One large Wal-Mart investor is being asked to help reform the retailer’s anti-community policies. On February 2, 2006, in New York City, a “responsible investing” group, the Make TIAA-CREF Ethical Coalition, will be meeting with officials from the huge teacher’s pension fund to urge the Fund to pressure Wal-Mart to change its business model. TIAA-CREF has become one of the most important pension funds in the world, with stock and other assets of over $350 billion, including significant ownership of Wal-Mart stock. Because many members of the academic community are the final owners of such stocks, the
Coalition is trying to make the public better informed about the actions taken by corporations managed by the fund. The Coalition takes aim at Wal-Mart, Nike, Costco, Philip-Morris/Altria, Chevron, and Coke for their corporate abuses, noting 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.” TIAA-CREF advertises its slogan, “Financial Services for the Greater Good,” yet invests in corporations that work against the greater good of many communities and nations. The Coalition calls upon Costco “to close a warehouse in Cuernavaca, Mexico. This company is responsible for human rights and environmental abuses documented by the UN.” It calls on 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.”
The work of the Coalition has been endorsed by over two dozen national academic and activist groups, including Sprawl-Busters. Their previous efforts led to the establishment of TIAA-CREF’s socially responsible fund — but 95% of TIAA-CREF’s investments remain “socially irresponsible.” The Coalition is looking for more educators and investers in TIAA-CREF to join the effort to make the Fund ethical. For more information about the Coalition, visit their web site at: http://www.maketiaa-crefethical.org/
