Amazon shareholders call for company to release warehouse safety data after workers raise alarm

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Amazon shareholders in New York, California and Illinois are pressuring the company to release more data relating to worker and facility safety at its annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday.

The call for more data comes after several instances of Amazon warehouse workers complaining of unsafe conditions in the shipping giant's facilities.

Confirmed cases and deaths at Amazon warehouse facilities have been rising as American fatalities from the virus near the 100,000 mark. Warehouse workers - central to the company's ability to function - have called for Amazon to increase safety measures and to offer employees paid sick leave.

They have also called on the company to close down facilities where positive coronavirus cases have been identified to allow for deep cleaning.

CNBC reported that Amazon refuses to disclose how many of its warehouse employees have died from the coronavirus. The company has confirmed at least eight deaths, but only after those deaths were reported in media outlets.

In addition to keeping death numbers undisclosed, the company has also kept its total number of employees testing positive for the coronavirus under wraps. An Amazon employee, Jana Jumpp, who is tracking workers who test positive, claims the total number of cases among Amazon workers is close to 900 nationwide.

Amazon warehouse workers met with many of the company's investors at an "alternative" shareholder event last week. CtW Investment Group - which works with several union-sponsored pension funds and which owns 890,000 Amazon shares - hosted the event.

Two Amazon warehouse workers and one delivery driver who was fired after raising safety concerns met with the investors and discussed their experiences in the warehouses.

Shareholders noted that Amazon has shared more information on safety than it usually does, but following the meeting with the warehouse workers, they want to see more.

"What we are missing is the report on what is the impact of it," Anna Pot, a leader at APG Asset Management who attended the event, said. "The impression is that we're still not there yet, that there are still unsafe working conditions."

Ms Pot is a co-signer on a letter calling for Amazon's director, Judith McGrath, to explain the impact Amazon's investments in coronavirus safety have had on its workers.

"As long term Amazon shareowners, with $4.2 billion invested in Amazon shares on a combined basis, we are concerned by the potential disconnect between management's reported employee initiatives and these media reports regarding widespread Covid-19 health and safety concerns among Amazon employees.You are best positioned to speak to the board's independent oversight of Covid-19 related initiatives and investments at the annual shareholder meeting," the letter states.

Scott Stringer, a New York City pension comptroller, co-signed the letter and - together with Ms Pot - is asking the company to release data detailing virus transmission rates, Occupational Safety and Health Administration complaints, productivity impact, employee morale and workplace cultural investments.

In addition to the data, the letter also calls on Ms McGrath to provide information detailing whether the company acted in retaliation towards whistleblower employees.

An Amazon spokesperson said that "nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our employees and we are doing everything we can to keep them as safe as possible."