For Immediate Release
April 21, 2004
ExxonMobil Commits to Uphold Core Labor and Human Rights In Response to Shareholder Proposal
(Washington, DC) April 21, 2004 – In response to a commitment by Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) to uphold fundamental worker and human rights, shareholders announced today that they have withdrawn a proposal they had planned to present at this year's annual meeting on May 26. The proposal urged ExxonMobil to adopt a workplace human rights policy based on the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles at Work.
The shareholders decided to withdraw the proposal after ExxonMobil agreed to include a statement of its intent to uphold the core labor standards set forth by the ILO Declaration in its 2004 Corporate Citizenship Report as well as to continue a regular dialogue and information sharing with the proponents of the proposal. The ILO Declaration includes the following principles: freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor, effective abolition of child labor, and elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Holding more than 7.2 million ExxonMobil shares, proponents of the shareholder proposal are the AFL-CIO; Amnesty International USA; the Teachers' Retirement System of New York City; Boston Common Asset Management, on behalf of Brethren Benefit Trust; the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes; the Grand Rapids Dominicans; the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate; Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE); Unitarian Universalist Service Committee; Sinsinawa Dominicans, Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and Walden Asset Management.
While the shareholders welcomed ExxonMobil's endorsement of worker and human rights, they are determined that the principles be implemented.
"We believe a real commitment to workplace human rights benefits the company and its shareholders. Workers and their families invested their retirement savings in ExxonMobil and expect the company to live by those standards in its operations around the world," said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka.
According to Mila Rosenthal, Director of Amnesty International's Business, Environment and Human Rights Program, "ExxonMobil's recognition of the ILO core labor standards is commendable. But it is only a first step. Amnesty International USA will continue to monitor ExxonMobil, which will help ensure they are addressing these and other critical human rights concerns."
"We hope that these steps by the company will herald the start of a new, forward-looking policy of respect for human rights in its international operations," said William C. Thompson, Jr., New York City Comptroller and a trustee of the New York City Teachers Retirement System (NYTRS).
"As teachers union trustees and advocates for children, we applaud this decision. We hope that it will be conscientiously implemented and closely monitored as part of an ongoing effort to ensure basic human rights in the company's operations," said Randi Weingarten, President of the United Federation of Teachers and a NYTRS trustee.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Joe Drexler, Director of Special Projects for PACE, "While we are pleased that ExxonMobil has recognized the ILO Declaration, we will be closely monitoring the company's practices to ensure that the human and labor rights standards are implemented globally." PACE represents 5,000 ExxonMobil employees who are also shareholders of the company.
The AFL-CIO represents more than 13 million working men and women. Union members participate in the capital markets as individual investors and through a variety of benefit plans. Union sponsored benefit plans have a total of more than $400 billion in total assets.
Amnesty International is a Nobel Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with over 1.8 million members worldwide. Amnesty International undertakes research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.
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Contact: Press Office at (202) 544-0200 x289
For more information, see: http://www.amnestyusa.org/business
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