Amazon shareholders shot down a proposal Wednesday requesting a report be done on the effects of the company’s climate change policies on current workers’ jobs.
The proposal was one of 14 brought on by an individual or groups holding a significant amount of shares of the company, all of which were not approved, the National Center for Public Policy Research, which was present at the meeting with their own proposal, confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation. In its proposal, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters called for the company to study risks related to its pledge to be net-zero on carbon emissions by 2040 over concerns that a broader industry movement could endanger the jobs of millions of workers in transportation networks, including Amazon’s.
“A key area of uncertainty for investors is how some of Amazon’s technological solutions to the climate crisis, such as its investments in electric and autonomous vehicles, impact jobs and communities, including those along its supply chains and transportation networks,” Teamsters said in its proposal. “A just transition report would help investors better understand the interplay of these technologies, the Company’s climate commitments, and its human capital management practices as well as its broader stakeholder relationships.”
Amazon shareholders also rejected a proposal that would require nominees for the position of director on the board to disclose substantial political donations made in the last several years in the company’s proxy statement. The proposal was designed to ensure that Amazon remains politically neutral in politically charged public debates that have heavily weighed on the sales of other companies like Anheuser-Busch InBev.
“The proposal is based on the false premise that individual director nominees’ personal charitable and political giving reflects how the Board manages and oversees the Company,” Amazon said in response to the proposal. “Under Delaware corporate law, our Board members have fiduciary duties of care and loyalty to our shareholders and must act in our shareholders’ best interest, including in the context of the Board’s actions and decisions around director nominations.”
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The cumulative sum of all political donations by Amazon executives and board members skews heavily toward Democrats, with over $2.8 million in all-time donations going to Democratic causes and only $79,500 going toward Republicans, according to data collected by the 1792 Exchange. The bulk of the donations were from just a few company leaders, like Senior Vice President David Zapolsky, who has given over $1.2 million to Democrats, and board member Judith McGrath, who has given over $1 million to Democrats.
Amazon shareholders also killed a proposal brought forward by the National Center calling for a committee to be created that could oversee and review the impact of the company’s support of certain social and political positions. The company has given tens of millions of dollars to groups that oppose cash bail in the name of “combating systemic racism,” has supported Black Lives Matter and has partnered with the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT activist organization.
“There is no doubt that Amazon has had a good year financially, but our proposal is focused on the risk of financial harm going forward,” Stefan Padfield, deputy director of the Free Enterprise Project at the National Center, told the DCNF. “Once a company has its Bud Light moment, it’s too late. The point is to identify partnerships and positions that could lead a company like Amazon down the same path of value destruction that Bud Light, Target, and Disney have traveled… This is essentially an embrace of radical leftism, which Bud Light, Target, and Disney have proven is a recipe for setting shareholder value on fire.”
Anheuser-Busch brand Bud Light was the target of a massive conservative boycott starting in April 2023 after partnering with a transgender social media influencer, which led to it losing its spot as America’s most popular beer. The company’s revenue in the U.S. was down 9.1% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year.
Target was the focus of a conservative boycott following the release of a Pride Month collection that included LGBT merchandise marketed to kids in June 2023. The company lowered its sales and profit expectations for the rest of the year following the boycott but appeared to double down on its support for LGBT merchandise.
Amazon deferred the DCNF to comments made in the company’s proxy statement.
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