Prison Labor in the Supply Chain
In fall 2015, NorthStar embarked on a several year-long research project to understand and begin to map prison labor in the supply chains of the companies in which NorthStar invests. In April 2018, we released our first research paper on this subject, Prison Labor in the United States: An Investor Perspective. We encourage questions and feedback. Please contact our Director of Shareholder Activism and Engagement, Mari Schwartzer, who was the lead researcher on this project. We will continually update the below link with the most up-to-date version:
- Prison Labor in the United States: An Investor Perspective (current version: revised May 2018)
Shareholder Proposals
NorthStar has been filing shareholder proposals related to prison labor at companies in our client portfolios since fall 2017. Below, find links to the proposals we’ve filed, as well as the exempt solicitations (sometimes called shareholder memos) in support of any proposal that went to a vote at the annual meeting.
AGM Year | Company (Ticker) | Link to Proxy Statement | Link to Exempt Solicitation on SEC EDGAR Site |
2020 | Costco Wholesale (COST) | Withdrawn after successful negotiation (see press release below) | |
2019 | Costco Wholesale (COST) | Proposal #7 | Exempt Solicitation for COST Proposal #7 |
2019 | TJX Companies (TJX) | Proposal #5 | Exempt Solicitation for TJX Proposal #5 |
2019 | International Business Machines (IBM) | N/A – did not go to proxy | N/A |
2019 | The Home Depot (HD) | Proposal #6 | Exempt Solicitation for HD Proposal #6 |
2018 | Costco Wholesale (COST) | Proposal #5 | Exempt Solicitation for COST Proposal #5 |
2018 | TJX Companies (TJX) | Proposal #6 | Exempt Solicitation for TJX Proposal #6 |
2018 | Microsoft (MSFT) | N/A – did not go to proxy | N/A |
Press Releases Related to Our Work on Prison Labor:
- Costco Commits to Continued Reporting on Prison Labor (October 2019)
- TJX Companies’ Shareholders Support Disclosure on Prison Labor (June 2019)
- Home Depot Shareholders Affirm the Importance of Oversight and Disclosure for Prison Labor (June 2019)
- Costco Shareholders Affirm the Importance of Oversight and Disclosure for Prison Labor (January 2019)
CONTACT US
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