Donald Trump Targets Jeff Bezos Over Amazon And Washington Post Antitrust Claims
On Thursday, GOP presidential candidate Trump claimed that Amazon CEO and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos was using the newspaper to sway politicians away from increasing corporate taxes. Trump also claimed that Bezos personally ordered a team of Washington Post reporters to investigate every aspect of the candidate’s life. Now this is interesting because Amazon shareholders have also been calling for the company to dump Trump products. This is likely totally unrelated to the current feud but it does add another dynamic to this fight. Also, we just received some other updates in the past hour. Below are two emails we got from different activist groups. See both below.
DumpTrump email
LOOK UP: Women’s Group Flies Plane Banner Over Amazon Shareholders Meeting Calling For Amazon to #DumpTrump
Amazon Shareholders Call on CEO Jeff Bezos to Stop the Sale of Trump Merchandise on the Amazon.com Marketplace
SEATTLE, WASHINGON — On Tuesday, May 17, as the 2016 annual Amazon shareholders meeting begins, UltraViolet Action, a national women’s advocacy organization, representing 1500 Amazon.com shareholders, has commissioned a plane to fly over the meeting at Fremont Studios with a banner reading, “Shareholders to Amazon: #DumpTrump.”
WHERE: Amazon General Meeting, Fremont Studios, 155 N 35th St., Seattle, WA 98103
WHEN: Tuesday, May 17, 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM PT
The banner reflects the message from 1500 Amazon.com shareholders, 5000 Amazon prime customers and more than 58,000 UltraViolet members who are calling on CEO Jeff Bezos to stop the sale of Donald Trump’s line of menswear (and other Trump-related products) on the Amazon.com marketplace.
Other major brands, including Serta, Macy’s and NBC, have ‘dumped’ Donald Trump, yet Amazon.com continues to sell his merchandise, despite massive public outcry. UltraViolet argues that Amazon should stop profiting off of Donald Trump’s hateful brand and follow the decision by other major retailers to end the sale of Trump products.
Last week, 1500 Amazon Shareholders, organized by Ultraviolet Action sent a letter to CEO Jeff Bezos noting that Donald Trump has incited violence at his campaign events, spewed racism and vitriol that has attracted the support of notable white supremacists, defamed a female reporter after she was assaulted by his campaign manager, and mocked a disabled reporter for asking a question. The letter called on Bezos to take steps to end the sale of Trump merchandise on the Amazon.com marketplace.
SEE THE LETTER HERE: http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/Amazon_shareholder_letter/
“Donald Trump has consistently lobbed racist, sexist, and xenophobic attacks against entire groups of people, encouraged violence and vitriol against his political enemies and perpetuated a culture of violence against women. Amazon.com should want to distance themselves from this hateful rhetoric, but instead, they’re profiting off his brand.” Explained Karin Roland, Chief Campaigns Officer at UltraViolet Action. “Jeff Bezos needs to listen to his customers and shareholders and take steps to ensure that Amazon doesn’t profit off of Trump.”
“More than 58,000 people, 5000 Amazon prime customers and 1500 Amazon.com shareholders have made their message to Bezos clear: keep Trump out of the Amazon marketplace,” added Roland.
Attack over Amazon worker practices
Shareholders Resolution Calls for Amazon to Address Worker Abuse, Perform Human Rights Risk Assessment
Shareholders Join Corporate Watchdog in Urging Amazon.com Board of Directors to Adopt Resolution Addressing Worker Abuse at Annual General Meeting
SEATTLE — Ahead of Amazon.com’s Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, May 17th, Amazon.com shareholders are calling on the internet giant to adopt a resolution addressing worker abuse by performing a human rights risk assessment.
At the Annual General Meeting later this month, Lisa Lindsley, Capital Markets Advisor for SumOfUs.org, an international corporate watchdog organization, will present proxy resolution Item 4 – calling on Amazon.com to “identify and analyze potential and actual human rights risk of Amazon’s entire operations and supply chain.” The human rights risk resolution was filed jointly by four individual SumOfUs members who are Amazon shareholders.
VIEW THE SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL HERE: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000119312516530747/d78603ddef14a.htm
The proposal is supported by proxy advisory firm ISS, which said, “Amazon could provide additional information regarding the policies the company has implemented to identify and assess human rights risks in its own operations and the relevant mechanisms it has implemented to ensure compliance with such policies. Such information would benefit shareholders, as it would allow them to better understand and assess how the company is managing any associated risks.”
“It is long past time that Amazon’s Board of Directors acknowledge and address worker abuses within their supply chain and ensure that they are following the law where they operate,” explained Lisa Lindsley, representing SumOfUs at Amazon.com’s shareholder meeting later this month. “Providing this information is critically important to shareholders seeking to assess how the company is managing risks associated with human rights abuses and will compel Amazon executives to ensure that all workers are treated fairly.”
“Amazon.com continues to use a supplier of security services for its headquarters, Security Industry Specialists (SIS), that has ongoing violations of Seattle’s paid sick leave law and routinely harasses workers seeking to exercise their right to freedom of association,” said Sergio Salinas, President of SEIU6 Property Services NW which represents security officers in Seattle. “How can shareholders have confidence that the company is managing human rights risks in its supply chain when they are not being vigilant in their home town?”
Activists from SumOfUs will also deliver more than 104,930 signatures to Amazon.com executives at the shareholder meeting, calling on the global corporation to treat workers better and pay its share of taxes. The petition was also signed by 320 Amazon shareholders, nearly 73,000 Amazon customers, and 10,000 pension fund holders with Amazon shares.
VIEW THE PETITIONS HERE: http://action.sumofus.org/a/agm-2016-amazon/ and http://action.sumofus.org/a/amazon-agm-usa/
See the following visualizations which highlight figures regarding Amazon, the Washington Post, and Donald Trump.
