Hi John,
Amazon’s shareholder meeting last week showed that we are building momentum to stop the corporation’s racist and abusive practices. Now the fight moves to New York, where our affiliate ALIGN is campaigning for a new bill to protect workers from the dangerous productivity quotas that result in high injury and turnover rates.
At the shareholder meeting, four Amazon warehouse workers described the grueling realities of working at Amazon. They called on the corporation to end its use of productivity quotas and workplace surveillance, commission an independent audit of warehouse working conditions, report on workers’ freedom to organize, and include an hourly associate on Amazon’s board. Yet more resolutions challenged Amazon’s racial and gender disparities, partnerships with police, and board members who have failed to address Amazon’s worker safety crisis.
While Amazon and founder Jeff Bezos used their power to block the resolutions, the close votes showed many shareholders are heeding community demands. 44% of shareholders voted for a review of warehouse working conditions, and 47% said Amazon should have to disclose more details about how it lobbies public officials.
Our strength is growing — and we’re not waiting on shareholders to protect the people and communities most harmed by Amazon. In New York, our affiliate ALIGN is working with state senator Jessica Ramos, labor unions, and community advocates on a new bill that would set safeguards against dangerous warehouse quotas.
