For first time, anti-discrimination shareholder resolution passes despite management resistance

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City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today urged Micron Technology to follow the wishes of its shareholders and immediately adopt a measure to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

This week, Micron Technology reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that its shareholders approved a proposal by the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) that Micron prohibit such discrimination.

“Shareholders have sent a loud and clear message to Micron Technology: all employees must be treated equally and with dignity and respect,” Thompson said. “Micron should heed the wishes of its shareholders and immediately change its policies to bad discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

“The shareholders have made it clear that they are interested in seeing the companies they invest in exercise proper employment practices,” said New York City Finance Commissioner and NYCERS Chair Martha Stark.  “Hiring and promoting employees based on qualifications and performance is the right thing to do for people, and it's right for the bottom line.”

“We at NYCERS are working hard to persuade companies like Micron Technology to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” added New York City Public Advocate and NYCERS Trustee Betsy Gotbaum. “Companies that follow fair labor and hiring practices are not only doing the right thing for their employees but also providing a better long-term investment for their shareholders. Once again, NYCERS is leading the way in shareholder activism and ensuring that members get the best possible return on their money.”

Shareholders voted on the City’s proposal at Micron’s annual shareholder meeting in Boise, Idaho on December 5.

Micron refused to release the results of the vote until filing its quarterly report with the SEC this week. Micron’s report indicates that 299,901,554 shares – or 55.5 percent - were cast in the proposal’s favor, while 240,749,801 were cast in opposition.

“Right now, it is completely legal in Idaho to fire an employee simply because he or she is gay,” said Zachary Wright, a representative of the Pride Foundation, a funder of gay and lesbian issues in the Pacific Northwest which worked with NYCERS to present the resolution at the annual meeting.

“Micron Technology’s shareholders have demonstrated they want their company to judge workers not on their sexual orientation or gender identity, but solely based on their qualifications and job performance.”

The City’s proposal – filed June 5 - called for Micron to amend its written equal employment opportunity policy to explicitly bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This was the first time NYCERS filed the measure with Micron.

This is the first time that a majority of shareholders at any U.S. company have voted to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Although similar resolutions filed by NYCERS and other groups have received increasing support in recent years, no resolution opposed by company management has ever received more than 50% of votes cast in its favor.

Similarly, no resolution which requested non-discrimination protection for transgendered workers has ever received more than 50% in its favor. Previously, Thompson and the City’s Pension Funds withdrew similar measures filed with several companies – including Toys ‘R’ Us, Cerner Corporation, DTE Energy, and Wendy’s – after the companies agree to adopt the changes without putting the measure before shareholders.

The New York City Pension Funds have more than 2.1 million shares valued at more than $38 million in Micron Technology. NYCERS has more than 706,000 shares valued at more than $13 million.

The City has yet to hear from Micron about whether it will adopt the policy, which can either be enacted by its Board of Directors or management.

To date, the Comptroller’s Office and New York City Pension Funds have successfully urged dozens of Fortune 1000 companies to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

Thompson serves on the NYCERS Board of Trustees with: Commissioner Stark; New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum; Borough Presidents Scott Stringer (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.

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