May 28, 2009

 

Contact:           
Geoff Wisner, Domini Social Investments LLC, Direct: 212-217-1063, Main: 212-217-1100.

Steven Heim, Senior Vice President & Director of Social Research and Advocacy,
Boston Common Asset Management, LLC, Office: 617-720-5557, Mobile: 617-785-9527

 

Global Investor Group Asks S&P 100 Companies How They Ensure Rights for Their U.S. Workers

Investors “recognize that constructive and positive labor relations are critical to a company’s long-term success”

 

New York, NY – An international coalition of major institutional investors, managing $757 billion across the global economy, sent a letter to all S&P 100 companies recently asking for information on how they protect and enhance labor rights for their U.S. employees, and how they view the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560 and H.R. 1409).  

 

The signers of the letter are signatories to the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and believe that environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have a significant impact on long-term financial returns. Company responses to the letter will be shared with all participating PRI signatories.

 

The letter has been sent to companies such as Bank of America, McDonald's and Lowe's. In it, the investor group informs S&P 100 companies that “The freedom to form or join a union of one’s choice or not, and to bargain collectively for the terms of one’s employment, are fundamental human rights that we as global investors recognize and respect.”

 

Steven Heim from Boston Common Asset Management, LLC explained, “The current debate about the Employee Free Choice Act has highlighted the need to better understand a company’s position, workplace policies, and responses regarding unions and collective bargaining, and determine how companies are positioned in light of the Act and the issues it raises. This initiative seeks to gather information to identify best practices and gaps of the largest US corporations in order to generate insights which will feed into our investment decisions.”  

 

"We believe it is in each company's long-term best interests to reassess their policies and procedures to ensure their employees' rights are fully protected," said Adam Kanzer, Managing Director and General Counsel at Domini Social Investments LLC. "We encourage companies to look to the standards set by the International Labor Organization when they establish a higher standard than U.S. law, particularly in the areas of freedom of association and collective bargaining."

 

"There is information from a number of sources, including internationally respected human rights organizations, that raises concerns about gaps between U.S. law and the ILO conventions, particularly freedom of association. There is a gap that could create risks for both employees and employers,” said Bennett Freeman, Senior Vice President of Sustainability Research and Policy at Calvert Asset Management Company Inc.

 

“As long-term investors, we want companies to create value in a sustainable way,” said Ian Greenwood, Chair of the U.K.-based Local Authority Pension Fund Forum. “Constructive labor relations can be a positive influence on productivity, foster trust and loyalty, and help attract and retain skilled staff, therefore this is an area shareholders need to be informed about. We hope this process will give us a better understanding of how US companies are addressing these challenges.”

 

Although individual investors within the Group may have taken a view on the Employee Free Choice Act legislation, the group as a whole has itself not formulated an official position.

 

A copy of the template letter can be downloaded here or at Boston Common Asset Management.

 

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List of Signatories

 

Daniel F. Pedrotty, Director, AFL-CIO Office of Investment, AFL-CIO Employees Staff Retirement Fund

 

Conrad McKerron, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility Program, As You Sow Foundation

 

Michael O’Sullivan, President, Australian Council of Superannuation Investors

 

Steven Heim, Senior Vice President, Director of Social Research and Advocacy, Boston Common Asset Management, LLC

 

Bennett Freeman, Senior Vice President, Sustainability Research and Policy, Calvert Asset Management Company Ltd.

 

Michael D. Underhill, Chief Investment Officer, Capital Innovations, LLC

 

Michael Quicke, Chief Executive, CCLA Investment Management Ltd.

 

Francois Meloche, Extra Financial Risk Manager, Comite Syndical National de Retraite Batirente

 

Adam Kanzer, Managing Director & General Counsel, Domini Social Investments LLC

 

Dominique Biedermann, Executive Director, Ethos Foundation

 

Linda E. Scott, Consultant, Corporate Governance, Governance for Owners LLP / GO USA Inc.

 

Stephen R. Brennan, Principal, Hamilton Lane

 

My-Linh Ngo, Associate Director SRI Research, Henderson Global Investors

 

Colin Melvin, Chief Executive, Hermes Equity Ownership Services

 

Jeanett Bergan, Head of Responsible Investments, Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP) A/S

 

Ian Greenwood, Chair, Local Authority Pension Fund Forum

 

Mike Taylor, CEO, London Pensions Fund Authority

 

Greg Sword, CEO, LUCRF Super

 

Gary A. Hawton, Chief Executive Officer, Meritas Mutual Funds

 

Jay Youngdahl, Co-Chair, Board of Trustees, Middletown Works VEBA

 

Luan Steinhilber, Director of Social Research, Miller/Howard Investments

 

Michael Kramer, AIF ®, Managing Partner & Director of Social Research, Natural Investments, LLC

 

Campbell Watterson, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Newton Investment Management Limited

 

Julie Fox Gorte, Senior Vice President, Sustainable Investing, Pax World Management Corporation

 

Peter Damgaard Jensen, Chief Executive Officer, Pensionskassernes Administration (PKA) A/S

 

Richard W. Torgerson, President & Director of Research, Progressive Asset Management

 

Hans Aasnæs, Chief Executive Officer, Storebrand Investments

 

Stephen Viederman, Finance Committee, The Christopher Reynolds Foundation

 

Ian Jones, Head of Responsible Investment, The Co-operative Asset Management

 

Victor De Luca, President, The Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation

 

Lance E. Lindblom, President & CEO, The Nathan Cummings Foundation

 

Amy Domini, Private Trustee, The Sustainability Group at Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge

 

Kathryn O’Neill, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, The United Church Foundation

 

Therese Niklasson, Head of Governance and SRI, Threadneedle Asset Management

 

Shelley Alpern, Vice President, Trillium Asset Management Corporation

 

Timothy Smith, Senior Vice President, Environmental, Social and Governance Group, Walden Asset Management, a division of Boston Trust and Investment Management Corp.