-- Shareholder resolution will be resubmitted to Coca-Cola --

View Coca-Cola Proposal

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today vowed to continue efforts on behalf of New York City 's five pension systems to urge Coca-Cola to agree to an independent review of alleged human rights abuses at its Colombia affiliate.

“I am pleased with the level of shareholder support our resolution garnered at this year's annual shareholder meeting,” Comptroller Thompson said. “Last week, more than 86 million shares – or about 5.4 percent of those cast – were voted in support of this measure. The New York City Pension Funds have a long and proud tradition of shareholder activism, and our call for action on this important human rights issue continues this tradition.”

Earlier this year, the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS), the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS), the Police Pension Fund, the Fire Department Pension Fund and the Board of Education Retirement System (BERS) filed a shareholder resolution asking Coca-Cola to fulfill its promise of sponsoring a delegation of representatives from U.S. and Colombian human rights organizations to examine the charges of collusion in anti-union violence that have been made against officials of Coca-Cola's bottling plants in that country. In total, the five funds have 6.6 million shares worth $276.4 million in Coca-Cola.

Since 1995, union officials and unionized employees of Coca-Cola's Colombian affiliate have been subjected to numerous attacks and physical threats from paramilitary forces. There also have been persistent allegations of collusion between paramilitary forces and officials of Coca-Cola's Colombian bottling affiliate.

At Coca-Cola's annual shareholder meeting in Wilmington , DE , last week, 86,051,842 shares were voted in the measure's favor, while 1,499,358,866 were voted against the measure; additionally, there were 121,966,739 abstentions.

“Corporations that conduct business in an irresponsible manner – either by polluting the environment, mistreating employees or otherwise violating basic human rights – can pose serious risks to investors,” Thompson said. “I expect that with the approval and support of the Pension Funds we will resubmit this resolution during the next shareholder season.”

The trustees of the city's five pension boards are:

New York City Fire Department Pension Fund: Comptroller Thompson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg; New York City Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta (Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark; Stephen Cassidy, President, James Slevin, Vice President, Robert Straub, Treasurer, and John Kelly, Brooklyn Representative and Chair, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York; Peter Gorman, President and Captains' Rep., Nicholas J. Visconti, Chiefs' Rep., and Stephen J. Carbone, Lieutenants' Rep., Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and, Joseph Gagliardi, Marine Engineers Association.

New York City Police Pension Fund: Comptroller Thompson; Mayor Bloomberg; Commissioner Stark; New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly (Chair); Patrick Lynch, Patrolmen's Benevolent Association; Michael Palladino, Detectives Endowment Association; Edwin Mullins, Sergeants Benevolent Association; Anthony Garvey, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; and, John Driscoll, Captains Endowment Association.

NYCERS: Comptroller Thompson; Commissioner Stark (Chair); New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum; Borough Presidents C. Virginia Fields (Manhattan), Helen Marshall (Queens), Marty Markowitz (Brooklyn), Adolfo Carrion (Bronx), and James Molinaro (Staten Island); Lillian Roberts, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; Roger Toussaint , President Transport Workers Union Local 100; and, Carroll (Carl) Haynes, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

TRS: Comptroller Thompson; Commissioner Stark (Chair); Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm, New York City Department of Education; and, Sandra March, Melvyn Aaronson and Mona Romain, all of the United Federation of Teachers.

BERS: Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Alan Aviles, Phillip Berry, David Chang, Tino Hernandez, Augusta Souza Kappner, Richard Menschel and Marita Regan; Borough President appointees Jesse Mojica (Bronx), Martine G. Guerrier (Brooklyn), Jacquelyn Kamin (Manhattan), Michael Flowers (Queens) and Joan Correale (Staten Island); and employee members Thomas J. Malanga, International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 891, and Milagros Rodriguez of District Council 37, Local 372.

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