View Alberto Culver Letter
View MacBride resolution

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., on behalf of the City's five Pension Funds, announced today that Alberto Culver, which operates subsidiaries in Northern Ireland , has agreed to implement the MacBride Principles, a set of guidelines to establish justice and equality in the workplace.

In a letter from Alberto Culver, the company stated: “Alberto Culver Company's United Kingdom subsidiary, Sally Hair and Beauty Supplies Limited (Sally)… is committed to equal opportunity in the workplace. Sally is committed to take lawful steps in good faith to conduct business in Northern Ireland in accordance with the equal employment standards embodied in the MacBride Principles, as Sally believes these principles are best applied to its operations, and consistent with our equal opportunity policies.”

“I am pleased to learn that Alberto Culver has agreed to implement the MacBride Principles to end discrimination in the workplace,” Thompson said. “Since 1989, more than 90 companies with headquarters in the United States have adopted the principles due to shareholder proposals submitted by the Pension Funds. Alberto Culver will join dozens of other companies working to promote a policy that encourages tolerance and equality.”

The MacBride Principles were promulgated in 1984 by late Irish statesman, Nobel Peace laureate, and founder of Amnesty International Sean MacBride and several associates to serve as guidelines for corporations in Northern Ireland to ensure fair employment standards and foster a diverse workforce. The Pension Funds reached their first agreement to adopt the Principles in 1989 with Digital Equipment, which has since merged with Hewlett Packard.

Alberto Culver, of Melrose Park , IL , is the third company this year to adopt the principles due to shareholder resolutions filed by the Pension Funds. The Funds hold 198,639 shares valued at $8,889,095 in the company. The other companies are Claire's Stores of Hoffman Estates, IL, and Yum Brands of Louisville, KY.

The proposal was submitted by the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS), Teachers' Retirement System of the City of New York (TRS), New York City Police Pension Fund, New York City Fire Department Pension Fund and the New York City Board of Education Retirement System (BERS).

The trustees for the five Pension Systems 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.

A copy of the resolution and letter can be found on the Comptroller's web site at: www.comptroller.nyc.gov

###