 On Tuesday, May 25 at 11:00AM CT, one day before Amazon’s annual general meeting, we’re going to challenge the institutions who get a vote on Amazon’s future to cast their votes with our communities, not Amazon’s destructive agenda. Join us in Chicago or find an event near you. Amazon is scheduled to hold its annual shareholder meeting on May 26. At that meeting, Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy will report to investors on the company’s performance over the past year and celebrate the $21.3 billion in profits that the company generated for shareholders in 2020. But this year, more than any other, Amazon’s role in our democracy and economy is also on the agenda at Amazon’s shareholder meeting. The pandemic and murder of George Floyd forced a reckoning over structural racism in America. Over the last year, organizers and activists came together to hold Amazon accountable for its failed pledge that Black lives matter. Activists fought back against Amazon’s expanding partnerships with violent police departments; protested the firing of Black whistleblowers who worked at Amazon warehouses; and fought Amazon’s environmental damage in Black and brown neighborhoods, disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.  Shareholders have filed resolutions challenging the harmful impacts of Amazon’s business practices on the Black and brown communities. These resolutions demonstrate shareholder concern about Amazon’s expanding use of surveillance technology in the workplace and policing communities of color, its exploitative treatment of workers, and its use of market surveillance to solidify corporate dominance and market position. In total, ten shareholder proposals will be introduced at this year’s meeting.
As Amazon’s power and influence has grown, so too has the role of big Wall Street firms at the company. Today five shareholders—Vanguard Group, Blackrock, State Street, Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price—own over $330 billion worth of Amazon stock (that’s $100 billion more than Jeff Bezos’ ownership interest in the company). We hope you can join us in letting Amazon know that the people and the planet matter more than profits. Comments are closed.
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