Because who knows better how to run a business than a politician, especially a Democrat?

Hartford Yahoos draft anti-Amazon bill

HARTFORD — Warehouse workers would have added protections on quotas, breaks and reprimands under legislation approved along party lines in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The bill, which next heads to the Senate, was aimed at promoting better working conditions, said Rep. Manny Sanchez, D-New Britain, co-chairman of the Labor & Public Employees Committee. It would require employers to inform workers of production quotas and allow workers to request related information. It would also assure legally mandated meal and bathroom breaks.

The legislation passed 97-48 after a four-hour-long afternoon debate.

Who needs the Department of Labor, when we can bring in the full prosecutorial force of the state? William Tong and the UAW are licking their chops at the prospect of busting a non-union shop

House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford: “It creates a process by which civil action can be sought, either by the attorney general or by individual employees in court." Sue, sue, sue.

Minority Republicans charged that the bill was tailored to apply to Amazon, which is planning a 3.2 million square foot warehouse straddling the Waterbury and Naugatuck border.

"This is a terrible message to send," said Rep. Steve Weir of Hebron, a ranking member of the Labor and Public Employees Committee. "Make no mistake, it's all about the messaging. The biggest of the big is Amazon. Non-union Amazon is right in the cross hairs. This bill is the Amazon bill. Everything this bill demands, Amazon is doing today."

Weir said that since the bill would apply to warehouses with more than 100 workers, it seems specifically written for Amazon, which has a growing number of warehouses throughout Connecticut. He said that during a recent tour of an Amazon facility, the warehouse seemed exceedingly clean with adequate safety wear and medical facilities for on-the-job injuries.

He said that new procedures have decreased injuries and increased productivity at Amazon facilities. "This business model is great for customers, it's great for the sellers," he said, stressing that pay starts at $20 an hour. "It's great for the consumer."

Weir warned that the legislation would "stifle competition" and discourage economic development and jobs coming to the state. "All we want them to do is come to Connecticut," Weir said. "Why are we doing this to businesses that are spending time and effort here? This bill is anti-business and anti-consumer at the same time."

After more than an hour of questioning Sanchez, Weir said he was concerned that complaints could strain the office of the state attorney general and offered an amendment that would remove a related section of the bill. The amendment lost in a 97-48 party-line vote.

Weir then called another amendment that would delete more references to the attorney general, shifting some legal responsibilities to the Department of Labor. That also failed along party lines, 99-47.

Veteran state Rep. Tom O'Dea said the overall bill would technically turn Amazon into a union shop without a majority vote of employees. "We should not be unionizing by legislation," he said, adding that throughout the country there is no unionized workforce at the sales giant. He predicted that if the bill becomes law, it would repel other companies from possibly locating in the state.

"What we're really doing is killing jobs," said Rep. Anne Dauphinais, R-Danielson.

Rep. Tim Ackert, R-Coventry, said he doesn't like the idea of warehouses but would vote against the bill. "We're the warehouse capital," he said. "And what are we going to do? We're going to over-regulate the industry. We need to take a serious look at what we're doing as a legislative body."

Oh, I’d say the Democrats have already taken a serious look at what they’re doing, and this bill is the result. Champagne Socialist AOC still proudly boasts of her single-handed victory blocking Amazon from establishing a headquarters building in her borough at the cost of 25,000 lost jobs. Our own Me-too Democrats have obviously watched and learned.