Amazon Brags It 'Cultivated' California Mayor With Donations in Leaked Policy Document

Amazon said it has "cultivated" a Southern California city mayor by donating PPE to the city and taking him and his team on tours in a confidential company document leaked on Tuesday. From a report: The document, which is undated but refers to 2024 plans, also describes the company's intent to combat legislation that would harm its interests by courting non-profit groups in California. The company said "Warehouse Moratorium Legislation" in the state -- like AB 1000, which would prohibit companies from building large warehouses in residential and public areas -- "would be detrimental to Amazon's interests." The document, titled "Community Engagement Plan 2024," was shared in screenshots on X by Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, a former California State Assembly member and AFL-CIO leader, who described it as an "interesting read about how [Amazon] plan[s] to use $$ to non-profits in communities of color to fight legislation that limits environmental affects of warehouses & labor organizing." The document states that Amazon is facing "significant reputational challenges in Southern California, where the company is perceived to build facilities in predominantly communities of color and poverty, negatively impacting their health." The document then names City of Perris Mayor Michael Vargas, who Amazon refers to as "Perris Mayor Marty Vargas" in an apparent typo, as an "influential elected leader that we have cultivated through PPE donations to support the region, touring him and his team, and ongoing engagement."

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