A coalition of three trade unions asked the U.S.securities and Exchange Commission to investigate and take action against Amazon because the company used what the organization called “carefully selected and outdated data” about its warehouse injury rate in its communications with investors this spring.
Amazon questioned these claims, saying that it relied on “the latest, credible and independently verified safety data provided by the bureauoflabor statistics” in its annual proxy and the letter sent by CEO andyjassy to shareholders.
In a complaint filed with the securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday morning, the alliance, known as the strategic organization center, said that Amazon used the data of 2020 to deceive shareholders. At that time, the injury rate was low, rather than the statistical data of 2021. The organization said that the data should have shown that the injury rate increased by 20% every year.
The organization has commented on Amazon’s working conditions in the past and argued that BlackRock, an institutional investor, relied on the figures provided by Amazon when deciding to vote against a shareholder resolution seeking third-party audit of warehouse working conditions. The resolution received 44% of the votes.
The complaint cites a BlackRock statement that cites Amazon’s 2020 injury report. BlackRock believes that the company’s workplace safety disclosures and measures are “robust enough”.
The strategic organization center claimed that these figures were distorted and outdated at that time. According to the indictment, as the second largest institutional shareholder of Amazon, BlackRock represented a swing vote that could lead to the adoption of the resolution. (latest news: BlackRock declined to comment outside the voting announcement.)
In addition, the complaint accused Amazon of selectively providing the industry average and ignoring the injury rate of delivery drivers employed by third-party companies contracted with Amazon, thus distorting the data.
Amazon spokesman said in a statement that the latest data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics covers 2020, and 2021 data is expected to be released in November, when the Bureau of labor statistics will complete this year’s analysis. The company gave a similar explanation in the safety report cited in its correspondence with shareholders.
The spokesman said that the company believes that the complaint has no value.
The spokesman added: “Amazon relies on the latest, reliable and independently verified safety data provided by the Bureau of labor statistics.”. “Some groups organize data to advance their own agenda, but these ‘reports’ are few, if any, confirmed by neutral and authoritative sources such as the Bureau of labor statistics.”
At the company’s annual meeting in May, Jassy raised a question about the rising injury rate to shareholders. He pointed out that in 2021 alone, the company employed about 300000 people.
Jassy said, “all our data show that the injury rate in the first six months is always much higher than that in the later months.”. “Therefore, when you hire many people, your salary tends to rise.”
The CEO of Amazon then outlined a series of measures aimed at reducing injury rates, many of which focused on technological progress. Since then, the company has introduced a new warehouse robot, which focuses on repetitive tasks that often cause workers to be injured.
The strategic organization center claims to be a Democratic Alliance of the International Union of service employees (SEIU), the American Communications Workers Association (CWA) and the American Federation of agricultural workers (UFW).
Amazon is facing pressure from more and more workers to join unions in warehouses across the country, including the first successful union vote organized by the independent Amazon Union in the company’s warehouse on Staten Island, New York, this spring.