Amazon’s response to defaced LGBT Pride posters ‘angers’ employees
Amazon has said it is relying on the Charity Commission (David Ryder/Getty)
A number of Amazon staff are angry with their employer, accusing the company of not showing enough support for LGBT+ people, after several Pride posters were defaced at its headquarters.
At least 10 Pride posters – stuck up inside lifts – have been vandalised in the past two month at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle, Washington, reports CNBC.
According to an internal email seen by CNBC, on one poster, the “T” in “LGBT” was crossed out and the word “Why?” was added to the sign.
The Pride posters are hanging in a number of elevators at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle, Washington. (Pixabay)
Amazon replaced the vandalised posters, and also put up new posters, which stated: “Posters are company property. Defacing posters is a violation of Amazon’s policy.”
The company’s response has reportedly angered some staff, who argue that it did not go far enough.
The incident was debated by employees in an internal email thread, which was seen by CNBC and received more than 100 responses.
Some members of staff reportedly said that the company had not gone far enough to ensure inclusivity in the workplace and to combat the problem.
“The proper response to widespread pride poster defacement is not only a policy that prohibits defacement, but also a massive and overwhelming show of support for pride in many forms,” one employee wrote in an email seen by CNBC.
Glass domes at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle, Washington. (David Ryder/Getty Images)
Another member of staff described the company’s response as “authoritarian and un-Amazonian.”
And one employee, who is trans, said: “I know people personally who came very close to quitting Amazon as a consequence of those defacements.”
In a statement to PinkNews, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed that the vandalism had taken place and stressed that the company “always been, and always will be, committed to equal rights, tolerance and diversity.”
The spokesperson continued: “Amazon allows employees to create their own posters to advertise events across our campus.
“When we learned a few posters celebrating Pride were defaced, we worked quickly with the employees who created them to have them replaced, and we published new posters to reiterate our policy that posters shouldn’t be altered. Since then, no other incidents have been reported.”
In August 2017, a trans woman and her husband sued Amazon, claiming they were subjected to physical threats and harassment.
The couple, who worked at an Amazon warehouse in Kentucky, said that they were surprised that the company did not deal with the alleged harassment given its support for LGBT+ rights.
This article was updated with a comment from Amazon received after publication.
