New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., on behalf of the New York City Pension Funds, today vowed to resubmit the Funds’ shareholder resolution calling on the company to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation.

At ExxonMobil’s annual meeting in Dallas, Texas today the resolution received approximately 39.6 percent support, up from 37.7 percent last year. Today’s vote marks the ninth time the resolution was voted upon by shareholders.

“Once again, ExxonMobil has refused to be an industry leader in adopting basic protections for its employees. By barring discrimination based on sexual orientation, ExxonMobil would join industry peers in improving working conditions for its employees,” Thompson said. “The New York City Pension Funds, however, remain steadfast in their belief that change is needed at ExxonMobil to establish equal rights in the workplace, and will continue their efforts to gain that equality.”

The New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS), New York City Teachers' Retirement System (TRS), New York City Police Pension Fund, New York City Fire Department Pension Fund, and New York City Board of Education Retirement System had filed the resolution, which can be viewed at www.comptroller.nyc.gov .

At today’s meeting, the New York City Pension Funds also cast their votes in favor of other shareholder resolutions seeking that ExxonMobil address climate change issues as well as separate the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer positions.

Thompson said last week about those shareholder resolutions: “For many years, the Board of Directors has failed to demonstrate independence from management, and has generally remained silent and unresponsive to issues on which long-term shareholders have sought meaningful engagement. The company can take the first step to reforming itself by separating the positions of CEO and Chairman of the Board.

The Board can demonstrate new leadership by acting to position the company for the inevitable carbon-constrained future. While recent unprecedented profits have served to boost executive pay, and win support from some short-term investors, clearly this is not sustainable.”

The New York City Pension Funds have more than 19 million shares valued at more than $1.7 billion in ExxonMobil.

ExxonMobil does not explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in its Equal Employment Opportunity policy, while industry peers – such as Amerada Hess, BP, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil, Occidental Petroleum, Shell Oil, and Sunoco – do so, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).

In January, Thompson and the Pension Funds announced an unprecedented effort to urge America’s largest companies to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity – nearly twice as many proposals as in the previous proxy season.

This proxy season, management at Erie Indemnity, SPX Corp., The Brink’s Company, Synovus Financial Corp., AK Steel Corp., Marshall & Ilsley Corp, BorgWarner, Inc., Fidelity National Financial, and Liberty Global, Inc. all agreed to adopt the changes. The New York City Pension Funds have since withdrawn those resolutions.

Besides Thompson, the New York City Pension Funds’ trustees are:

New York City Employees’ Retirement System: New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark (Chair); 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, Gregory Floyd, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

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 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; Michael Currid, Captains’ Rep.; John J. McDonnell , 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; Edward D. Mullins, Sergeants Benevolent Association; Thomas Drogan, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; and, Roy T. Richter, Captains Endowment Association

Board of Education Retirement System: mayoral appointees Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Alan Aviles, Philip Berry, David Chang, Tino Hernandez, Edison O. Jackson, Richard Menschel and Marita Regan; Luis Peguero (Bronx), Patrick Sullivan (Manhattan), Wendy Gilgeous (Brooklyn), and Joan Correale (Staten Island); and employee members Joseph D'Amico of the IUOE Local 891 member and Milagros Rodriguez of District Council 37, Local 372. 

###