NEW YORK — An inner Amazon memo has offered a stark take a look at the corporate’s fastidiously laid out plans to develop its affect in Southern California by means of a plethora of efforts that embrace burnishing its popularity by means of charity work and pushing again in opposition to “labor agitation” from the Teamsters and different teams.

The eight-page doc – titled “group engagement plan” for 2024 – gives a uncommon glimpse into how certainly one of American’s greatest corporations executes on its public relations aims and makes an attempt to curtail reputational hurt stemming from criticisms of its enterprise. It additionally illustrates how Amazon goals to methodically courtroom native politicians and group teams as a way to push its pursuits in a area the place it might be hampered by native moratoriums on warehouse growth, and it’s going through resistance from environmental and labor activists.

The memo was leaked to the nonprofit labor group Warehouse Employee Useful resource Middle and posted on-line this week. The Related Press independently verified its authenticity.

When reached for remark, Amazon didn’t dispute the authenticity of the doc. However it mentioned in a ready assertion it was happy with its philanthropic efforts.

“Partnerships with group leaders and stakeholders assist information how Amazon offers again,” mentioned Amazon spokesperson Jennifer Flagg. “Via worker volunteerism or our charitable donations, it’s all the time Amazon’s intention to assist help the communities the place we work in a approach that’s most aware of the wants of that group.”

Within the memo, Amazon says its prime public-policy precedence in Southern California is addressing “labor agitation that makes use of false narratives and incorrect info to have an effect on public opinion and affect public coverage.”

Earlier this 12 months, the Teamsters unionized an Amazon contracted supply agency within the metropolis of Palmdale and subsequently supported protests round firm warehouses after Amazon refused to come back to the bargaining desk. Final 12 months, dozens of Amazon staff at an organization air hub in San Bernardino, a metropolis about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, walked off the job to demand security enhancements and better pay.

Those self same points had been raised by staff at an organization warehouse in New York Metropolis the place workers voted to unionize with the Amazon Labor Union in 2022. The e-commerce large has been difficult the union’s win for greater than a 12 months in a case that’s nonetheless being adjudicated by the Nationwide Labor Relations Board.

The Amazon memo additionally says the Seattle-based firm faces “important reputational challenges” in Southern California, the place it’s “perceived to construct amenities in predominantly communities of coloration and poverty, negatively impacting their well being.”

The Inland Empire, a area in Southern California that Amazon discusses within the doc, has seen a growth in warehouse growth over the previous few many years. However there’s additionally been a groundswell of native opposition to new warehouses, with a number of municipalities enacting moratoriums on developments.

In January, dozens of environmental and group teams despatched a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom urging him to declare a one-to-two-year moratorium on new warehouses within the space, arguing a short lived pause was obligatory to deal with the “gaps in present laws” that permits for air pollution and congestion.

Within the memo outlining Amazon’s targets for subsequent 12 months, the corporate says it plans to “earn the belief” of group teams and nonprofits, such because the San Bernardino Valley Faculty Basis, Kids’s Fund, and Feeding America, to push again in opposition to state payments “that can proceed to threaten the area’s economic system, and Amazon’s pursuits.” The 2 payments cited embrace a state laws that, if handed, would prohibit corporations from constructing giant warehouses inside 1,000 toes (300 meters) of personal properties, residences, colleges, daycares and different amenities.

The memo additionally says the corporate plans to “positively have an effect on” legislative makes an attempt to ban single use plastic by “showcasing Amazon as a pacesetter in sustainability and counter the voices of environmental activists in opposition to Amazon.”

It additionally particulars native politicians Amazon is participating and says the corporate has “cultivated” Michael Vargas, the mayor of the city of Perris, by means of pandemic-related “donations to help the area, touring him and his workforce, and ongoing engagement.” Vargas didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Media protection is a prime concern of Amazon’s. The doc previews the corporate’s targets to generate optimistic information tales for itself by means of charitable campaigns, together with by means of a meals drive hosted by the Los Angeles Meals Financial institution the place workers would drop off donations “in large media moments which are broadcasted/posted.” The memo advised curating comparable moments throughout a back-to-school donation occasion and a vacation toy drive, the place drop offs happen and Amazon executives, in addition to teams who obtain grants from the corporate, “talk about Amazon’s affect” to the media.

The corporate moreover says it gained’t proceed to help organizations that “didn’t lead to measurable optimistic affect” to its model and popularity and can cease funding teams which are antagonistic in the direction of its curiosity. It famous it can cease donating to The Cheech, an artwork museum in Riverside, citing an incident this 12 months the place the middle exhibited a neighborhood artist who depicted an Amazon facility on hearth and gave an interview “expressing hostility” in the direction of the corporate, the memo mentioned.

In a bit of the doc titled “Canines Not Barking,” the memo lists the three issues Amazon will watch carefully within the area subsequent 12 months: warehouse moratoriums, labor organizing amongst contracted supply drivers, and group teams that aren’t accepting charitable donations. It says some elected leaders have been hesitant to just accept political contributions from the corporate.

Sheheryar Kaoosji, the manager director of Warehouse Employee Useful resource Middle, mentioned in an announcement that the group works instantly with Amazon warehouse staff within the area who persistently discuss low pay, excessive damage charges and different considerations.