3 Amazon Workers Probed for Speaking Out on Data Centers
▼ Summary
– Five Amazon employees publicly urged Seattle to regulate data centers; three are now under internal investigation for allegedly speaking without prior approval.
– The three software engineers filed a complaint with Seattle’s Office for Civil Rights, accusing Amazon of illegal retaliation for expressing political beliefs outside work.
– Seattle law prohibits employers from discriminating based on political beliefs, and the employees’ lawyer says they have legal tools to fight back.
– Amazon previously stated it respects employees’ right to voice opinions, but the workers say they were told the probe could lead to termination.
– The employees spoke as members of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, not on behalf of the company, and two other workers who spoke later have not been investigated.
Earlier this month, five current Amazon employees made an unprecedented move by publicly urging Seattle City Council to impose regulations on data centers. Now, three of those workers say they are facing internal investigations over what the company reportedly claims is unauthorized representation as spokespeople. “It’s a totally ridiculous claim,” says Patrick Schloesser, one of the affected software engineers. “It’s patently absurd.”
The trio of Amazon software engineers , Schloesser, Darius Irani, and Liesel Wigand , all live in Seattle and work in different divisions of the company. They believe the investigations are retaliation for expressing their political beliefs outside of work. On Thursday, they filed a joint complaint with Seattle’s Office for Civil Rights, accusing Amazon of illegally intimidating them for voicing personal opinions about regulating the environmental and social impacts of data centers.
“Seattle is one of just a few jurisdictions in the country that prohibits private employers from discriminating against their employees based on the political beliefs they hold and the organizations they belong to,” says Abby Lawlor, an attorney at Barnard Iglitzin & Lavitt who is advising the employees. “Here, we have legal tools to fight back and ensure that tech workers can be full democratic participants in these important local discussions. We hope the city of Seattle will do its part to ensure that this vital Seattle law is enforced.”
Amazon and the Seattle civil rights office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Margaret Callahan, an Amazon spokesperson, previously told WIRED that the company respects employees’ right to voice opinions and strives to be a responsible steward in the communities where it operates.
The workers spoke at the city lectern to advocate for regulations Seattle is considering for data centers. While Amazon has no current or proposed data center in the city, other companies have advanced plans for new projects.
The three employees say they were each called into virtual meetings with an Amazon employee relations staffer last Wednesday. They were told investigations could take one to two weeks and have received no updates since, aside from being directed to a speaker registration form they believe does not apply to their personal comments. Schloesser recalls being warned the probe could lead to termination.
The workers argue Amazon has a pattern of attempting to silence collective action and deflect scrutiny of its data centers through confidentiality agreements and other tactics. They report receiving numerous messages of support from colleagues and no internal criticism beyond the HR meetings.
During public comment at three city meetings earlier this month, the employees identified themselves as members of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a collective of thousands of current and former workers advocating for stronger climate action by the company. They did not claim to speak on Amazon’s behalf, and the company did not formally comment on the data center measure. Two other Amazon workers who spoke at later council meetings say they have not been notified of any investigation.
(Source: Wired)
