Amazon Grapples With Shareholders Over Surveillance Tech
Amazon has asked federal regulators to block a number of shareholder proposals that strike at the heart of many recent criticisms of the Seattle-based commerce behemoth, including its use of surveillance technologies. by Katherine Khashimova Long, The Seattle Times / January 28, 2021 Shutterstock
(TNS) Amazon has asked federal regulators to block a number of shareholder proposals that strike at the heart of many recent criticisms of the
Seattle-based commerce behemoth, including its stances on curbing hate speech and offensive content, diversity in hiring, workplace conditions for hourly warehouse employees and its surveillance technologies.
If granted, Amazon s requests would mean shareholders would not have an opportunity to vote on those proposals at the company s shareholder meeting this year, where they would likely be rejected regardless. Last y
Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Pope Francis (AP)
Editor s Note: The Moral Economy is a new series that tackles key economic topics through the prism of Catholic social teaching and its care for the dignity of every person. This is the first article in the series.
The Vatican has always enchanted princes and presidents, but Pope Francis is the first leader in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history to engage frequently with a more modern type of ruler: chief executive officers.
More than any previous pontiff, Francis has been lobbied by C.E.O.s to soften his skepticism about capitalism, and he in turn has pressed them to better serve the poor and the planet. Surprisingly, he has joined the debate now in fashion about reforming capitalism, a discussion propelled by the 2008 financial crisis, rising income inequality and climate change. The list of companies whose leaders have made a pilgrimage to Rome reads like a Harvard Business Review index: Apple, Bank of America, BlackRoc
Creighton University to divest from fossil fuels
Creighton University, Omaha, Neb., will divest from fossil fuels over the next decade.
The move for the university s endowment, which had $566 million in assets as of June 30, comes after its board of trustees approved a modified investment policy in September, according to a news release posted Monday. That modified policy also includes withdrawing from ownership of public securities of fossil-fuel companies within the next five years and seeking investments that target a market rate of return in renewable energy and energy efficiency, the university said.
In February, the board s investment subcommittee approved transactions that reduced Creighton s investment exposure to fossil-fuel companies to 5.7% of its portfolio, down from 8.9% as of June 30, 2019. By June 30, 2020, Creighton s investment in fossil-fuel companies was further reduced to 3.9%, the university said.
Comptroller DiNapoli wants audit of Amazon s racial justice practices
Offering a shareholder proposal through state pension fund investment
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Comptroller Tom DiNapoli wants an independent audit of Amazon s track record in the racial justice and diversity spheres.Times Union file photo
ALBANY New York Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli says he is asking Amazon to allow an independent audit to assess the company’s policies and practices on civil rights, equity, diversity and inclusion.
“Corporate America can only benefit by joining the ongoing national reckoning over racial injustice and confronting institutionalized inequality, just as it would seek to root out any other systemic problem and mitigate risks for long-term investors,” DiNapoli said Friday in announcing he was putting forth a shareholder proposal.