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View Resolution
Denying a request by the Sara Lee Corporation, the staff of the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has refused to state that
the SEC will take no action against Sara Lee if the company omits
a New York City Pension Fund proposal from its 2003 proxy materials,
according to New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr.
The resolution, submitted on behalf of the New York City Employees’
Retirement System on May 12, calls for Sara Lee to implement a code
of conduct based on International Labor Organization human rights
standards and to commit to a program of outside, independent monitoring.
"The SEC’s decision not to allow Sara Lee to omit this
proposal demonstrates the legitimacy of our fiduciary concern,"
Thompson said. "I am hopeful that Sara Lee shareholders will
see our proposal as an important and necessary action to ensure
that workers worldwide are treated humanely.”
The Sara Lee Corporation, which is headquartered in Chicago, employs
close to 155,000 people worldwide, has operations in 55 countries
and markets products in nearly 200 nations.
The resolution notes that reports of human rights abuses in the
overseas subsidiaries and suppliers of U.S.-based corporations have
generated increased public awareness of child labor, “sweatshop”
conditions and the denial of labor rights.
Such “violations of human rights in these overseas operations
can lead to negative publicity, public protests, and a loss of consumer
confidence, which can have a negative impact on shareholder value,”
the resolution reads. Many companies have implemented monitoring
programs to strengthen compliance with international human rights
norms in subsidiary and supplier factories.
If approved by shareholders, the resolution would require Sara
Lee to comply with International Labor Organization principles,
including that: all workers must have the right to form unions and
bargain collectively; worker representatives must not be subject
to discrimination; there must be no discrimination or intimidation
in employment; employment shall be freely chosen; and, there must
be no use of child labor. It also would require that outside, independent
monitors be utilized to ensure adherence to these principles.
“If consumer confidence and investor confidence are to be
ensured, Sara Lee must make an investment in basic human rights
by adopting these measures,” Thompson said. “By following
through on this, Sara Lee will send a clear message that its overseas
operations are not in any way endorsing or embracing human rights
violations.”
NYCERS has more than $27 million in holdings in Sara Lee. In total,
the city's five pension funds have invested more than $51 million
in the corporation.
The SEC rendered its decision on September 8th. Sara Lee now must
include the resolution in its proxy materials so shareholders can
vote on the measure. Sara Lee’s annual meeting will be held
on October 30th in Orlando, Fla.
Besides Thompson, the NYCERS trustees are: Martha Stark, Chair,
New York City Commissioner of Finance; Betsy Gotbaum, New York City
Public Advocate; C.Virginia Fields, Manhattan Borough President;
Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President; Adolfo Carrion, Bronx
Borough President; Helen Marshall, Queens Borough President; James
Molinaro, Staten Island Borough President; Carl Haynes, President,
Local 237, International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Lillian Roberts,
Executive Director, District Council 37; and, Roger Touissant, President,
Transport Workers Union Local 100.
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