Amazon's Twitter Tirade Against Senators Sparks Worries That Account Was Hacked

Amazon's Twitter pushback against powerful politicians who supported its employees' rights to form unions was so aggressive that it was internally flagged as "suspicious activity," Recode reported.

Progressive politicians, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Ma., drew the ire of the e-commerce giant for their support of workers to unionize. Around 5,800 workers in Bessemer, Alabama, voted to determine whether to form the first-ever Amazon union at a U.S. warehouse. The outcome is expected to be a milestone in the labor movement in the country.

Warren's resolve to fight Amazon's "union-busting" was met with a sarcastic reply from the company's official Twitter handle. “One of the most powerful politicians in the United States just said she’s going to break up an American company so that they can’t criticize her anymore.”

Another tweet targeted Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., who had challenged Amazon's claims of a "progressive workplace," citing reports about workers forced to urinate in water bottles.

The tone of the series of tweets prompted an Amazon security engineer to raise an internal support ticket - “Suspicious activity on @amazonnews Twitter account,” according to a screenshot viewed by Recode.

The tweets, according to the security engineer, “are unnecessarily antagonistic (risking Amazon’s brand) and maybe a result of unauthorized access.” The support ticket was closed without action, according to a source.

International Business Times could not independently verify the report.

Amazon opened another battlefront when top executive Dave Clark hit out at Sanders for not delivering what he preached. "I welcome @SenSanders to Birmingham and appreciate his push for a progressive workplace. I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but that’s not quite right because we actually deliver a progressive workplace."

These aggressive tweets hint at the broad mandate from the very top, Recode reported. Jeff Bezos expressed dissatisfaction that the company officials weren't doing enough to stave off "inaccurate or misleading" criticisms directed at them.

"There's a big difference between talk and action," Clarke tweeted. "@SenSanders has been a powerful politician in Vermont for 30 years and their min wage is still $11.75. Amazon's is $15, plus great health care from day one. Sanders would rather talk in Alabama than act in Vermont."

The senator, a vocal critic of Amazon, was in Alabama Friday to back Amazon workers rallying for the right to join a union. Sanders called out Bezos for "being out of touch with his workers."

"Why, when you have so much money — more money than can be spent in a million lifetimes — why are you spending millions trying to defeat an effort on the part of workers here who want nothing more than decent wages, decent benefits, decent working conditions?" Sanders said.

Though Amazon launched a PR drive to oppose any attempt to unionize, the high-stake vote was endorsed by President Joe Biden. "Let me be even more clear, it's not up to an employer to decide.... The choice to join a union is up to the workers -- full stop."