From: Harel Barzilai <harelb@igc.org>
Subject: ACTION: Protest Corporate Gag on Social Responsibility Resolutions 
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: University of Missouri
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1992 19:24:41 GMT

    "If business has its way, no company would have ever received a
    shareholder resolution on South Africa, Exxon would never have had to
    take a vote on the environment or the Valdez tragedy at its
    shareholder meeting, nor would Union Carbide regarding Bhopal."
  
              ========================================== 
              Corporations Press SEC to Gag Shareholders 
              ========================================== 
       From _Money Matters_, Vol. 9, No. 1, by Working Assets, 
             socially responsible investments (see below) 

On February 13, a delegation from the Society of Corporation 
Secretaries urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt a 
rule prohibiting social responsibility resolutions from appearing on 
company proxy statements. According to Donald Fried, recently retired 
Corporate Secretary of Philip Morris, these resolutions have "nothing 
to do with the basic business of corporations" [which is profits, to 
the exclusion of democracy (even for shareholders let alone those 
affected who are not born about the economically privileged), or the 
welfare of society as a whole, as prescribed by capitalism --HB] and 
are proposed by "particular activist groups." 

Philip Morris has received numerous shareholder challenges. "One, for 
example, urged them to put warning labels on cigarette packets 
throughout the world. Ironically, Philip Morris is also the tour 
sponsor of the U.S. Bill of Rights. If we're not mistaken, shareholder 
rights is a concept recognized by more than "particular activist 
groups." 

This attempt to stop shareholder activism has apparently received a 
sympathetic audience with at least one SEC Commissioner. Last fall, 
Commissioner John Roberts argued for such a prohibition or at least 
new severe restrictions on social responsibility resolutions. 

According to Tim Smith, Executive Director of the Interfaith Center on 
Corporate Responsibility and a "Working Assets Advisor, "If business 
has its way, no company would have ever received a shareholder 
resolution on South Africa, Exxon would never have had to take a vote 
on the environment or the Valdez tragedy at its shareholder meeting, 
nor would Union Carbide regarding Bhopal. 

No company could be petitioned by shareholders to release EEO 
information, and baby formula companies would never have faces 
resolutions for ending formula abuses." 

In 1991, a record number (800) of letters forces the SEC to withdraw 
and revise a proposal on shareholder communications. Smith urges all 
Working Assets members (and we urge all UseNet, EcoNet, and PeaceNet, 
and other Nets' readers) to contact the SEC on this issue by writing 

Mr. Richard Breeden,  
Chair, Securities and Exchange Commission, 
450 Fifth Street NW, 
Washington, D.C. 20549 

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***CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS*** 

Do you have a socially-conscious money-market account with Working 
Assets and are interested in posting articles of interest, like the 
above, from their monthly _Money Matters_? Then we'd like to hear from 
you! You needn't commit yourself to a regular "job" or posting from 
every issue. 

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For more info about Working Assets and other socially progressive 
investment funds, use the GET command (see below) with the two-word 
file name SOCIAL INVEST 

  SOCIAL   INVEST    Investing with a conscience 

try also GET with: 

  ABOUT    CO-OPS    Democratic Control,not owner profits fm customers 
  CREDIT   UNIONS    Unlike banks, run by&for members,not $tockholders 


Harel 


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