Summary
CCLA intends to ‘Vote Against’ Director Edith W. Cooper, chair of the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee, at the upcoming Amazon AGM. Cooper has responsibility for overseeing the company’s strategies and policies related to human capital management. This vote reflects our belief that Amazon has yet to demonstrate how its current approach to workforce management, particularly around upholding the fundamental rights of its workers, lives up to its stated commitments and investor expectations. We specifically focus on the company’s current strategy and approach to Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining.
Background
Amazon is one of the world’s most influential employers, providing jobs to hundreds of thousands of people. With that immense scale comes the sizable responsibility to treat its workers – many of whom are among the most vulnerable - with dignity and the opportunity to empower them with a voice in shaping their place of work and to ultimately change lives for the better.
However, Amazon has recently been the subject of high-profile scrutiny on its approach to workers and their ability to freely associate and bargain collectively. It has also successfully applied to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to seek to limit shareholder input in this area. These actions raise questions around how well Amazon lives up to its potential.
Last year, well-documented controversies over its treatment of its workers include incidents in Coventry, UK and Quebec, Canada.
As a consequence, we call upon Amazon to reassure investors that its actions are consistent with its commitments laid out in its Global Human Rights Principles.
Engagement to date
For the past three years, CCLA has supported a coalition of concerned investors, calling for ‘the Board of Directors to commission an independent, third-party assessment of Amazon’s adherence to its stated commitment to workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining rights as outlined in Amazon’s Global Human Rights Principles, which explicitly reference the Core Conventions of the International Labour Organization and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work’.
The proposal, grounded in Amazon’s own stated policies, has received growing support from shareholders. However, this year the company has successfully applied to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to ‘No action’ the proposal. We regard this as a troubling attempt to limit shareholder input on a topic that is salient and material to Amazon and goes to the heart of its long-term corporate sustainability.
We also support the Tulipshare resolution calling for greater transparency on how Amazon respects workers’ rights to organise. As investors, we do not take sides in any dispute but seek to ensure that every worker is treated fairly and that Amazon operates in line with its own standards and policies.
We have therefore chosen to reflect our views in opposing the re-election of the relevant director.
Our end goal
Amazon is one of the world’s most powerful employers. We believe it can and should use its resources and global influence to lead by example on labour rights and seize the opportunity to change lives for the better. We therefore challenge Amazon to restore trust among investors by demonstrating its workers are empowered and treated with dignity. It should immediately address the high-profile controversies around its approach to managing its workforce and provide evidence that its practices conform with its stated policies and international standards.