A questionable record on caring for workers exposed during the COVID pandemic.
The Teamsters General Fund and the CtW Investment Group today called on the board of directors of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) to put up for a vote and support a shareholder proposal, asking the board to issue a report on how the company oversees workplace safety at its own and its contractors’ facilities.
The request comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allowed Amazon to exclude a shareholder proposal that the two investors had filed to be voted on at the online retailer’s annual meeting of shareholders, scheduled for May 27. It’s the latest example of government agencies suppressing democracy under the current administration. The investors are appealing the SEC’s staff decision to the full Commission today.
Amazon employees at 13 plants have tested positive for Covid-19, and several facilities have closed as a result. This week, Amazon Whole Food employees staged a ‘sick-out’ and warehouse employees in New York, Chicago and Detroit protested unsafe working conditions. These incidents are cause for concern for investors who prioritize the sustainability of the company, claim the Teamsters.
Injury rates combined with the lack of disclosure on how the company is dealing with the issue leaves Amazon exposed to legal, regulatory and reputational risks assert CtW Investment Group and the Teamsters General Fund. They also have a strong legal claim that they have the right to weigh in on critical corporate decisions that may impact the long-term financial well-being of the company, and therefore the returns for the pensioners these groups represent.
“Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, workplace safety was a major public health concern and a growing risk at the company. Particularly in light of the outbreak, Amazon should lead on transparency, not hide behind a misguided decision by the SEC staff who seem to have lost touch with the reality of front-line warehouse and grocery workers struggling to serve their communities under increasing threat to their lives,” said Dieter Waizenegger, Executive Director of the CtW Investment Group. “We will forcefully appeal this decision that enables Amazon to sweep workplace safety issues under the rug.”
CtW Investment Group works with pension funds with more than $250 billion in assets sponsored by unions with 5 million members. CtW has been an active voice at Amazon, submitting shareholder proposals in past years ranging from board diversity to human capital management issues.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million men and women throughout North America and Puerto Rico. Teamsters affiliated benefit funds have $100 billion in assets under management across the capital markets.
The shareholder proposal urges Amazon’s board of directors to prepare a report on the steps the company has taken to reduce the risk of accidents, including the board’s oversight process of safety management, staffing levels, and inspection and maintenance of company facilities and equipment and those of the company’s dedicated third-party contractors.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2017 that Amazon warehouse workers experienced work-related injuries at nearly twice the rate of all private employers. A 2019 report from the Center for Investigative Reporting found that Amazon workers experience serious injuries requiring time off work at a rate more than double those of any employer in the warehousing sector.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Teamsters, CtW Investment Group Demand Amazon Reveal Workplace Safety Record
A questionable record on caring for workers exposed during the COVID pandemic.
The Teamsters General Fund and the CtW Investment Group today called on the board of directors of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) to put up for a vote and support a shareholder proposal, asking the board to issue a report on how the company oversees workplace safety at its own and its contractors’ facilities.
The request comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allowed Amazon to exclude a shareholder proposal that the two investors had filed to be voted on at the online retailer’s annual meeting of shareholders, scheduled for May 27. It’s the latest example of government agencies suppressing democracy under the current administration. The investors are appealing the SEC’s staff decision to the full Commission today.
Amazon employees at 13 plants have tested positive for Covid-19, and several facilities have closed as a result. This week, Amazon Whole Food employees staged a ‘sick-out’ and warehouse employees in New York, Chicago and Detroit protested unsafe working conditions. These incidents are cause for concern for investors who prioritize the sustainability of the company, claim the Teamsters.
Injury rates combined with the lack of disclosure on how the company is dealing with the issue leaves Amazon exposed to legal, regulatory and reputational risks assert CtW Investment Group and the Teamsters General Fund. They also have a strong legal claim that they have the right to weigh in on critical corporate decisions that may impact the long-term financial well-being of the company, and therefore the returns for the pensioners these groups represent.
“Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, workplace safety was a major public health concern and a growing risk at the company. Particularly in light of the outbreak, Amazon should lead on transparency, not hide behind a misguided decision by the SEC staff who seem to have lost touch with the reality of front-line warehouse and grocery workers struggling to serve their communities under increasing threat to their lives,” said Dieter Waizenegger, Executive Director of the CtW Investment Group. “We will forcefully appeal this decision that enables Amazon to sweep workplace safety issues under the rug.”
CtW Investment Group works with pension funds with more than $250 billion in assets sponsored by unions with 5 million members. CtW has been an active voice at Amazon, submitting shareholder proposals in past years ranging from board diversity to human capital management issues.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million men and women throughout North America and Puerto Rico. Teamsters affiliated benefit funds have $100 billion in assets under management across the capital markets.
The shareholder proposal urges Amazon’s board of directors to prepare a report on the steps the company has taken to reduce the risk of accidents, including the board’s oversight process of safety management, staffing levels, and inspection and maintenance of company facilities and equipment and those of the company’s dedicated third-party contractors.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2017 that Amazon warehouse workers experienced work-related injuries at nearly twice the rate of all private employers. A 2019 report from the Center for Investigative Reporting found that Amazon workers experience serious injuries requiring time off work at a rate more than double those of any employer in the warehousing sector.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.