These proposals have been submitted to the companies by institutional shareholders. They emphasize the financial reasons why pension funds and other investors should be concerned about the sweatshops issue. At the same time, the proposals ask for actions by companies that are consistent with the approach taken by the Maquila Solidarity Network and the Ethical Trading Action Group. You may not be a shareholder yourself, but you can help to ensure that these proposals receive full consideration by investors. Investors will receive the shareholder proposal in a management proxy circular which will be mailed out from the company in the next couple of months.
Some organizations leave the decision about how to vote up to an investment manager.
Unfortunately, on social and environmental issues, investment managers are likely to automatically vote with company management and against minority shareholders. Increasingly, however, trustees are recognizing that their fiduciary duty includes making their own decisions on these issues or providing clear guidelines to their investment managers. You may personally hold shares in a mutual fund, or your organization may hold mutual fund shares. Call the mutual fund company and ask if it holds shares in the Bay, Sears or Wal-Mart, or check the reports you have received from the funds. For example, our research suggests that in the last year, some funds managed by Mackenzie Financial and Clarica held investments in Sears Canada, and that funds managed by Royal Bank Investment Management and Trimark Investment Management held shares in the Hudson s Bay Company.