaires get even richer. We must stand up to the greed of Big Tech and make sure the future of artificial intelligence is a future that works for all of us — not just the people on top.
I say to Jeff Bezos, the richest person on the planet: What is your problem with Amazon workers organizing for better working conditions and better pay?
Bezos makes more in 10 seconds than the median Amazon employee makes in a year: $28,466
The AI revolution is designed simply to 'make the very, very richest people on earth even richer.'
Comparison
- Donations: Despite publicly criticizing Big Tech companies, Sanders consistently received the most donations from employees of major tech firms like Facebook, Google, and Amazon during his 2020 presidential primary bid compared to other Democratic candidates.
- Worker Solidarity: His efforts to champion blue-collar Amazon workers and introduce legislation like the Stop BEZOS Act contrast sharply with the general political relationship between many in the tech industry and Washington.
Sources5
Sanders Releases Report on Big Tech Oligarchs' War Against Workers, Warns AI Could Eliminate Nearly 100 Million U.S. Jobs
* This is not an exhaustive list of sources.