-- City prompts seventeen companies to improve human rights policies to date--

View Global Human Rights Standards resolution

Responding to shareholder proposals filed by New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., on behalf of the five New York City Pension Funds, four corporations have agreed to take steps to improve workplace human rights policies.

VF Corporation of Greensboro, NC, Fluor Corporation of Aliso Viejo, CA, General Mills of Golden Valley, MN, and Best Buy Co., Inc. of Richfield, MN, have agreed to improve their policies to ensure that their overseas suppliers respect workers’ human rights, as sought in the funds’ shareholder proposals. Having reached agreements with the companies, the funds subsequently withdrew their proposals.

The workplace rights include the following principles: banning child labor; allowing all workers to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively; prohibiting discrimination of worker representatives; barring discrimination or intimidation in employment; and, not using forced labor, including bonded or prison labor.

Shareholder proposals were filed on behalf of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System, New York City Police Pension Fund, New York City Fire Department Pension Fund and New York City Board of Education Retirement System.

“We are pleased that VF Corporation, Fluor Corporation, General Mills and Best Buy have agreed to improve their workplace human rights policies in response to the funds’ resolutions,” Thompson said. “We commend them for taking a responsible approach to their business operations and demonstrating that they are accountable to their shareholders.”

“Workplace human rights are a 20th Century concept that by now should be a universal practice,” said Betsy Gotbaum, NYCERS trustee and New York City Public Advocate. “ Unfortunately, there are companies that are still stuck in the pre-industrial revolution days. Thanks to the New York City Employees’ Retirement System and the leadership of Comptroller Thompson, four companies are finally joining the 21st Century by respecting workers’ basic rights.”

The policies are based on the conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on workplace human rights and the draft United Nations’ Norms on the Responsibility of Transnational Corporations with regard to Human Rights (“UN Norms”). The proposals asked the companies to commit to the implementation of a code of conduct that implements the principles outlined by the ILO and the UN Norms and commit to independent compliance of these principles.

VF Corporation’s Board of Directors agreed with the City's request, and committed to specifically address issues concerning labor rights, health and safety compliance, and its auditing process in a report to be filed by the end of 2005. “We understand and share shareholders' interest in workers' rights issues,” VF stated in a letter to the Comptroller. “VF considers our monitoring and compliance efforts to be essential to our policies.”

Fluor Corporation reported to the Comptroller that the company “recently undertook an overall enhancement of its Compliance and Ethics Program.” Fluor committed to review “the adequacy and effectiveness of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.” Fluor also reported that the company intended “to address the basic tenets embodied in the International Labor Organization conventions on workplace human rights, as well as the United Nations’ Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations with Regard to Human Rights, as set forth in your proposal.”

General Mills expressed the company’s strong commitment to “ethical business conduct and worker human rights in every aspect of our business and in every location where we operate.” Further, General Mills committed to “take the additional step of requiring all suppliers outside the United States and Canada to sign a letter certifying compliance with General Mills’ labor standard policies.”

In a letter to the Comptroller, Best Buy stated that it too is concerned about global human rights and explained the steps it has taken to address the issue. “We have adopted and communicated to our vendors a code of conduct that establishes high standards prohibiting the use of child or forced labor, requiring ethical product sourcing and pricing, and promoting fair labor practices,” the letter read.

Over the past shareholder proxy season, proposals presented at the following companies’ respective shareholders’ meetings received enough votes to satisfy the required vote threshold for resubmission: Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. of Union, NJ; Cooper Industries, Ltd. of Houston, TX; C.R. Bard, Inc. of Murray Hill, NJ; E.I. du Pont De Nemours and Company of Wilmington, DE; Dillard’s, Inc. of Little Rock, AR; Hasbro, Inc. of Pawtucket, RI; Kimberly Clark of Dallas, TX; Primus Telecommunications Group, Inc. of McLean, VA; and TJX Companies, Inc. of Framingham, MA.

“We will continue to move forward with the resolutions in the next proxy season and look forward to having other companies do the right thing,” Thompson said.

Since 2000, when the funds first began submitting shareholder resolutions calling for the strengthened policies, the funds have reached agreements with a total of 17 companies. In addition to the agreements reached with the four corporations this past proxy season, the following companies have agreed to improve their human rights policies: Nautica of New York, NY; Polo Ralph Lauren of New York, NY; Abercrombie & Fitch of New Albany, OH ; May Department Stores of St. Louis, MO ; Jones Apparel of Bristol, PA ; Oshkosh B’Gosh of Oshkosh, WI ; Target of Minneapolis, MN ; Ann Taylor of New York, NY ; Amerada Hess of New York, NY ; Heinz of Pittsburgh, PA ; Federated Dept. Stores of Cincinnati, OH; Nordstrom of Seattle, WA ; and Mattel, Inc. of El Segundo, CA.

The trustees for the five Pension Funds are:

New York City Fire Department Pension Fund: 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: Mayor Michael Bloomberg; New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. 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.

New York City Employees’ Retirement System: New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. 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.

New York City Teachers’ Retirement System: New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. 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.

New York City Board of Education Retirement System: Mayoral appointees 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), Michael Flowers (Queens), and Joan Correale (Staten Island); and employee members Thomas J. Malanga of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 891, and  Milagros Rodriguez of District Council 37, Local 372.

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