Thanks to the efforts of Sr. Valerie Heinonen, osu, director of shareholder advocacy and ECPAT-USA, Delta Airlines has become the first domestic airline and the third U.S. organization to sign the Code, which focuses on the protection of children from sexual exploitation in the travel and tourism industries.

 ECPAT had been working with Northwest Airlines – prior to its merger with Delta – on its willingness to sign the Code. In 2009 and 2010, Sister Valerie, with an ECPAT representative, attended Delta’s annual meeting and asked whether Delta would sign the Code. In 2010, Mercy Investment Services filed a resolution asking Delta Airlines to address the issue of child sex tourism and sign the Code. As a result of positive discussions, Mercy withdrew the resolution and ECPAT approved Delta’s application making it the first domestic airline, second only to Air France, to adopt the Code. While hundreds of travel industry members worldwide have signed the Code, only three U.S. organizations have.

By signing the Code, Delta has agreed to implement policies that condemn child trafficking and train employees to identify and report trafficking activities. Delta also plans to include information about ECPAT and the Code on its website and in its Sky magazine.

Click here to read the full press release about the signing.

Aiming to spur greater corporate involvement in the reform of U.S. immigration policy, the Unitarian Universalist Association, along with more than 60 institutional investors, is urging the CEOs of leading American companies to speak out for immigration policy reform.

The group of investors, representing more than $145 billion, issued a letter on February 23 urging CEOs to speak out publicly in support of reform that includes a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants. The letter suggests that companies post their support on their websites and in other corporate publications.

The initiative was spearheaded by Tim Brennan, treasurer and chief financial officer of the UUA. He said the religious witness events in Phoenix, Ariz., in July 2010 prompted leaders of the UUA to think about how they could apply their shareholder advocacy to the immigration issue. During the July 2010 protests, more than 150 Unitarian Universalists gathered to protest Arizona’s strict anti-illegal immigration laws, and 29 people, including UUA President Peter Morales, were arrested for their civil disobedience.

Brennan convened the first meeting of the group’s original investors in September 2010. Among the original group that crafted the initiative were officials with Walden Asset Management, Mercy Investment Services, Boston Common Asset Management, and New York City Comptroller John C. Liu.

The letter, signed by representatives of labor unions, investment firms, and faith-based investors, calls immigration reform a “human rights and business imperative.” It urges companies to speak out “in favor of a comprehensive immigration policy, including a pathway for currently unauthorized immigrants to earn legal status. Recognizing the historic and ongoing importance of immigrants in creating a prosperous U.S. economy, we are deeply troubled by the contentious public debate that is stifling progress on an issue that should rise above partisanship. A successful outcome is much more likely if major corporations express publicly their strong support for immigration reform.”

The investor group was eager to use their leverage as shareholders to push reform. One option frequently employed by activist shareholders—the resolution presented at the annual general meeting—was determined to be inappropriate for this application because of SEC limitations. To address what is primarily a public policy issue, the investors believed that direct appeals to corporate CEOs would be more effective. “Getting companies to speak out on public policy can create a model for what public debate might look like,” Brennan said. “The debate has gotten irrational.”

The original working group was inspired by an effort by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose office spearheaded the creation of the Partnership for a New American Economy, a bipartisan coalition of mayors and business leaders who are making the economic case for sensible immigration reform. “Humane, comprehensive immigration reform is necessary for New York City and the rest of our nation to remain competitive in the global marketplace,” said Liu, New York City comptroller.

In addition to being a business imperative, humane immigration policy is also a moral imperative, the signers urge. “Regardless of our faith, we share a moral responsibility to stop the suffering caused by the current immigration policy, especially to families,” said Brennan. “And as members of the investment community, we know the path to economic prosperity lies ultimately with the humane treatment of our workers.”

The letter calls effective and fair immigration reform a “shared responsibility of individuals, companies, and government.” It states that the major components of comprehensive reform should include: effective border control, employer accountability, improved processes for needed temporary and permanent workers, and a pathway to legal status for currently unauthorized residents. “We believe comprehensive reform must be developed and implemented consistent with the human rights of all concerned, value the integrity of families, and prevent immigrant workers—be they temporary or permanent—from being subjected to second-class employment standards,” the letter said.

The letter was sent to CEOs of major American companies, and it asked them to respond by March 16, to join the effort to advocate for humane immigration reform. “We call on corporate America to be a champion of sensible immigration reform,” said Heidi Soumerai, senior vice president for Walden Asset Management. “Reform is good for business, is rooted in a great source of America’s strength, and is simply the right thing to do.”

Read the original article here.

March 4, 2011

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) has spearheaded a group of more than sixty institutional investors who are demanding comprehensive reform of America's broken immigration system. These institutional investors, representing more than $145 billion in assets, are asking chief executive officers (CEOs) of leading companies in the United States to speak out for immigration policy reform and to say that repairing our current immigration system is an economic and human rights imperative.

This effort was proposed and initiated by UUA Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Tim Brennan. Along with UUA, other leaders of the initiative include Heidi Soumerai of Walden Asset Management, Susan Makos of Mercy Investment Services, Inc., Dawn Wolfe of Boston Common Asset Management, and John Liu, Comptroller for the City of New York.

In a political climate marked by growing anti-immigrant rhetoric, the UUA and its fellow investors hope to interject a reasonable voice into the immigration debate. They cite the need for corporate leaders to support and protect the labor force on which they rely, and to speak out against exploitation and abuse of workers in industries that rely heavily on immigrants.

To achieve their goal, the group has contacted CEOs of major American corporations to advocate for a balanced approach to immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship and increased opportunities for immigrants to enter the US workforce. Signatories point out that this initiative is grounded in the desire for social justice and includes strong interfaith cooperation, while also focusing on their fiduciary responsibility.

"Regardless of our faith affiliation, we all share a moral responsibility to stop the suffering caused by the current immigration policy, especially to families," says Brennan, "and as members of the investment community, we know the path to economic prosperity lies ultimately with the humane treatment of our workers."

Despite their contributions to American society, all immigrants are at risk as a result of the current inflammatory rhetoric that engenders discrimination and incites violence. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights suggests that an alarming escalation of hate crimes against Hispanics through 2007 appears to correlate with the debate on immigration reform.

As of March 2009, there were an estimated 5 million children in the U.S. who either were undocumented immigrants themselves or were born in the U.S. with at least one undocumented immigrant parent. These children are extremely vulnerable to policies that could permanently separate their families. Moreover, the fear of exposure keeps undocumented workers, who are disproportionately represented in low-wage occupations, especially vulnerable to unscrupulous employers who can violate wage, safety, and discrimination laws with impunity.

"We know achieving justice in immigration reform will be challenging," says Brennan. "But I am honored to represent the UUA in this effort, which is so clearly grounded in our principles and social justice work."

Daisy Kincaid, Public Relations Director for the UUA, coordinated the creation and distribution of the press release for this effort. Read the letter sent to CEOs.

The work of the UUA is made possible by the generosity of individual donors and gifts to the Annual Program Fund. Please consider making a donation today to continue this important work.

Walden Asset Management; Unitarian Universalist Association

BOSTON, March 2, 2011 -- 

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 60 institutional investors are calling on CEOs of the leading companies in the United States to speak out for immigration policy reform. They say that fixing our broken immigration system is an economic and human rights imperative.

In a political climate marked by growing anti-immigrant rhetoric, these investment leaders are pushing for a national immigration policy that provides the basis for long-term economic growth while addressing a crucial human rights issue. Leaders of the initiative include John Liu, Comptroller for the City of New York, as well as senior management from Mercy Investment Services, Inc., Boston Common Asset Management, Walden Asset Management, and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).

The group aims to interject a reasonable voice into the immigration debate, citing the need for greater corporate involvement in the reform process. Immigration reform is imperative, they say, to ensure a competitive U.S. labor force and a cessation of exploitation and abuse in industries that rely heavily on immigrant workers.

To achieve its goal, the group is asking CEOs of major American corporations to advocate for a balanced approach to immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship and increased opportunities for immigrants to enter the United States workforce. Further, CEOs are urged to participate in meaningful immigration discussion that transcends partisan politics and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

They cite the recently created Partnership for a New American Economy (www.renewoureconomy.org) as an example of how companies can contribute to the policy debate in a positive way. This is a bipartisan coalition led by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, with CEOs of Boeing, Marriot, Microsoft, News Corporation, and Walt Disney as co-chairs of the Partnership.

As of March 2009, there were an estimated 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants (down 8% from the 2007 peak), of whom 1.1 million are children. Four million more children were born in the U.S. and are living with at least one unauthorized immigrant parent. These children are vulnerable to policies that could undermine their ability to become contributing members of our society. Moreover, the fear of exposure keeps undocumented workers vulnerable to unscrupulous employers who violate wage, safety, and discrimination laws.

Read the original article here.

More Details: http://www.waldenassetmgmt.com/social/action/immigration_PR2011.pdf

In November, the annual cotton harvest ended in Uzbekistan, which produces one-third of the world's cotton and receives approximately $1 billion per year from cotton exports. However, the country's cotton harvest has attracted international scrutiny in recent years, following confirmation by the U.S. Department of State, United Nations organizations and various media of widespread use of forced child labor. Children as young as 10 years old are forced to work the two-month harvest. In 2010, Uzbekistan's administration of educational institutions, as ordered by the local mayors' offices, sent schoolchildren to the fields from September 10 until November 10.

F&C Management, one of Mercy Investment Services' investment managers, has joined major European clothing brands such as Next, H&M and Adidas, retailers including Carrefour, industry working groups and campaigners, to find an industry-wide solution to this problem. Recognizing the difficulties in tracing the origin of a highly commoditized product like cotton, F&C recommended that companies work together to encourage their own suppliers to identify Uzbek cotton, and to engage further with cotton traders and textile mills to ensure all parts of the commodity chain are covered. Through F&C's engagement, more than 70 companies committed in 2010 to phase out Uzbek cotton and to pass those policies on to their suppliers.

Mercy Investment Services continues to monitor this issue and determine how we can encourage companies to avoid using child labor. As part of the Sisters of Mercy's concern for children, Mercy Investment Services works to preserve human dignity by engaging companies on issues including child labor and human trafficking. Click here to read more about Mercy Investment Services' shareholder advocacy priorities, including human trafficking and fair treatment of workers.