Op-ed to place in publications, on web sites, on listservs, and at conferences

Flier for demonstrations, events, or otherwise

Sample Letter to TIAA-CREF CEO

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An Invitation to Promote Ethical Corporate Behavior Through Investments

Jaime Lagunez Ph.D. and Neil Wollman Ph.D.

TIAA-CREF has become one of the most important pension funds in the world, with stock and other assets of over $350 billion. Because many members of the academic community are the final owners of such stocks, we hope they wish to be better informed about the actions taken by corporations managed by the fund.

It is most unfortunate that some companies in TIAA-CREF's portfolios, in their pursuit of higher earnings, have been willing to market products or engage in activities that damage the health of consumers, compromise the quality of life for thousands, or promote the violation of human rights. There now exists a coalition of advocacy groups and concerned college personnel who, disturbed by such abuse, feel that it is possible to monitor that the money invested in the fund not be harmful to society.

By offering this information, we are also hoping to recruit conscientious members of the academic community to participate in our effort. This would be to hold TIAA-CREF accountable for what it invests in and to use its historical and considerable shareholder advocacy skills to make individual companies behave ethically.

This year, TIAA-CREF decided to apply its long history of corporate governance activism to issues of social responsibility. It is significant that doing so is also consistent with statements in its Policy Statement on Corporate Governance, its tag-line of "Financial Services for the Greater Good," and its advertisements that the company is "mindful of social responsibilities." The academic community is asking TIAA-CREF to hold to its words.

Out of thousands TIAA-CREF invests in, our effort focuses on six particular companies and one financial institution. We direct ourselves to leaders in their industries so that our influence will be greater. We are requesting that the fund lobby for (A) Philip-Morris/Altria to stop advertising to youth and to stop interfering with adoption of the global tobacco treaty now under consideration; (B) Costco to close a warehouse in Cuernavaca, Mexico. This company is responsible for human rights and environmental abuses documented by the UN; (C) Wal-Mart to amend its policies promoting urban sprawl, hurting local businesses, and allowing abusive labor practices - and to close an illegally built warehouse in Mexico; (D) Nike to be more forthcoming on its wage scales and collective bargaining agreements in other countries, given long standing sweatshop abuses; (E) Coca-Cola to end complicity with human rights abuses in its Colombia plants, end marketing to children, and end its usurping of water resources, particularly in India and other poverty stricken nations; and (F) Chevron to no longer support the Burmese government, one of the most violent in the world. We also find that previous divestment from World Bank Bonds by TIAA-CREF is positive because the Bank's practices contribute to economic hardship globally, particularly for the poor. As a final request, we ask for TIAA-CREF to pledge to keep this appropriate stance of not investing in those bonds.

It should be emphasized that we are also lobbying for TIAA-CREF investment in projects which raise the quality of life: community investment in low-income areas, and venture capital in socially and environmentally responsible products and services. Though we are making some progress with them on those concerns, we have met resistance there, as well. For more information about the coalition, we invite you to visit our web site: http://www.maketiaa-crefethical.org/ and to then contact us directly to receive periodic campaign updates. (And see http://www.maketiaa-crefethical.org/SocialChoiceForSocialChange.html as regards our effort for community investment and venture capital.) We have been endorsed by over two dozen national academic and activist groups. And our previous efforts led to the establishment of TIAA-CREF's socially responsible fund, as well as further changes since that time. We hope that you can join us now to both keep informed and to consider placing energies in a project dealing directly with your money which can be beneficial to our generation and those to come.
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Jaime Lagunez, Ph.D. is a scientist and activist in favor of the protection of cultural heritage and civil rights in Mexico. Member of the Frente Civico, which is the organization that received the Mendez Arceo Human Rights Award in 2004. lagunezjaime@yahoo.com, 52(55)54163064 cell.

Neil Wollman; Ph. D., is a long-time TIAA-CREF participant who for over twenty years has successfully lobbied the pension system to be more responsible in its investing. He is Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute; Professor of Psychology; Manchester College, North Manchester, IN 46962; nwollman@bentley.edu ; 260-982-5346; fax 260-982-5043
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