Oxfam America filed a shareholder resolution demanding Amazon add an hourly worker to its board of directors in order to amplify the voices of workers across the company and ensure that they are heard.
The resolution also flags the board’s current low representation from women and racial minorities – demographics which constitute a significant percentage of Amazon’s hourly workforce. Prioritizing the inclusion of hourly workers in these spaces is critical to ensure that the board has a comprehensive understanding of the company’s operations and can address labor issues as soon as they arise.
“Putting an hourly associate on the board is one of the best and most direct ways to address employee concerns before they become headlines and to protect shareholder value,” said Hana Ivanhoe, Private Sector Advocacy and Campaigns Manager at Oxfam America. “Amazon adding a worker voice on their board would send an important signal that worker voices matter at the top.”
Beyond amplifying the voices of vital employees, this model of shared governance could also help boost Amazon’s profits. Evidence suggests that companies with workers on the board perform better in a variety of areas including profit margins, capital market valuation, employee development, and investments in capital and R&D.
“As the country’s second largest private employer, Amazon has a responsibility to set the standard for humane and fair work, but it’s doing just the opposite,” continued Ivanhoe. “Shareholders know that listening to workers is good business, but Amazon’s corporate board is not listening.”
Last year, a similar shareholder proposal from Oxfam to nominate an hourly associate to the board garnered 27% of the total vote, indicating concern among investors about Amazon’s strained employee relations.
Amazon has been repeatedly and publicly criticized for its mistreatment of workers, including grueling and dehumanizing working conditions that put the company at great legal and reputational risk. The company cultivates what many employees describe as “hellish” working conditions, leading to a turnover rate that will soon prove unsustainable. A leaked internal memo suggested that Amazon fires and hires at a pace that could burn through the US labor supply in the next two years.
Amazon warehouse workers experience a rate of injury that is 80% higher than those of industry competitors – a fact that’s made the company the target of a Department of Labor investigation. Amazon’s anti-union activities have also prompted federal investigation at several warehouse locations.
“Public opinion has shifted in favor of unionization in recent years, so the attacks on unions coming from management could pose a real threat to Amazon’s public image. It’s time the company took steps to prevent further legal risk and preserve its own reputation – it should start by putting an hourly associate on its board,” concluded Ivanhoe.