We are gearing up now for our big meeting with TC officers February 2 . We will be further making the case for applying their long-standing and strong record of shareholder activism to our concerns about six target companies and institutions (Coca-Cola, Chevron, Costco, Nike, Wal-Mart, Philip-Morris/Altria, and World Bank bonds). We will reevaluate the concern of our Make TIAA-CREF Ethical group (e.g. community investing) after that meeting.

Leading up to that, folks are doing various things at the local level—and we have had a couple of small demonstrations at TC headquarters in New York. Soon we will hold another of those demos, on the occasion of one of their several shareholder meetings. At that time we will be calling upon you for important call-ins to TC highlighting the February 2 meeting.

But at this time, we want to focus on one other important request. Since there is only so much those more heavily involved in the campaign can do, particularly our coalition reps and myself, we need your help. We want to do a better job of attracting to our coalition cause more of the three million existing TIAA-CREF participants. Increasing our numbers could perhaps be the biggest factor determining whether we can build on our past successes. One way to draw in participants is to place an introductory op-ed (see below) into as many outlets as possible (academic or activist journals/newsletters, web sites of organizations, relevant listservs, etc.). If you need them, we have some good listings/suggestions for reaching out widely. If you can help on that—for an hour a month or an hour a day--let us know. The more folks who help, the more potential supporters we can reach.

Keep in mind that that the changes we seek from TIAA-CREF will have real-life positive effects on thousands of people, something that we do not always see in our other social change activities. We believe this is important work, and urge you to join in.
Thanks, Neil

P. S. Also see below another social concern project we may have mentioned before. Your help in passing on the message to relevant folks is appreciated. Let me know if you want to pursue the project yourself, as we keep track of those involved.

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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 have also lobbied 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. 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. 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.
 
Jaime Lagunez, Ph.D. is a scientist and activist promoting the protection of cultural heritage and civil rights in Mexico. He is a member of the Frente Civico, 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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 GRADUATION PLEDGE ALLIANCE 

 Humboldt State University (California) initiated the  Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental Responsibility. It states, "I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for which I work."  Students define for themselves what it means to be socially and environmentally responsible. Students at over a hundred colleges and universities have used the pledge at some level. The schools involved include small liberal arts colleges (Colgate and Macalester); large state universities (Oregon and Utah), and large private research universities (University of Pennsylvania and Duke).  The Pledge is also now found at graduate and professional schools, high schools , and schools overseas (Canada and Australia).  

Graduates who voluntarily signed the pledge have turned down jobs with which they did not feel morally comfortable and have worked to make changes once on the job. For example, they have promoted recycling at their organization, removed racist language from a training manual, worked for gender parity in high school athletics, and helped to convince an employer to refuse a chemical weapons-related contract. 

Manchester College now coordinates the campaign effort, which has taken different forms at different institutions. At Manchester, it is a community-wide event involving students, faculty, and staff. Typically, over fifty percent of students sign and keep a wallet-size card stating the pledge, while students and supportive faculty wear green ribbons at commencement. The pledge is printed in the formal commencement program.  

Depending upon the school, it might take several years to reach this level of institutionalization.  If one can get a few groups/departments involved, and get some media attention on (and off) campus, it will get others interested and build for the future. The project has been covered in newspapers (e.g., USA Today, Washington Post, Associated Press, and Chronicle of Higher Education); magazines (e.g., Business Week), national radio networks (for instance, ABC); and local T.V. stations (like in Ft. Wayne, IN). 

In a sense, the Pledge operates at three levels: students making choices about their employment; schools educating about values and citizenship rather than only knowledge and skills; and the workplace and society being concerned about more than just the bottom line. The impact is immense even if only a significant minority of the one million college graduates each year sign and live out the Pledge.  

The Campaign has a web site, at  http://www.graduationpledge.org PLEASE KEEP US INFORMED OF ANY PLEDGE EFFORTS YOU ARE EVEN CONSIDERING TO UNDERTAKE, AS WE TRY TO MONITOR WHAT IS HAPPENING, AND PROVIDE PERIODIC UPDATES ON THE NATIONAL EFFORT (INCLUDING HINTS ON HAVING A SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN). Contact  nwollman@bentley.edu for information/questions/comments.