Committee on Workers' Capital

Shared Prosperity: The Investor Case for Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining

Tamara Herman — 2022-11-29T15:59:00Z

This brief explains why respect for the fundamental labour rights of collective bargaining and freedom of association is important to investors.

For information on the PRI in Person Side event, click here.

When workers come together in a trade union, they can effect meaningful changes in their compensation and working conditions, bringing valuable benefits to themselves and their companies and contributing to broader societal goals of economic growth, income and wealth equality, equity and inclusion. As these benefits and contributions are of interest to investors, this brief outlines how they can meet their responsibilities to protect workers' fundamental labour rights.

Read the full report here

cwc_foa_cb_report.pdf

Read the Executive Summary here

cwc_foa_cb_report_executive_summary.pdf

PRI in Person Side-Event - "Shared Prosperity: The Investor Case for Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining"

Hugues Letourneau — 2022-10-18T21:06:55Z

Friday, December 2, 2022 | 7:45 am - 9:00 am
Barcelona, Spain | CCIB – Barcelona International Conference Centre, Room 118-119 Level P1

The Global Unions' Committee on Workers' Capital (CWC) invites PRI in Person attendees to a briefing session on its new report, “Shared Prosperity: The Investor Case for Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining.”

PRI in Person attendees are encouraged to pre-register here

ABOUT THE EVENT

Opening remarks:

David Atkin, CEO, PRI
Brandon Rees, Deputy Director of Corporations and Capital Markets, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)

Report summary

Lisa Nathan, Senior Investor Engagement Advisor, UNI Global Union

Respondent panel

Isaiah Thomas, US Amazon Worker
Sylvain Lobry, VP Social Dialogue & Social Fundamentals, Danone
Nina Roth, Head of Active Ownership, Columbia Threadneedle Investments

Moderator

Tamara Herman, Global Unions' Committee on Workers' Capital (CWC)

Read the report here

The rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining are fundamental human rights. Around the world, employers compromise these rights by taking measures to prevent, prohibit or interfere with workers' efforts to join a union and negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment. Such labour rights violations present material risks for investors. Simultaneously, there is a strong business case for respecting fundamental labour rights.

The session will begin with a presentation of the CWC report, describing the value created when workers exercise their labour rights, including improved corporate human rights due diligence, positive contributions to corporate performance in areas such as health and safety, retention, productivity, and diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the mitigation of systemic risks associated with inequality and weak economic growth. Then, a frontline worker will share their experience, illuminating the impact of worker organization on employees and firms. Next, a company representative will provide an issuer's perspective on how their company respects and implements labour rights. Finally, an investor will offer an asset owner view of their engagements with portfolio companies on labour rights. Attendees will come away with both the foundation and tools for engaging portfolio companies regarding the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

PRE-REGISTER TODAY

Pre-registration for this event is recommended but not required. Please fill out this form to confirm your attendance and receive an advance copy of 'Shared Prosperity: The Investor Case for Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining.'

Pre-register here

Please note that this event is for PRI in Person registrants only. If you are interested in attending this event in Barcelona but are not registered for the PRI in Person, please contact zdeshpande@share.ca.

Launch Event - Shared Prosperity: The Investor Case for Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining

Hugues Letourneau — 2022-10-06T20:50:58Z

The CWC is pleased to invite you to the launch event for its new report, Shared Prosperity: The Investor Case for Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining. The launch event will take place online via Zoom and in-person during the CWC Conference in Barcelona.

WEBINAR on Tuesday, November 29th, 2022
3:15pm - 4:45pm CEST | 9:15am - 10:45am EST | 6:15am - 7:45am PST

A respondent panel featuring workers, a company representative, an asset manager and an asset owner board member will discuss the report findings and recommendations in the context of their own experiences. Attendees will come away with both the foundation and tools for engaging portfolio companies regarding the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Panelists:

Sylvain Lobry, VP Social Dialogue & Social Fundamentals, Danone
Lisa Hayles, Director, International Shareholder Advocacy, Trillium
Robert Potter, Trustee, CARE Super
Sindy Tatiana Sosa, Amazon Worker, Spain
Isaiah Thomas, Amazon Worker, US
Lisa Nathan, Senior Investor Engagement Advisor, UNI Global Union

Moderator:
Tamara Herman, Program Manager, Global Unions' Committee on Workers' Capital

Note: Investors that wish to join the launch event in-person at the CWC 2022 Conference in Barcelona can write to zdeshpande@share.ca.

Spotlight on UBS: Opportunities to Reinforce Fundamental Labour Rights in Investment Stewardship Practices

Shalini Ramgoolam — 2021-09-27T22:59:33Z

UBS Asset Management (“UBS”) is the world's 13th largest asset manager with USD 1.1 trillion in assets under management (AUM). Of this amount, institutional investors – including pension funds - account for 59% of their global client base.

The CWC's analysis finds that UBS's stewardship framework makes an effort to implement a double-materiality perspective that is conducive to holding companies accountable on labour rights. We were encouraged by elements of UBS's stewardship framework, such as the importance it places on breaches of the UN Global Compact, its policy on collaborating with other investors, its consideration of portfolio companies' human rights due diligence processes and its reference to collective bargaining.

However, the analysis demonstrates that there are gaps between UBS's public policies and its stewardship practice in terms of upholding fundamental labour rights in its portfolios. The report outlines key steps and case studies where the asset manager can improve its approach to engagement and proxy voting based on global trade union priorities.

Report Highlights

UBS's recent engagement practices and proxy voting show increasing alignment with human rights-based frameworks relative to the prior analysis carried out in 2019.
UBS could make significant improvements in its proxy voting practice by supporting employee representation on corporate boards
UBS could clarify how it applies its escalation strategies when labour rights violations go unaddressed by management within a reasonable timeframe or when the company has refused to participate in remediation.
There is no explicit mention of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) in UBS stewardship documents

The report is current up to September 2021.

Click below to download the report on UBS in English or in French.

Other CWC asset manager reports available:
BlackRock
SSGA
Macquarie

ubs_invest_stewardship_report_09-21-eng-v5.pdf

Spotlight on Macquarie: Opportunities to Embed Labour Rights in Investment Stewardship Practices

Hugues Letourneau — 2021-07-06T22:08:42Z

With a USD 146 billion portfolio invested in infrastructure and real estate around the world, Macquarie is the world's largest infrastructure asset manager. It has an employment footprint of more 130,000 across its portfolio.

This report, which focuses on Macquarie's real asset portfolio, analyzes how the manager's Net Zero 2040 commitment for its investment portfolio will affect workers in power and petrochemical assets around the world. It calls for Macquarie to adopt a set of just transition principles. The report also reviews the asset managers' overall stewardship framework and identifies a lack of cohesion in the firm's global engagement and proxy voting activities.

The report was developed with the input of unions from around the world. This report was developed with the input of unions from around the world. Please note that the significant role that Macquarie plays in the privatization of public infrastructure is of concern to unions and communities around the world was beyond the scope of this report, which focuses on investment stewardship.

Report highlights:

Despite its relatively larger portfolio of securities (equities, fixed income), Macquarie generates the majority of its investor client fees through its infrastructure and real assets.
Macquarie has not accompanied its net zero 2040 pledge with a commitment to ensure a transition that is just and fair for workers impacted by the climate transition in its assets.
Macquarie's growing exposure to Australian commercial real estate represents an opportunity for the firm to join the Cleaning Accountability Framework, a union-backed, worker driven social responsibility initiative.
Three Macquarie assets are under watch by trade unions in the UK, Spain and the USA for the implementation of a policy in which the firm commits to respect freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Unlike BlackRock and SSGA, Macquarie outsources part of its proxy voting and does not disclose voting guidelines for all Macquarie branded and managed funds; this is problematic to hold companies accountable when adverse labour rights impacts occur.

The report is current up to June 2021.

Click below to download the report on Macquarie.

Other CWC asset manager reports available:
BlackRock
SSGA

cwc-macquarie_stewardship_report_07-21-eng.pdf

Comparison Table: SSGA and BlackRock

Hugues Letourneau — 2021-04-29T17:14:40Z

Click below to download a PDF of the comparison table on State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) and BlackRock's incorporation of fundamental labour rights in their stewardship frameworks.

blackrock_ssga_comparison-v3.pdf

Full report on BlackRock available here.

Full report on SSGA available here.

Spotlight on State Street Global Advisors: The Role of Fundamental Labour Rights in Investment Stewardship

Shalini Ramgoolam — 2021-04-22T21:20:02Z

This report, part of the CWC Asset Manager Report Series, evaluates the strength of SSGAs stewardship framework, the impact of its stewardship practices on workers' rights and its degree of alignment with the ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and rights-based frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and the OECD Guidelines for MNEs.

Furthermore, the report compares and contrasts the policy commitments of SSGA and BlackRock with regards to investment stewardship policies on fundamental labour rights (appendix 1).

Report highlights:

SSGA's public statements and stewardship documents commit to raising the bar on social issues related to COVID-19 and racial justice, but its ESG stewardship framework is based on a narrow analysis of the financial materiality of sustainability issues;
The lack of reference to fundamental labour rights in SSGA's engagement and proxy guidelines limits the effectiveness of its stewardship framework in holding companies accountable on workers' rights issues;
SSGA has scaled up its engagements with companies on "human capital management" issues but it is unclear whether these press companies to uphold workers' rights and labour standards as defined in international frameworks;
SSGA voted against every CWC-supported proxy voting recommendation with one exception;
In its public policy submissions, SSGA advocates for the development of sustainability reporting standards aligned with financial materiality, thereby discounting a "double materiality" approach that calls on companies to disclose their environmental and social impacts on key stakeholders, including workers.

This report is current up to April 2021.

Click here to access the comparison table between BlackRock and SSGA

Click below to download the report on SSGA.

Also available: CWC Report on BlackRock

ssga-cwc_asset_manager_report-2021-04-22.pdf

CWC Statement for Investors on the Union Election at Amazon's Facility in Bessemer, Alabama

Hugues Letourneau — 2021-04-15T10:00:00Z

On April 15th, 2021, the Global Unions' Committee on Workers' Capital issued a statement that describes how Amazon's anti-union campaign at its Bessemer, Alabama facility interfered with its workers' internationally recognized rights to freedom of association.

The statement lays out the steps that investors can take to engage with Amazon on the gap between its policies and recent practices in Bessemer, Alabama.

Read the CWC Statement by clicking below.

Other CWC resources on Amazon (including the CWC investor brief on Amazon) are available here.

cwc_amazon_statement-2021-04-16.pdf

Spotlight on BlackRock: The Role of Fundamental Labour Rights in Investment Stewardship

Hugues Letourneau — 2020-10-01T15:34:31Z

This report, part of the CWC Asset Manager Report Series, evaluates the strength of BlackRock's stewardship framework, the impact of its stewardship practices on workers' rights and its degree of alignment with the ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and rights-based frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and the OECD Guidelines for MNEs. This report is current up to 23 September 2020.

Report highlights:

BlackRock is the largest holder of ownership stakes of 5 percent or above in US listed firms and the top investor in Germany's DAX
It voted against every CWC-supported voting recommendation highlighted in the report in the first half of 2020
It scored very poorly on the 2020 NABTU Responsible Contractor Policy Scorecard on real estate and infrastructure
While it publicly supports the shift away from shareholder primacy, its response to recent policy consultations in the UK and Germany ran counter to trade union recommendations
It should support remediation as an element of effective due diligence under the OECD Guidelines and create an investment portfolio focused grievance mechanism

Click here to access the comparison table between BlackRock and SSGA

blackrock_cwc_report-09-2020-final.pdf

Amazon In-Depth: Work, Rights and Risks at Amazon.com, Inc.

Tamara Herman — 2020-07-07T19:18:31Z

Amid Amazon.com Inc.'s (“Amazon”) rapid growth, worrying patterns with respect to employee health and safety, infringement of international labour standards, and aversion to collective bargaining have emerged. This investor report provides an overview of Amazon and describes workforce risks in its operations.

Workforce risks documented in Amazon In-Depth include:

Health and safety: Facing demanding productivity quotas in warehouses, studies in various jurisdictions document that workers suffer from higher-than-average injury rates.

Workers' rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining: With strikes and work stoppages at logistics centres across Europe and North America, Amazon has faced pressure to recognize workers' rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. In some cases, workers allege that they were fired for attempting to improve their working conditions.

COVID-19: Amazon's response to COVID-19 has further illuminated precarious working conditions, as well as health and safety issues, in the company's warehouse and delivery chain.

Workers' collective voice is essential to improving Amazon's workforce management and mitigating the human rights risks that may negatively impact the company's reputation.

This report provides a path for investors to address these risks by encouraging improvements in Amazon's workforce management practices. Specifically, we suggest that investors should request from Amazon a commitment to strengthen its performance and reduce its human rights risks by:

GOVERNANCE: Elevating workforce management oversight to the board of directors, appointing directors with specific human resource management and human rights due diligence skills and experience, and publicly disclosing the board's workforce oversight policies and activities.

RISK MANAGEMENT: Improving its existing labour and human rights policies (the “Amazon Global Human Rights Principles”) to manage risk more effectively by:

Specifying the business relationships – such as customers, suppliers, employees – to whom the company's commitments apply, as well as how the company will embed its policy commitments and strengthen accountability;

Committing to implement among its direct employees and those in its value chain the full range of labour rights specified in the Core Conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), including the right to collective bargaining;

Working with investors and independent human rights experts to detail the processes it will use to identify, assess, prevent, mitigate, and, where appropriate, address adverse human and labour rights impacts, in accordance with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and other relevant standards.

Fulfilling its pledge to lead in workforce management by committing to upholding international human and labour rights standards, even where national law – including in the United States, where its largest workforce is located – does not meet those standards.

Read Amazon In-Depth by clicking here

cwc_amazon_in_depth_investor_brief-06-20-eng_final.pdf

Photo: Shutterstock | Frederic Legrand - COMEO