Amazon Employees for Climate Justice lead the crowd in songs and chants in September 2019. (GeekWire Photo / Monica Nickelsburg)

An Amazon employee group has taken some hits recently, but vows to keep fighting for members concerned about the company’s impact on the environment and people of color.

The company’s shareholders recently defeated a resolution backed by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice. Their proposal called for Amazon to report on the potential harm to communities of color that’s caused by the pollution from airplanes, trucks and other machinery used to ship products ordered through the online retail giant. The resolution received only 6% approval at the May 27 virtual meeting.

In April, Amazon fired Maren Costa and Emily Cunningham, two of the employee group’s leaders, “for repeatedly violating internal policies,” according to a spokesperson.

The organization is undeterred.

PREVIOUSLY: Amazon and critics wage PR war in annual meeting with starkly opposing portraits of tech giant

“It’s full steam ahead,” Costa said. “Amazon isn’t going away, and neither are we.”

The firings occurred after the group invited Amazon warehouse and tech workers to join a webcast discussion about COVID-19 safety. Numerous warehouse workers have gotten sick from the virus and some have died, though the company hasn’t released the number of cases. On its COVID-19 blog, Amazon is sharing steps that it has taken to protect workers, including improving cleaning and social distancing measures at warehouses, and it’s distributing masks and providing temperature checks for employees.

The employee activist group launched in early 2019 and initially gained traction with workers over concerns about climate change. Their climate-focused shareholder resolution that spring won an impressive 31% of the vote, and the company has since implemented more aggressive environmental policies.

In recent months, the group has highlighted issues disproportionately affecting Black, indigenous and people of color, a move that predates the growing public awareness of the injustices faced by racial and ethnic minorities that was ignited by the death of George Floyd and protests worldwide.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announcing the Climate Pledge in September 2019. (Amazon Photo)

One might wonder if the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice-backed resolution would have done better if the vote had taken place even a week later?

An interesting question, Costa said. “The climate crisis is a racist crisis. You can’t solve one without solving the other.”

The resolution cited Amazon warehouses in roughly three-dozen cities and towns around the country and their reliance on polluting diesel trucks and airplane flights to ship the goods. The neighboring communities in these areas have largely Black or Latinx populations. The pollutants emitted are linked to lung and breathing problems, as well as fueling climate change.

Costa pointed in particular to plans for airport cargo expansion in San Bernardino, Calif. Nearly 65% of the area’s population identifies as being of Hispanic origin and 14% are Black.

“We are asking for racial equity assessments and community agreements to make sure that the community is supported in this, that it’s good for the community — and there’s nothing like that right now,” Costa said. She guessed that Amazon would counter that it’s providing jobs to residents.

“But people shouldn’t have to choose,” she said, “between a job and clean air for their children.”

Maren Costa, a leader with Amazon Employees for Climate Justice.

Amazon made its case against the shareholder resolution in its proxy statement, describing its purchase order for 100,000 electric vehicles, its Climate Pledge and other sustainability initiatives. The Seattle-based company added that employees earn at least a minimum wage of $15 an hour plus benefits.

“We regularly analyze environmental and social impacts of our businesses and assess how we can positively contribute to and manage impacts on the many communities in which we operate across the United States and the world,” the statement reads.

Amazon did not offer further comment for this story, but referenced a June 3 blog post announcing its contribution of $10 million to “organizations that are working to bring about social justice and improve the lives of Black and African Americans.” Recipients include ACLU Foundation, NAACP, National Urban League and the United Negro College Fund.

Amazon is one of world’s most valuable companies, whose market value has repeatedly topped $1 trillion.

In addition to the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice measure, many of the 11 shareholder resolutions at the annual meeting last month addressed race and gender. It’s an uphill battle to garner sizeable support for the proposals, all of which were opposed by the board. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos alone owns 15% of the company’s stock.

Other resolutions addressing race and the percent of vote in favor:

Facial recognition (32%): For the second year running, shareholders asked Amazon to report on whether its facial recognition software could raise civil rights and privacy issues. The resolution would have required Amazon to examine those issues, acknowledge whether Rekognition software is used by authoritarian governments, and assess the financial risks associated with the controversial technology.

Pay gap (15%): Asked Amazon to report the company’s global median pay gaps between employees of different races and genders. Amazon already reports its overall gender pay gap annually.

Hate speech (35%): Shareholders wanted Amazon to report on its efforts to prevent the sale of items that promote discrimination in its marketplace. The resolution is based on reports that anti-Semitic books, items depicting racial violence, and other objectionable goods are available for purchase on Amazon.com.

Promotion velocity (12%): To better understand the impact discrimination has on career mobility, shareholders wanted Amazon to report on “promotion velocity.” The report would detail the time elapsed between promotions for employees of different races and genders.

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