RENEWS CALL FOR EXXONMOBIL TO BAR DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION

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New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., on behalf of the New York City Employees Retirement System (NYCERS), today called on seven Fortune 500 companies to adopt policies that specifically bar discrimination based on sexual orientation. Thompson additionally renewed his call for ExxonMobil to amend its non-discrimination policy to prohibit such discrimination. An ninth company targeted by the city immediately revised its policy.

"It is important that we send a message to companies that once we file shareholder proposals, we're not going to go away until they do the right thing," Thompson said. "We will not give up until all of these companies amend their policies to provide equal treatment for all."

Thompson announced that shareholder proposals have been filed for the first time on behalf of NYCERS with: AES Corporation of Arlington, Virginia; Smurfit Stone Container of Chicago, Illinois; the Altell Corporation of Hazelwood, North Carolina; Centerpoint Energy of Houston, Texas; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio; Waste Management, Inc. of Houston, Texas; and the Southern Company of Atlanta, Georgia.

Thompson noted that the CSX Corporation of Jacksonville, Florida, immediately amended its policy to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation after the Comptroller filed a shareholder proposal; the proposal has now been withdrawn. The Comptroller noted that his office intends to target additional companies in the coming months.

"Amending these policies sends a message to the community at large as well as members of our pension fund, that says the companies we invest in reach out to the best and the brightest," Thompson said. "That is good business."

"I applaud Bill Thompson and his staff for using capital strategies as a tool for protecting gay and lesbian employees from discrimination," said Alan Van Capelle, Executive Director at the Empire State Pride Agenda. "It's a wake up to call to corporate America."

"We expect the companies in which we invest City pension funds to hire and promote employees based on their qualifications and performance," said New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark, who is Chair of the Boards of Trustees of NYCERS and the Teachers' Retirement System. "It's good policy and good business. We call on these companies to prohibit discrimination and once and for all resolve doubts about their commitment to equal employment opportunity."

This is the fourth time that NYCERS has submitted the resolution with ExxonMobil. Last year, 27.3 percent of ExxonMobil shares were voted in support of the resolution, which calls for ExxonMobil to adopt a policy stating: "Employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation diminishes employee morale and productivity….Our company would benefit by a consistent, corporate-wide policy to enhance efforts to prevent discrimination, resolve complaints internally, and ensure a respectful and supportive atmosphere for all employees."

NYCERS currently holds 11.9 million shares worth approximately $446 million in the company. The resolution originally was triggered by ExxonMobil's repeal of a policy that formally prohibited discrimination.

"We applaud Comptroller Thompson's leadership on this issue and thank him and NYCERS for the progress their work has sparked," said Kim I. Mills, education director of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national lesbian and gay advocacy organization, based in Washington, D.C. "The Human Rights Campaign Foundation will again co-file this resolution, and we look forward to the day when ExxonMobil joins the thousands of other U.S. companies that explicitly protect and welcome gay and lesbian employees."

"ExxonMobil maintains that its current policy, which does not reference sexual orientation, is adequate. But no court has ever upheld such an interpretation," said Shelley Alpern, Director of Social Research and Advocacy at Trillium Asset Management, which again has co-sponsored the resolution.

"It is high time for ExxonMobil to act on the wishes of its shareholders," added NYCERS trustee and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. "We are sending a loud and clear message that our commitment to maintaining a discrimination-free work environment at ExxonMobil will remain steadfast. It is in the best interest of our pension fund members that the companies in which we invest protect the rights of all employees, regardless of sexual orientation."

Serving with Comptroller Thompson and Gotbaum on the NYCERS board are: Martha Stark, NYCERS Chairperson and Commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance; Borough Presidents C. Virginia Fields (Manhattan), Marty Markowitz (Brooklyn), Adolfo Carrion (Bronx), Helen Marshall (Queens), and James Molinaro (Staten Island); Lillian Roberts, Executive Director of District Council 37, AFSCME; Roger Toussaint, President, TWU-Local 100; and, Carroll Haynes, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

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