Shareholder Advocacy for the 2021 Proxy Season

 

Amazon (AMZN) – 2021 is the third consecutive year HII has introduced our resolution on the human and civil rights risks posed by Amazon’s increasingly controversial facial recognition technology, Rekognition. We are pleased to announce that this year Mercy Investment Services are co-filers on this proposal. Amazon never attempted to engage with HII regarding our resolution this year, and our proposal appeared on the 2021 ballot.

Amazon’s shareholder meeting was held May 26, 2021. Our proposal received 34.3% shareholder support.

Michael Connor, Executive Director of Open MIC, presented our resolution at the Amazon virtual shareholder meeting.

 

Bank of America (BAC) – Companies, such as BAC and the other banks with whom we filed similar shareholder proposals, signed a pledge created by the Business Roundtable (BRT), entitled the “New Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation”, pledging to commit to the interests of all stakeholders. So, for the 2021 proxy season we have expanded the concept of requesting banks to become Public Benefit Corporations (PBCs) to other banks, including Bank of America. By converting to a PBC, a company would be better able to serve the interest of all stakeholders, not simply bound to serving the interests solely of shareholders. We have had one conversation with BAC this year regarding our proposal. During our discussion, representatives at BAC expressed that they feel the company already does everything to serve all stakeholders, not just shareholders. We respectfully disagree and believe that this commitment should be a fiduciary obligation of the Board of Directors, and by becoming a PBC, they could fully realize this commitment.

Click here to access the Exempt Solicitation for HII’s resolution at Bank of America.

Bank of America’s shareholder meeting was held April 20, 2021. Our proposal received approximately 2.5% shareholder support.

Sara Murphy, Chief Strategy Officer at the Shareholder Commons, spoke on our behalf at the Bank of America virtual shareholder meeting.

 

Bank of Montreal (BMO) – 2021 marks year two of HII’s resolution requesting BMO to issue a report on how the company will transition out of their financing of the fossil fuel industry. Though we had a conversation with BMO, we disagreed that the steps the company was currently taking were sufficient, and our proposal appeared in the proxy statement and on the shareholder ballot.

Bank of Montreal’s shareholder meeting was held April 7, 2021. Our proposal was on the shareholder ballot and received approximately 18% shareholder support.

John Harrington moved the resolution at the virtual shareholder meeting.

 

Citigroup (C) – Citigroup is a bank at which we introduced another proposal regarding the “New Statement on the Purpose of the Corporation” Business Roundtable (BRT) pledge and the commitment to serve all stakeholders, coming in the form of a request to become a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC).

Click here to access the Exempt Solicitation for HII’s resolution at Citigroup.

Citigroup’s shareholder meeting will be held April 27, 2021. HII’s proposal received approximately 2.5% shareholder support.

Frederick (Rick) Alexander, CEO of the Shareholder Commons, gave a statement on our behalf at the virtual shareholder meeting.

 

Coca-Cola (KO) – HII introduced a resolution at KO for the third year in 2021, emphasizing the issue of sugar and public health, requesting our company to issue an independent report on the subject, including but not limited to, studying the impact of their marketing of sugary beverages to youth. HII partnered with Corporate Accountability on this proposal, and the food justice organization Feed the Truth assisted in coordinating in campaigning and media efforts. Initially, we did not hear back from KO to discuss this proposal, but the company filed a technical challenge with the SEC questioning our legal proof of ownership in KO. However, HII’s proposal was, in fact, included in the proxy material.

Coca-Cola’s shareholder meeting was held April 20, 2021. HII’s proposal received 9.2% support from shareholders.

Nse Ufot, Executive Director of the New Georgia Project, presented our proposal at the virtual shareholder meeting. Along with addressing KO’s history of marketing sugar-laden products to youth and black and brown communities, Nse raised the issue of voter suppression and the company’s vast political influence.

 

Goldman Sachs (GS) – GS is also a focus for our Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) suite of resolutions at banks. We have had the opportunity to speak with representatives at GS, and though they were interested in hearing more about the concept of the resolution, they are not considering implementation.

Click here to access the Exempt Solicitation for the Goldman Sachs proposal.

Goldman Sachs’ shareholder meeting was held April 29, 2021. HII’s proposal received approximately 2.3% shareholder support.

Frederick (Rick) Alexander, CEO of the Shareholder Commons, moved the resolution on behalf of HII at the virtual shareholder meeting.

 

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) – JPM also received a shareholder proposal from HII, requesting a company report on converting to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). JPM swiftly responded with a report that JPM could convert to a PBC by balancing the interests of stakeholders and shareholders, but management believed it was not appropriate at this time.

JPMorgan Chase’s shareholder meeting was held May 18, 2021.

 

McDonald’s (MCD) – Another of our ‘Sugar and Public Health’ proposals, our resolution at MCD was submitted for a second year in a row, requesting a report on the company’s targeting of children in minority and low-income communities with their marketing of junk food and sugary beverages. We partnered with our colleagues at Corporate Accountability to draft the resolution and coordinated with the food justice organization Feed the Truth for media and campaigning efforts. MCD did not reach out to HII to discuss our proposal.

McDonald’s shareholder meeting was held May 20, 2021. HII’s proposal received 10.7% shareholder support.

Terrence Wise, “Fight for $15” and Union Activist, once again represented HII at the shareholder meeting.

 

Microsoft (MSFT) – HII decided to address the growing concerns surrounding facial recognition technology with MSFT in 2021, given the success of the Amazon proposal on Rekognition, and the increasing opposition from shareholders, stakeholders, civil rights groups and members of the public. MSFT announced in 2020 that they would no longer sell their facial recognition software to police departments in the U.S. but made no mention of banning the sale of this technology to any other sectors of government, domestic or foreign. Given departments like ICE and DHS utilize other technology created by MSFT, we felt that it was necessary to call on the company to extend the ban. This proposal requests that the Board of Directors bans the sale of their facial recognition technology to all government entities, foreign or domestic. MSFT acknowledged receipt of our proposal, and it was included in the company’s 2021 proxy material and shareholder ballot.

Microsoft’s shareholder meeting was held November 30, 2021. HII’s proposal received 4% shareholder support.

Jen Lee of the American Civil Liberties Union, Washington, represented HII and made a statement at the virtual shareholder meeting, along with Stan Shikuma and Savannah Sly.

 

PepsiCo (PEP) – For a second year, we introduced the resolution on sugar and public health at PEP. The company is steadfast in the assertion that PEP already does enough in terms of addressing the issue of sugar and public health, stating that they engage in audits and third-party assessments. We believe that a truly unbiased, independent study by health experts and scholars would serve in the company’s best interest. Corporate Accountability assisted in drafting the shareholder resolution. HII also received support from the food justice organization Feed the Truth through their media and campaign efforts.

PepsiCo’s shareholder meeting was held May 5, 2021. HII’s proposal received 14% shareholder support.

Dr. Yolandra Hancock, Pediatrician and public health advocate, once again presented the resolution at the PepsiCo meeting.

 

Tesla Motors (TSLA) – HII elected to co-file with Nia Impact Capital this year on the resolution they introduced for a second year at TSLA. The resolution addresses the issue of forced arbitration and asks the company to produce a report evaluating the impact of the use of mandatory arbitration on TSLA employees and company culture. The requested report is to address the impact “on the prevalence of harassment and discrimination in the workplace and on employees’ ability to seek redress.” As Nia Impact Capital is the lead filer, they will be engaging and negotiating with TSLA. A similar proposal from Nia Impact Capital received 26.8% support from shareholders in 2020.

Tesla’s shareholder virtual meeting was held October 7, 2021. The proposal jumped in support, receiving a whopping 47% of shareholder support.

The CEO &CIO of Nia Impact Capital, Kristin Hull, moved the proposal, making an audio statement during the meeting.

TJX Companies (TJX) – Round 2 for HII’s shareholder resolution on animal welfare at the retail giant, TJX. Though TJX made a notable improvement regarding animal welfare by committing to ban fur from all TJX retail stores. However, the company still sells products with animal-derived materials and has no policy to ensure the humane treatment of these animals throughout the supply chain, therefore we returned for our second year with this proposal. We have had one conversation with the legal counsel at the company and they concede that TJX has no plans to create an animal welfare policy or take further action to protect the welfare of animals at this time.

TJX’s shareholder meeting was held June 8, 2021. The proposal received 9.2% shareholder support.

Brianna Harrington once again presented the shareholder resolution at the TJX meeting.

Wells Fargo (WFC) – In 2020, HII asked WFC to commission a report on the feasibility of becoming a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), and the company provided us with said report. This year, HII requested that WFC amend their Certificate of Incorporation to become a PBC.

Click here to access the Exempt Solicitation for the Wells Fargo proposal.

Wells Fargo’s shareholder meeting was held April 27, 2021. HII’s proposal received roughly 3% shareholder support.

Sara Murphy, Chief Strategy Officer at the Shareholder Commons, presented on behalf of HII at the Wells Fargo virtual shareholder meeting.