Business & Tech
'Mask-Off Moment' Of Amazon's Quid Pro Quo In Inland Empire: Report
An Amazon document leaked to the Los Angeles Times shows how the e-commerce giant uses influence to ensure approval of its IE warehouses.
INLAND EMPIRE, CA — A leaked Amazon document is a "mask-off moment" on how the e-commerce giant gains influence in the Inland Empire to ensure approval of its massive warehouse projects, according to a report out Tuesday in the Los Angeles Times.
After the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture in Riverside hosted an exhibit this year that included a piece depicting an Amazon warehouse fire titled “Burn Them All Down," the Seattle-based company halted donations to the nonprofit center, according to the leaked document obtained by the Times.
The artist's piece was a commentary on how public officials are not listening to community concerns about the growing number of warehouses across the Inland Empire, but Amazon's take was terse.
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“We will not donate to the Cheech,” Amazon officials wrote in the document, which outlines the company’s plans for community engagement next year in the Inland Empire. “We will not continue to support organizations that did not result in measurable positive impact in our brand and reputation. Additionally we will not fund organizations that have positioned themselves antagonistically toward our interests.”
The Amazon document also outlines how the company plans to move forward in the Inland Empire by influencing policymakers, increasing community engagement, shaping the media narrative, and making charitable contributions.
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Amazon spokesperson Jennifer Flagg released a statement to the Times that did not dispute the authenticity of the document.
According to the Times, the document first publicly surfaced in a post on X from Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, chief officer of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. Fletcher shared the document on the social media platform and wrote, "Someone sent me @amazon’s 'confidential' SoCal’s community engagement plan. It’s an interesting read about how they plan to use $$ to non-profits in communities of color to fight legislation that limits environmental affects of warehouses & labor organizing."
Flagg told the Times the post was a "blatant mischaracterization" of Amazon’s work.
“Through employee volunteerism or our charitable donations, it is always Amazon’s intention to help support the communities where we work in a way that is most responsive to the needs of that community," Flagg said.
Sheheryarm Kaoosji of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center told the Times he saw the remark about the Cheech funding as a quid pro quo for generating positive sentiment in the community and media.
“There’s a reason they’re doing this, and they’re investing their money in places where they want to see a return,” he said. “They’re businesspeople, that’s what they do, but this is a real mask-off moment for how it works.”
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