Boston Common Raises Social Concerns at Annual Shareholder Meetings of Three Non-U.S. Companies in 2004: Group 4 Falck, H&M, and Scottish Power
BOSTON, MA –Boston Common Asset Management raised social concerns with management at three non-U.S. Annual General Meetings of shareholders (AGM) in 2004. Boston Common challenged companies to improve their U.S. labor relations practices or to respect the culture and rights of indigenous peoples impacted by the company’s operations. Boston Common’s position was that they should resolve these disputes quickly and amicably in order to protect their reputations and public image. Boston Common had legal representation in 2004 at the AGMs for Group 4 Falck A/S (Denmark), Hennes and Mauritz AB (H&M) (Sweden), and Scottish Power plc (United Kingdom). See below Boston Common’s statements presented at these three AGMs.
Scottish Power: Respect for Indigenous Culture
Statement to Scottish Power Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
Glasgow, Scotland regarding its indigenous rights policy in the U.S.
23 July 2004
Boston Common Asset Management, LLC (Boston Common) is an investment manager that serves investors concerned about the social and environmental impact, as well as the financial return, of their investments. We are actively engaged in promoting social change with companies on behalf of our clients, who are shareholders. Boston Common is a shareholder in Scottish Power and currently holds over 7,000 ordinary shares.
Boston Common supports indigenous rights as an integral part of our human rights advocacy work. We believe that the rights of indigenous peoples include the right of indigenous peoples to pursue their livelihood in the manner that they chose and to protect their culture and traditional lands.
We encourage Scottish Power to listen carefully to Klamath tribes concerns about the loss of fisheries and their way of life due to the six dams in the Klamath Basin owned by Pacific Corp.
We believe that if Scottish Power does not resolve this dispute quickly and amicably, then Scottish Power’s reputation and public image could be damaged, thus harming long-term shareholder value. We urge the board and management of Scottish Power to consider carefully their concerns, in order that a speedy and complete resolution to this dispute is found. Thank you.
H & M: Labor Relations in U.S.
Statement to Hennes & Mauritz – H&M Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
Stockholm, Sweden regarding its labor practices in the U.S.
29 April 2004
Mr. Chairman, Directors, and fellow shareholders:
Boston Common Asset Management, LLC (Boston Common) is an investment manager that serves investors concerned about the social and environmental impact, as well as the financial return, of their investments. We are actively engaged in promoting social change with companies on behalf of our clients, who are shareholders. Boston Common is a shareholder in Hennes & Mauritz – H&M and currently holds over 3,900 ordinary shares. We have previously engaged H&M on other labor and employment standards relating to its vendor standards and verifying that its vendors do not use child labor in their factors, specifically, Indian silk or Egyptian cotton.
As an institutional investor based in the United States, Boston Common has observed the labor dispute between H&M and the U.S. based UNITE trade union that has occurred over the past ten months. We are pleased that H&M and UNITE just recently defined a fair, legal and democratic process by which employees at H&M’s U.S. distribution facilities were able to obtain union representation earlier this month. Also we are aware that in January 2004 H&M signed a global agreement with the Union Network International trade union federation to uphold labor standards, including rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
However, we note that H&M has yet to agree to a fair, legal and democratic process to enable all of H&M’s store workers in the U.S. to decide if they want to form a union, without undue intimidation or resistance from their management. We recently learned that a Regional Office of the U.S. government’s National Labor Relations Board found merit to charges that H&M’s U.S. employment policies, as outlined in a section of H&M’s Employee Handbook, did not comply with employees’ rights to freedom of association under the U.S. National Labor Relations Act, , until a recent government intervention that required H&M to change its policies nationwide.
H&M has a legacy in Sweden of social responsibility and good employee relations. We
understand that the U.S. is a key market for H&M’s future growth and that you anticipate a continued aggressive program of store openings. We applaud H&M’s recent recognition of the union in its U.S. distribution centers, but believe that the right of freedom of association should be available to all U.S. employees, including those in your stores. We believe that if H&M does not resolve its labor problems quickly and amicably, then H&M’s reputation and public image could be damaged, thus harming long-term shareholder value. We urge the board and management of H&M to consider carefully their concerns, in order that a speedy and complete resolution to this dispute is found. Thank you.
Group 4 Falck: Labor Relations in U.S.
Statement to Group 4 Falck Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
Copenhagen, Denmark regarding its labor practices in the U.S.
15 April 2004
Mr. Chairman, Directors, and fellow shareholders.
Boston Common Asset Management, LLC (Boston Common) is an investment manager that serves investors concerned about the social and environmental impact, as well as the financial return, of their investments. We are actively engaged in promoting social change with companies on behalf of our clients, who are shareholders. Boston Common is a shareholder in Group 4 Falck and currently holds over 1,400 ordinary shares.
Boston Common is concerned about Group 4 Falck’s ongoing labor dispute with the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) in the United States and the Company’s reluctance to help raise employment standards in order to strengthen the security industry. Recently we have learned that a number of U.S. labor law charges have been filed against Group 4 Falck concerning two Wackenhut security guards at an IMF building in Washington D.C. who believe that they were fired for union activity.
In 2002 Wackenhut was purchased by Group 4 Falck, which has a legacy in northern Europe of social responsibility and good employee relations. We believe that if Group 4 Falck does not address Wackenhut’s labor problems quickly and amicably, then Group 4 Falck’s reputation and public image could be damaged, thus harming long-term shareholder value. That is why Boston Common has assisted representatives of Wackenhut’s employees to come speak at this meeting. We urge the board and management of Group 4 Falck to consider carefully their concerns, in order that a speedy resolution to this crisis is found. Thank you.
