{"id":10478,"date":"2023-05-26T16:55:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-26T14:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniglobalunion.org\/?post_type=news&p=10478"},"modified":"2023-05-26T16:55:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T14:55:00","slug":"shareholders-take-stand-for-workers-rights-at-amazon","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/uniglobalunion.org\/news\/shareholders-take-stand-for-workers-rights-at-amazon\/","title":{"rendered":"Shareholders take stand for workers\u2019 rights at Amazon"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Amazon\u2019s 24 May shareholder meeting, it became clear that\u00a0investors are pushing the company on ESG issues, including on trade union rights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For example, the Cometa Pension Fund, Italy’s largest with approximately 470,000 members and US$13 billion of managed assets, opposed the re-election of Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos. The decision was driven by the company\u2019s abysmal record regarding workers\u2019 rights as well as racial and gender discrimination.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The Italian fund exercised its voting rights on nearly two dozen additional agenda items including those aimed at safeguarding worker health and safety, civil rights, labour rights, pay equity and environmental sustainability.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

In recent weeks, several other influential investors, including Norges Bank Investment Management<\/a>\u00a0and a group of\u00a012 Danish pension funds<\/a>, publicly supported Proposal 16, a shareholder resolution calling for a third party assessment on Amazon\u2019s commitment to freedom of association. Additionally, Schroders\u00a0announced<\/a> that they would vote in favour of Proposal 21, calling for a report on working conditions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/span>Amazon workers presented these resolutions to shareholders in attendance and the board of directors. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cWe are seeing that investors want transparency and accountability when it comes to working conditions, and we commend the funds that voted to advance human rights, including the rights of Amazon workers,\u201d said\u00a0Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union<\/b>. \u201cThis accountability is impossible without collective bargaining and unions. That is why it is so important that all stakeholders demand that executives at companies like Amazon respect freedom of association.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Last year, UNI joined\u00a0the Global Unions\u2019 Committee on Workers\u2019 Capital (CWC) in publishing\u00a0Shared Prosperity<\/a>, a report outlining why and how investors should react in cases where companies infringe on workers\u2019 rights to join a union and bargain collectively.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Why is Yvonda Clopton of @moworkerscenter<\/a> telling fellow $AMZN<\/a> investors to vote with her to end injuries?

Because Yvonda is also an Amazon worker. #DeliverAccountability<\/a> #AmazonHurts<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/6gedSmmyae<\/a><\/p>— Athena Coalition (@athenaforall) May 23, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>