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1 Aug 07 Update:

JULY 17 IS TIAA-CREF'S ANNUAL MEETING. PLEASE ACT BEFORE THEN TO PROMOTE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. CONTACT TIAA-CREF IF YOU ARE A PARTICIPANT. PARTICIPANTS AND NON-PARTICIPANTS CAN HELP BY DISTRIBUTING THIS MESSAGE TO COLLEGE PERSONNEL AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE. THANKS

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MAKE TIAA-CREF ETHICAL COALITION

IS YOUR INVESTMENT REALLY GOING TOWARD THE “GREATER GOOD”?

Dear Professor/Staff Member:

It’s morning in America---do you know where your pension fund assets were last night?

Would it upset you to know that TIAA-CREF---the nation’s largest retirement fund---is a major investor in companies like Wal-Mart, Nike, Costco, Coca-Cola, Chevron, and Philip Morris/Altria? Millions of TIAA-CREF participants are contributing their money to support abusive human and labor rights practices, destruction of the environment, and harming of human health.

The fact is, some of our country’s worst corporate violators are right at home in the portfolio of TIAA-CREF—which says it provides financial services “for the greater good.”

Recently the 600,000-member New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) passed a resolution critical of CREF’s continued investment in several of these these corporations. (See attached resolution.) Then soon after, the 1.3 million member strong American Federation of Teachers passed a similar resolution. As educators and those working along-side them,, we have spent our careers trying to help students learn the truth about the world around them. The truth is that TIAA-CREF continues to invest our funds in these corporate bad actors.

We don’t want our investment—

exploiting Third World workers at Nike vendor sweatshops
aggressively union-busting American workers at Wal-Mart
destroying historic Mexican culture to build Costcos-- and abusing the human rights of those who protest.
Polluting drinking waters in India; allowing the intimidation or even killing of union workers under the not-so-watchful eye of Coca-Cola bosses in Colombia
Financing the dictatorship in Burma (Myanmar) that savagely abuses human rights
Supporting the killing practices of Philip Morris/Altria, including its marketing to youth

It’s time for faculty, staff, and students on campuses across America to tell TIAA-CREF it must use its considerable shareholder power to influence these corporations for the better--or stop investing in them.

What can you do? Let’s turn up the heat on CREF to truly invest for the “greater good.” Help us educate the faculty, staff, and students on your campus and nationwide. Email this message to others at your school and elsewhere. All of us need to:

Call TIAA-CREF at 800-842-2733 (212-490-9000) and ask for CEO Herb Allison. Leave the message: “I want TIAA-CREF to put Wal-Mart, Nike, Coca Cola, Costco, Chevron, and Philip Morris/Altria on notice that if they don’t clean up their human rights, environmental, and health practices, that CREF will find other companies to invest in.” Tell them if you are in the TIAA-CREF system.
Email Mr. Allison and TIAA-CREF Trustees with the same message: Hallison@tiaa-cref.org; trustees@tiaa-cref.org

For the Coalition, www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org mail njwollman@manchester.edu for campaign updates (say “TC updates” in subject line).

Neil Wollman; Ph. D.; Senior Fellow; Professor of Psychology; Manchester College, North Manchester, IN 46962;

Sprawl-Busters, Press for Change,Campaign to Stop Killer Coke/Corporate Campaign, Inc.,Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Social Choice for Social Change, Citizens Coalition (Frente Civico), Educating for Justice, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, United Students Against Sweatshops, Canadian Committee To Combat Crimes Against Humanity (CCCCH), Corporate Accountability International (formerly Infact), World Bank Bonds Boycott.

Make TIAA-CREF Ethical is a project of the Peace Studies Institute, Manchester College.

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6 Mar 07 Update:

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5 Jun 06 Update:

Neil Wollman; Ph. D.; Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute; Professor of Psychology; Manchester College, North Manchester, IN 46962; njwollman@manchester.edu; 260-982-5346; fax 260-982-5043

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22 Sep 06 Update:

Through the years--and due to the contributions of many--we have moved pension giant TIAA-CREF to institute various socially responsible investments and policies. For example, hundreds of millions of dollars have been put toward low-income area community investment. Due to our lobbying, TIAA-CREF decided last year to engage in shareholder advocacy to influence companies engaging in socially and environmentally irresponsible behavior.

TIAA-CREF has now begun decision-making on which issues and companies to influence. The Make TIAA-CREF Ethical coalition (see members below) has targeted six companies because of specific egregious behaviors. They are: (go to www.MakeTIAA-CREFethical.org for details)

Altria/Philip Morris, responsible for Marlboro-the #1 cigarette brand among youth

Nike and Wal-Mart, widely condemned for their use of sweatshop labor (and Wal-Mart for and other bad practices for its impact on domestic labor, sprawl, and local economies)

Costco, for its warehouse in Cuernavaca, Mexico, which severely damages an archeological site and abuses human rights

Coke, for human rights and environmental abuses overseas—and advertising to children in the

U.S.

Communicate that message to CEO Herbert Allison; 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000; HAllison@tiaa-cref.org (Calls are far preferable—you can simply leave a message with an assistant.) Strengthen your influence with an additional brief message to trustees@tiaa-cref.org.

The Make TIAA CREF Ethical coalition consists of: The US Campaign for Burma • Corporate Accountability International (formerly Infact) • World Bank Bonds Boycott • Press for Change • Social Choice for Social Change • Canadian Committee To Combat Crimes Against Humanity (CCCCH) • Citizens Coalition (Frente Civico) • Educating for Justice • National Community Reinvestment Coalition • Campaign to Stop Killer Coke/Corporate Campaign, Inc. • Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood • Sprawl-Busters

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29 Jul 06 Update:

As a generalization, things went excellent at the TC annual meeting. Ray Rogers (Killer Coke campaign) said we hit a double grand slam!

TC CEO Herbert Allison announced that they were exploring possibilities for Community Investing in the Social Choice Account (SCA)! That, of course, is one of the primary goals of our SCSC effort. Now, we did hear that two years ago, before they backtracked and essentially said no go. So we are optimistic again, but not too much so till we see what evolves. Mr. Allison also announced a new initiative for "micro-lending," which is not too far removed in principle from our desire for social venture capital in the SCA. We have professionals approaching them on such investment and hope that that, too, will come to pass some day.

We totally dominated discussion (see the attached press advisory to see some of the arguments of our larger TC Coalition). We did some praising of TC, for they have started some new initiatives along socially responsible lines (directly or indirectly attributable to our work over the years). But we hit them hard on areas where they need to do more. We had over a dozen folks speaking up about our target companies, as well as our community investment and social venture capital concerns. TC officials dully took their notes and expressed their interest, but experience has taught us that we can't go totally on appearances at an annual meeting where they need to be nice one day a year. SO... we need to keep up the fight. And we had a better crowd outside this year, but still not what we were hoping for-- guessing we were in the 25-30 range all told.

(Spend five minutes to support our proposed changes in TIAA-CREF’s socially responsible fund.)

In the 1980s, participants lobbied the pension giant TIAA-CREF (TC) for five years to set up a socially responsible fund, the Social Choice Account. Since then we have successfully lobbied for other changes. Now we are pushing for an improved fund with practices that are becoming standard in socially responsible investing (see below). Our effort has been endorsed by many academic and activist groups, and individuals like Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. (See below for a history of the campaign, including discussion of why we restarted the effort after TC reneged on certain commitments. Our web site is www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org/SocialChoiceForSocialChange.html

We are also part of a national coalition of activist groups that is pushing for TC to use its shareholder advocacy to influence six target companies display egregious behavior, like Wal-Mart and Coke. After years of lobbying, they agreed to do shareholder advocacy on issues of social responsibility. See http://www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org for more information.

Social Choice for Social Change is a project of the Peace Studies Institute, Manchester College. For further information, contact Neil Wollman, Ph.D.; Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute and Professor of Psychology; Manchester College, North Manchester, IN 46962; njwollman@manchester.edu .

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Social Choice for Social Change: TIAA-CREF Broke Its Promises, We Restarted the Campaign

Since 1984, we have lobbied educational pension giant ($ 400 billion) TIAA-CREF (TC) to be more socially responsible in its investing. They resisted our efforts for years, but as a result of our pressure and dialogue, TC created a socially responsible fund [the Social Choice Account (SCA), now with over $ 8 billion in investments --and with a strong financial return record].

For many years we have pressured TC to further improve the SCA by adding (a) low-income area community investment; (b) social venture capital (in new companies promoting socially and environmentally responsible products/services); (c) shareholder advocacy (voting on shareholder resolutions and lobbying portfolio companies to advance social and environmental responsibility); and (d) screening investments by using positive (not just negative/exclusionary) criteria, thus seeking companies that make a positive contribution to society. All of these are quite feasible and have been done successfully in other socially responsible mutual funds. They are also consistent with TC’s own Policy Statement on Corporate Governance and its advertising tagline of "Financial Services for the Greater Good." The campaign has been endorsed by dozens of academic and activist groups.

And so the campaign is back in full gear. We need your help if we are to succeed again. Even if you are not in the TC retirement system, you can promote the campaign.

a.      contact or ‘adopt’ a TC trustee in your area
b.      visit a local TC office
c.      participate in demonstrations or leafleting in your area (or at annual TC meetings)
d.      further promote the issue to colleagues beyond forwarding this message
e.      ask your organization/institution to endorse our effort; then tell TC
f.       express your concerns to TC representatives visiting your campus
g.      liaison with other groups with similar interests
h.      distribute our TC money at conferences, demonstrations, and otherwise
i.       help on media
j.       flier outside the TC national off (Manhattan) once a week or once a month by yourself or with others
k.      get your college president to write a letter to TC.
l.       get creative: cook up some new tactics, or suggest them to us

Thanks so much,
Neil Wollman, Ph.D.
Chair, Social Choice for Social Change: Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute, and Professor of Psychology, Manchester College
NJWollman@manchester.edu 260-982-5346

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11 Jul 06 Update:

For TIAA-CREF participants: Raise your voice inside the annual meeting in New York City, July 18.

For participants and sympathetic others: Demonstrate outside the corporate office in New York.

► use its shareholder power to influence the corporate behavior of Wal-Mart, Coke, Costco, Nike, Chevron, and Philip Morris/Altria (see below);

► pledge not to buy World Bank bonds because of their effects on Third-World citizens;

► invest in social change ventures for the Social Choice Account (such as in low-income are housing and start-up companies promoting environmental protection);

► clean up its own corporate failings (e.g., removing two trustees, as recommended by the SEC, because of conflicts of interest) (see below).

MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW: Meeting begins 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 18 (participants call 1-877-535-3910, ext. 2440 for a pass to attend). Demonstration runs 8-9:30 AM; 730 Third Ave. (between 45th and 46^th Streets).

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW: Calls and emails: Anyone can raise a voice from their hometown during the week before the meeting (July 10-18). Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733 or 212-490-9000. Ask for Mr. Allison and speak to his assistant. Calls are best, but you can also email HAllison@tiaa-cref.org. For background, see below or www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org (and sign-up at web site for campaign updates). For further details, contact NJWollman@manchester.edu.

The US Campaign for Burma • Corporate Accountability International (formerly Infact) • World Bank Bonds Boycott • Press for Change • Social Choice for Social Change • Canadian Committee To Combat Crimes Against Humanity (CCCCH) • Citizens Coalition (Frente Civico) • Educating for Justice • National Community Reinvestment Coalition • National Congress for Community Economic Development • Campaign to Stop Killer Coke/Corporate Campaign, Inc. • Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood • Sprawl-Busters

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The nation’s largest pension system, TIAA-CREF, a retirement fund mainly for educators, prides itself on responsiveness to shareholders and being a “concerned investor” regarding social responsibility. Its "Policy Statement on Corporate Governance" states that “TIAA-CREF believes that building long-term shareholder value is consistent with directors giving careful consideration to issues of social responsibility…Efforts to promote good corporate citizenship may serve to enhance a company’s reputation and long-term economic performance…” It specifically notes environmental impact, labor practices, human rights, and the common good of a corporation’s communities. In one ad it notes "…our approach to investing goes beyond sound portfolio management. We are mindful of our social responsibilities…" And their tagline reads, "Financial Services for the Greater Good."

And yet, despite these statements:
· TIAA-CREF holds shares in corporations such as
Costco – promotes police abuse and the destruction of cultural heritage and the environment
Nike and Wal-Mart – condemned for selling products produced by overseas sweatshop labor
Wal-Mart – maintains bad domestic labor practices, hurts local business, and promotes urban sprawl
Chevron – runs business ventures with Burma’s government that help support that brutal regime
Philip Morris/Altria – promotes Marlboro, the #1 deadly cigarette brand among youth
Coke – markets nutritionally deficient products to kids at home and is tied to human rights abuses and water shortages abroad
TIAA-CREF divested its harmful World Bank bonds and should state it will buy no more.
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A New York Times article published after a previous TIAA-CREF annual meeting in New York

At the annual meeting yesterday of the largest investment organization catering to university and college faculties and staff, investors raised questions about the chief executive's pay and urged greater emphasis on selecting stocks according to the social and moral character of corporations.

Some of those attending the meeting in New York of the College Retirement Equities Fund, part of TIAA-CREF, the pension fund giant, complained about the poor performance of their pension and retirement plans during the last three years of depressed markets. But a message echoed repeatedly was that here was a group of investors who would accept a little less profit in exchange for making the world a little better.

"It's not only important how much income you get, but how you get it," said Donald W. Shriver, a former president of Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan.

Herbert M. Allison Jr., who joined TIAA-CREF as chief executive last fall after stepping down as president of Merrill Lynch, said, "We are mindful of the social issues." He added that the company tried to balance social concerns with its legal obligation to do its best to provide financial security and earnings for its more than 3.2 million investors.

But both Mr. Allison and Martin L. Leibowitz, the chief investment officer, indicated that the company's long-held, relatively conservative policy of investing in stock indexes, or baskets of stocks, meant that it would inevitably put money into companies that sell harmful products like cigarettes or that have been accused of abusive labor practices. Investors in an index, by definition, give up the freedom to pick and choose.

CREF already offers one of the largest funds that invests only in corporations that meet certain social criteria. But of the roughly $300 billion of TIAA-CREF's assets invested on behalf of clients, only about $5 billion is in its "social choice" fund.

The investors, many of them identifying themselves as Ph.D.'s as they rose to speak, seemed pleased at several changes that Mr. Allison announced in the company's corporate governance. For the first time, an independent trustee, not employed by the company, is to become chairman of the board of trustees, he said, and terms of the eight trustees will be reduced to one year from four years, which means that all will stand for election annually. As of today, the chairman will be Martin J. Gruber, a finance professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Mr. Allison's $8 million in salary and bonuses, which the company disclosed early last month, is nearly 50 percent more than his predecessor was paid. For some investors, the pay increase contrasted painfully with Mr. Allison's earlier announcement that he was laying off 500 employees.

James W. Keady, the founding director of Educating for Justice, a nonprofit organization that advocates social awareness for high school and college students, calculated that even without the roughly $4 million Mr. Allison was expected to receive in bonuses for long-term performance, he was being paid more than $10,000 a day. "If you have more money than you need," Mr. Keady said, quoting Gandhi, "you're stealing from somebody."

The roughly 150 investors at the meeting, more than double last year's turnout, broke into applause. Mr. Allison then turned the floor over to Ronald L. Thompson, the chief executive of a Midwest manufacturing company and chairman of the committee that conducted the chief executive search. Mr. Thompson said that the company had been in competition with "many large, aggressive organizations" to hire Mr. Allison, and that the compensation had to be competitive.

Throughout the meeting, Mr. Allison stood at a lectern at the front of the auditorium, listening more than talking. He remained calm, and so did most of the investors.

"We were very pleased with the meeting," said Steven Goldstein, a spokesman for TIAA-CREF.

The investors left in good spirits, too. "This is the most welcoming situation I've ever walked into," Mr. Keady told Mr. Allison and the others as the meeting ended.

He was speaking from experience at many conferences on corporate responsibility. "The atmosphere was much more open than I've found at other meetings," Mr. Keady said later.

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27 Jun 06 Update:

The nation's largest pension fund, TIAA-CREF, a retirement fund mainly for educators, prides itself on being a "concerned investor." Yet it invests in corporations like Altria/Philip Morris (tobacco deaths); Nike and Wal-Mart (sweatshops for both and many problems with latter); Costco (Cuernavaca, Mexico human rights, cultural, and environmental abuses); Chevron, (human rights issues in Burma); Coke (human rights and environmental abuses overseas—and advertising to children here); and World Bank bonds (harm to Third World citizens; TC divested these bonds-- but needs to pledge no new purchases). Contrast this with their advertising tagline of "financial services for the greater good."

This campaign is part of a continuing effort begun in the 80s that has successfully lobbied TC on various SR issues. Now a coalition of national advocacy groups urges TC to influence these companies to change their practices -- or to divest-- and instead invest in socially responsible (SR) ventures in their SR Fund and elsewhere [low-income area community development and social venture capital promoting new socially responsible SR products]. After lobbying, they agreed to use shareholder advocacy on SR issues and now they should apply that to our companies of concern. They've reneged on promises about putting Community Investment in their SR Social Choice Account.

Go to http://www.maketiaa-crefethical.org and http://www.maketiaa-crefethical.org/SocialChoiceForSocialChange.html
Receive campaign updates bi-monthly (NJWollman@manchester.edu); say “TC updates” in the subject line).
** The US Campaign for Burma • Corporate Accountability International (formerly Infact) • World Bank Bonds Boycott • Press for Change • Social Choice for Social Change • Canadian Committee To Combat Crimes Against Humanity (CCCCH) • Citizens Coalition (Frente Civico) • Educating for Justice • National Community Reinvestment Coalition • National Congress for Community Economic Development • Campaign to Stop Killer Coke/Corporate Campaign, Inc. • Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood • Sprawl-Busters**

We need your help to succeed. Even if you are not in the TC retirement system, you can help.

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31 May 06 Update:

New development from TIAA-CREF on social responsibility – My comment to the media – Article on TIAA-CREF Firing of Whistleblower

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First below is a press release yesterday from TIAA-CREF. It is certainly a positive development overall. Those involved with our long time efforts with TC can feel good that it has been our work over the years that moved them to focus more attention on such concerns and certainly helped lead to this result. They now go beyond our particular requests regarding social responsibility and that is a good development for us, the SRI field, and most importantly those in the world who benefit down the line.

Of course we don't yet know how it will play out; and as you can see below in comments I made to a reporter who called me, we still have complaints with the responsiveness of TC to our particular concerns.

Finally, see a second article below which came out the same day. Though it has not yet been established that TC did anything wrong, it is a (potential) other face to TC and corporate responsibility. (And it is certainly consistent with my knowledge of TC's dealings with its employees in the past, as told to me by some other whistle-blowers. But I have no insights on this particular case beyond hearing previously that this employee was disgruntled.)

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NEW YORK (MAY 30, 2006) -- TIAA-CREF, the financial services organization and leading provider of retirement plans in the academic, medical and cultural fields, has formed a new Social and Community Investing Department within its Asset Management area.

The department will focus on a series of investment programs and oversee the screening methodology used by the CREF Social Choice and the TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Funds. In addition, the new department will work on socially responsible investment product development and the formulation of policies around key social issues. The department's investment programs will seek out investment opportunities that are competitively priced and offer broad social appeal.

"The new Social & Community Investing department gives us another way to fulfill our financial commitment to our participants while continuing our leadership in the area of socially responsible investing," said Scott C. Evans, head of TIAA-CREF's Asset Management Division. "Our participants tell us that, after financial returns, social factors are very important in how they make their investment decisions. This department furthers our mission to meet the financial needs of the institutions and individuals we serve, and enables us to expand our offerings in this area."

Effective July 1, 2006, the department - which will report directly to the Chief Investment Officer -- will be headed by TIAA-CREF Managing Director Scott J. Budde and include Amy Muska O'Brien, TIAA-CREF's Director of Social Investing hired in 2005.

Scott Budde brings 12 years of investment experience at TIAA-CREF and 10 additional years experience in banking and financial services consulting to the new department. Budde currently serves on the Capital Markets Advisory Committee of the Grameen Foundation USA - a leading promoter of microfinance investing. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Amy O'Brien brings over 10 years of social investment research experience with a strong focus on environmental issues. Before joining TIAA-CREF, she was the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at the United Church of Christ Pension Fund. She is a graduate of Boston College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. O'Brien recently joined the board of the Social Investment Forum - a national organization promoting the concept, practice and growth of socially responsible investing.

About TIAA-CREF
TIAA-CREF is a national financial services organization with more than $380 billion in combined assets under management (3/31/06) and the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields. Further information can be found at www.tiaa-cref.org.

About TIAA-CREF Social Choice
Initially developed in the 1980s, CREF Social Choice Account has grown into the world's largest social screened investment fund for individual investors with just over $8 billion in assets (03/31/06).

TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, and Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc., distribute securities products

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This is another step forward for TIAA-CREF after years of lobbying, followed by resistance from TIAA-CREF for usually invalid reasons, and then their finally adopting our proposals. We applaud this move, but at this point, our long time push for community investment in their socially responsible fund continues to be rejected. Such investment belongs there, if anywhere, and for several reasons our "Make TIAA-CREF Ethical" coalition has elaborated.

After years of lobbying, TIAA-CREF also agreed a year ago to do shareholder advocacy on issues of social responsibility. We have argued for them to apply such influence to six target companies--including Wal-Mart, Coke, and Nike---which engage in egregious corporate behavior. We continue to wait for a decision on that after years of previous attempts for divestment.

Neil Wollman; Ph. D.; Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute; Professor of Psychology; Manchester College, North Manchester, IN 46962; njwollman@manchester.edu; 260-982-5346; fax 260-982-5043

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Chris O'Keefe was, in a former life, an IT manager in charge of customer relationship management implementations at TIAA-CREF, a prestigious financial institution that handles some of the nation's largest academic retirement funds.

OKeefe's story is a cautionary tale for anyone in IT—particularly anyone that handles sensitive customer data.

Well into his 13th year on the job at TIAA-CREF, one of O'Keefe's subordinates, a contractor named Sonia Radencovich, was recognized by a colleague as a felon who had helped her lover swindle more than $200 million from insurance firms.

She was scheduled for sentencing to federal prison several months into her job at TIAA-CREF.

But before Radencovich's true identity had been discovered—she had applied for the job at TIAA-CREF using the alias Sonia Howe—she'd had unfettered access to customer data for a couple of months.

And she brought her own laptop and a couple USB devices to work, which she used to download customer information (it's not clear how much information she downloaded).

"Sonia Howe had access that she needed to perform her job function—projects that had to do with the call center, systems our agents used when they answered the phone to identify customers when they call in," said O'Keefe, who was Radencovich's supervisor.

"By their nature she needed to test those things. It wasn't her access [in question]; it was that this data was unscrambled—all if it."

As the technical lead on two key ongoing initiatives at TIAA-CREF, Open Plan Solutions and Advice that Radencovich also worked on, O'Keefe was asked to help investigators determine how much information Radencovich had access to.

He did, and was fired in February 2005 for, he said, telling the truth: TIAA-CREF's IT test environment was unencrypted and Radencovich had access to a whole lot of data.

"I told [TIAA-CREF] she had access to a lot more information than they wanted to let out," said O'Keefe.

"TIAA-CREF said [Radencovich] had access to very little information—only 100 participants. The fact is, she walked away with a lot more data than that."

O'Keefe estimates that Radencovich had access to a good portion of, or even all of TIAA-CREF's 3.2 million customer records.

Shortly after he was terminated—for violating policies in his supervision of Radencovich, sharing passwords and allowing Radencovich to use her laptop at work—O'Keefe filed a Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower complaint with the Department of Labor, stating that he should have been protected for information revealed during the Radencovich investigation.

Last June, O'Keefe's initial complaint was dismissed on a technicality; the DOL determined he worked for TIAA and not TIAA-CREF.

"The whistleblower provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley did not cover TIAA because it is neither a company with a class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 nor one that is required to file reports under Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act," according to a statement from TIAA-CREF. "The former employee is appealing this finding."

O'Keefe's appeal will be heard Aug. 14-18 by an Administrative Law judge, who will determine if O'Keefe is in fact an employee of TIAA-CREF, and whether he is protected under the SarbOx Whistleblower regulations.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act prohibits employers with publicly traded stock from retaliating against employees who engage in protected activities—like providing information in relation to alleged accounting improprieties or participating in a proceeding related to alleged securities law violations.

However, early statistics show that most employers prevail in whistleblower cases, according to a report published by Alston, Bird LLP attorneys Robert Roirdan and Lisa Durham Taylor.

Between July 2002, when the act passed, and December 2003 OSHA (a division of the Department of Labor that oversees Sarbanes-Oxley) recorded 169 charges alleging retaliation.

OSHA found for the employer 77 of 79 cases in which it completed an investigation.

Of those 45, were appealed to an Administrative Law judge, and OSHA's determinations have been reversed only three times.

O'Keefe's attorney, Darryll Bolduc, principal of the Bolduc Law Firm, is seeking to prove two points: that there is a co-mingling of management between TIAA-CREF by showing that there is one IT organization and one financial organization that spans both entities; and that O'Keefe was engaged in a protected activity when he reported the issues with TIAA-CREF's testing environment.

"I am claiming that my client was terminated because of a cover up," said Bolduc, in Charlotte, N.C.

"He was a great employee, he won the Chairman's Award. TIAA-CREF made a mistake by not getting a proper background check," on Radencovich.

At least a year before the data theft, O'Keefe said he and several colleagues tried to bring the test environment issues to light at TIAA-CREF, to no avail.

"Many people brought this up, and I was one of then," said O'Keefe, who pointed the finger to the top of the IT org chart—the CTO—as the person who should set policy regarding test environments, "not a guy in charge of writing code."

After Radencovich was fired in November 2004, a lot changed, according to O'Keefe.

"Every new policy and procedure known to man came out as a result of this security breach," said O'Keefe. "So today employee data is scrambled. But customer data is not."

And the data that Radencovich downloaded to her laptop and, ostensibly, the USB devices? It's still out there, according to Bolduc.

TIAA-CREF filed a lawsuit to get access to Radencovich's laptop, but was never able to actually get its hands on the hard drive. The USB devices are nowhere to be found.

He pointed out the fact that customers' Social Security numbers and birth dates—information that Radencovich had access to—doesn't change.

She could, in all likelihood, serve her time in prison and sell the customer data when she gets out.

At $5 to $10 per customer name, according to Bolduc, "that's not a bad get out of jail free card."

But the bigger issue for IT managers is who is responsible in the case of employee malfeasance and identity theft. And are employees actually covered under the Sarbanes-Oxley Whistle Blower Act?

O'Keefe said he doesn't believe he should be held responsible for the actions of a contractor.

He said he did his job in hiring a qualified candidate (and that most consultants bring their own laptops to work).

"The resume Sonia Howe gave me, [the felony counts against her] wasn't on there. It had all this great technical skills on there," said O'Keefe.

"You stereotype what a criminal should look like—that didn't look like Sonia Howe. She looked normal. She's a mother with small kids. And she has great technical skills. I was actually thinking about hiring her permanently."

Check out eWEEK.com's IT Management Center for the latest news, reviews and analysis on IT management from CIOInsight.com.

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7 Apr 06 Update:

It's been over two months since the last update, mainly because little has happened. As you may remember, we met with several TC reps on February 2 in New York. Though the meeting was friendly and they seemed open, we got no real answers or assurances, and follow-up letters from us have been unsuccessful in gaining such answers. If we take them at their word—and I do—they have investigated our concerns further, and they are now drawing up a document that will set guidelines on how they will do shareholder activism on issues of social responsibility. (We had lobbied for such activism and they finally agreed to that over the summer.) But, of course, as part of the Make TIAA-CREF Ethical coalition we want their shareholder activism to target particular companies, like Coke, and that's what we want to hear about from them.

TC is also conducting a survey of participants on issues of social responsibility, which includes a number of questions relevant to community investing and one on social venture capital. These are the prime concerns of the Social Choice for Social Change campaign.

Our coalition group reps feel that with the length of our campaign, the meeting we had with them, and the letters we have sent asking for more specificity, we need more definitive answers now. So, we have sent them a strong letter, noting our frustrations and stating that we are restarting some efforts we had suspended around the time of our February meeting, and setting a deadline after which we will begin more intense pressure if we do not get a more definitive positive response to our concerns.

We felt that at this point of the campaign we needed to be direct, specific, and demanding. We hope it will bring a positive response. If not, we will be setting out on a more intense course of action, as we have done successfully in the past. If that becomes necessary, I will give it my all, as much as I can in my part time work on this, and we hope that each of you will do your piece as well, when asked. We will let you know---as the struggle continues.

P.S. While writing this update, I received the Quarterly TC publication "Advance" and saw that TC's Social Choice Equity fund for the public was one of their highest rated finds, 4 out of 5 possible stars (by an outside rating group). (This fund is similar to their pension system Social Choice Account, but the latter includes bonds.) This is "Doing well by doing good," as the relevant investment-related quote goes.

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6 Apr 06 Update:

It's been over two months since the last update, mainly because little action has happened. But there has been mutual correspondence with TC and as you may remember, we met with several of their reps on Feb 2. Though the meeting was friendly and they seemed open, we got no real answers or assurances. And follow up letters seeking that have not been successful in gaining such answers. If we take them at their word--I do--they have investigated our concerns further, and they are now drawing up a document that will set guidelines on how they will do shareholder activism on issues of social responsibility. (We had lobbied for such activism and they finally agreed to that over the summer.) But, of course, we want them to do shareholder activism on our particular target companies, like Coke, and that's what we want to hear about from them.

They are also conducting a survey of participants on issues of social responsibility-- with a number of questions relevant to community investing and one on social venture capital. These are the prime concerns of the Social Choice for Social Change campaign.

Our coalition group reps feel that with the length of our campaign, the meeting we had with them, and the letters we have sent asking for more specificity, we need more definitive answers now. So, indeed, we just sent them a strong letter, essentially noting our frustrations, saying we were restarting some efforts we had suspended around the time of our February meeting, and setting a deadline after which we would begin more intense pressure if we did not get a positive and more definitive response to our concerns.

We felt that at this point of the campaign we needed to be direct, specific, and “demanding”. We hope it will bring a positive response. If not, we will be setting out on a more intense course of action, as we have done successfully in the past. Know that I, personally, will become absorbed in that if it becomes necessary, as much as I can in my part time work on this, but we are hoping that each of you will do a little (or a large) piece as well, if needed and asked. We will let you know---as the struggle continues.

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17 Jan 06 Update:

It's been a while since the last update because the campaign has been relatively quiet. We have limited our lobbying for community investment and social venture capital for the Social Choice Account (SCA) in the face of evidence that TC is seriously looking at our concerns. For example, Neil is participating in a review process for a questionnaire TC will be conducting asking participants about issues of socially responsible investing (with some emphasis on community investing, but also a little on social venture capital).

That has led us to focus more attention recently on the more inclusive work of the TC coalition, which is concerned with TC using its influence to affect certain target companies. Coalition reps will be meeting with TC officers February 2, and at that time we will also know better exactly where TC stands on our SCA concerns. Last summer, as you know, they met our request for instituting social responsibility shareholder activism for the SCA fund (i.e. applying various means to affect the policies of their portfolio companies). That decision, of course, dovetails with the requests of our coalition, especially since TC now seems interested in using activism in all their funds, not just the SCA. So, we will reevaluate our SCA concerns after the February meeting.

Leading up to the February 2 meeting, folks are doing various things at the local level, and we have had a couple of small demonstrations at TC headquarters in New York (with another to follow soon). But at this time, we want to focus on one other important request.

Since there is only so much that we who are centrally involved in the campaign can do, we need your help. We want to do a better job of attracting to the campaign 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.

P. S. Also see below another social concern project we have noted before. If of interest, your involvement or your passing on of the message to relevant folks is appreciated. Let me know if you want to pursue the project 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 at 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 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; njwollman@manchester.edu ; 260-982-5346; fax 260-982-5043

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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 TV 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).

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9 Nov 2005 Update:

Where We Are Now. Over the summer, we held a number of smaller actions preceding TC's annual meeting in July. Since then we've done much reflection and planning, taking into consideration that TC has recently indicated some receptiveness to our ideas and taken some favorable actions. In particular, we have had constructive contact with TC's new Director of Social Investing (their first employee with actual social investment expertise--an SRI insider who would not have been hired without our continuing pressure). We continue dialogue and are currently negotiating a meeting between TC reps and our MTCE coalition reps. See the attached letter which makes our case and requests a meeting.

At the same time, TC did not fulfill certain promises and has done nothing (to our knowledge) to influence the six companies targeted by our coalition (e.g. Wal-Mart and Nike). Hence while we have toned down our campaigning, we will carry on with lobbying and other actions (like demonstrations and seeking media attention) until we see more concrete results. We just restarted making media calls and leafleted at TC headquarters on November 3. There is less focus now on the specific SCSC effort within the broader coalition, as TC seems to be exploring those concerns with more vigor (principally community investing) for their socially responsible fund and otherwise.

Where We Are Going: A Plea For Your Participation. And now we call upon you again to raise your voices—which you (and we as a group) are now known for! Just one person devotes significant time to this project, and while a dozen national activist groups contribute their energy, they too have only limited time for the campaign. It is up to you if we are to have more successes.

We have all the information/resources/materials you will need—so please consider taking one or more of these actions. Only with many pitching in have we moved the giant TC in the past. TC has enormous financial influence—by working to change them, you can help promote that a union worker in Colombia won't be killed, that a kid won't be subjected to propaganda about cigarettes or soft-drinks, or that a worker in Indonesia can earn just a little more to support a family. I'll continue to work hard on this, as I have for twenty years, I promise.

Neil Wollman, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute, and
Professor of Psychology,
Manchester College
260-982-5346
NJWollman@manchester.edu

We are presently in good conversation with one particular TC official. Our campaign’s interests will be explored within in a social issues survey that TC will be giving to at least those participants in the Social Choice Account. The questionnaire will focus on community investment possibilities (one of our major thrusts), plus a couple of questions on social venture capital (also a priority for us). Our other principal concern has been for shareholder activism, and that was approved over the summer.

We are having an influence in all these areas, but the campaign will continue until we see further concrete changes. And, as you know, we are connected in principle and strategy with the concerns of the more general TC Coalition seeking for TC to use its shareholder activism to affect six particular target companies (Coke, Wal-Mart, Unocal, Nike, Philip-Morris/Altria, and Costco--with special demands as regards World Bank bonds). See www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org

Since our SCSC concerns are now being explored more fully by TC, Neil is focusing more of his time on the work of the greater coalition. Regarding that, it seems likely we will meet with TIAA-CREF officials in November or December.

▪ We welcome your involvement in that effort and include below a basic description of that campaign. Various ways of getting involved are described, and you can sign up for updates on the wider work of the coalition (send an email with "send MTEC updates" in the subject line).

▪ Any forwarding of either message is appreciated. If you do make contact with TC (via a call or email, a visit, a TC rep on campus, or otherwise) please do bring up our concerns.

The nation's largest pension fund, TIAA-CREF, a retirement fund mainly for educators, prides itself on being responsive to shareholders and a "concerned investor" with regard to social responsibility. The reality is that TIAA-CREF holds shares in some of the most controversial and notoriously unethical corporations, including Altria/Philip Morris, responsible for Marlboro-the #1 cigarette brand among youth; Nike and Wal-Mart, widely condemned for their use of sweatshop labor--and other abhorrent practices, which for the latter include domestic labor practices, sprawl, and effects on local economies; Costco, for its warehouse in Cuernavaca, Mexico, which severely damages an archeological site and abuses human rights; Unocal, the oil giant currently being sued for human rights abuses in Burma. And Coke for human rights and environmental abuses overseas and advertising to children in the U.S. TIAA-CREF has now sold all its World Bank bonds that were harming many Third World citizens, but it needs to assert that it will not buy any new ones. Such investment by TIAA-CREF violates certain principles in their Policy Statement on Corporate Governance—and is inconsistent with their advertising tagline of “… investing for the greater good.”

A coalition of groups urges the pension system to influence these companies to change these practices or to divest of shares in these corporations involved in human rights violations and public health and environmental degradation, and instead invest in socially responsible ventures. We have done lobbying and taken direct actions to promote more social responsibility within TIAA-CREF. Because of the size and prominence of TIAA-CREF, if they make the changes we desire, it can lead other large institutional investors to do the same. See below the letter we sent TIAA-CREF that explains our concerns and rationale. Go to www.maketiaa-crefethical.org to get more details on the effort. If you want to receive monthly (approximate) updates on the campaign, write NJWollman@manchester.edu with “send MTCE updates” in the subject line. The updates present current news on the effort, as well as give ways you can become involved.

We need your help if we are to succeed. Even if you are not in the TC retirement system, you can promote the campaign.

c. participate in demonstrations or leafleting in your area (or at annual TC meetings)

Make TIAA-CREF Ethical is a project of the Peace Studies Institute, Manchester College

Jeffrey Ballinger
KTH-527, 1280 Main St. West
Hamilton, ON L8S 4M4
Canada

February 4, 2005

Executive Vice Presidents Bertram Scott,
Scott Evans, and George Madison
TIAA-CREF
730 Third Avenue
New York, NY
10017

We appreciate your interest, manifested in our November 1 meeting, in the social responsibility issues we have raised. Our concern is with the practices of a limited number of the companies in which you invest. We consider such practices to be harmful to the quality of life for millions world wide. Such practices also impact TIAA-CREF and its participants, as you imply in your Policy Statement on Corporate Governance:

TIAA-CREF believes that building long-term shareholder value is consistent with directors’ giving careful consideration to issues of social responsibility and the common good. We recognize that efforts to promote good corporate citizenship may serve to enhance a company’s reputation and long-term economic performance, and we encourage boards of both U.S. and international companies to adopt policies and practices that promote corporate citizenship and establish open channels of communication with shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers and the larger community.

Your policy statement also implies that TIAA-CREF has social responsibility concerns beyond the bottom line. You indicate that you will vote favorably on particular shareholder resolutions dealing with social responsibility--seemingly because it’s the right thing to do. We have read your policy statement guidelines closely and find within it room for your supporting resolutions calling for divestment.

You have noted that you remain invested in companies that some might consider as having questionable practices because it enables you to monitor and have a voice in company policies. In most cases our request is for your remaining in such companies for that purpose, but to be transparent and specific in your efforts to monitor and influence along these lines. We further ask that after a certain time period, perhaps stated publicly if not just privately, that you divest if changes are not made. Publicly divesting is an additional way to loudly voice your opinion.
At the meeting you noted that it is difficult to move against particular companies given the varied opinion of your large clientele. In response we note that CalPERS, another large pension system with a diverse clientele, has seen fit to sometimes divest or not invest in companies due at least in part to social concerns. At least one other state pension fund does, as well. We summarize our requests regarding particular companies with the following:

1. Philip Morris/Altria has been legally proven to be responsible for thousands of tobacco related deaths world wide. It should not be in any TIAA-CREF portfolio.
2. TIAA-CREF should request that Costco close its warehouse in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The company is responsible for hurting the quality of life in that city, severely damaging an archeological site, and abusing human rights. This was concluded by the Office of the High Commission for Human rights of the United Nations.
3. TIAA-CREF should request that Wal-Mart close its Aurrera warehouse in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Like Costco, the company is responsible for destroying world heritage and violating human rights and civil liberties.
4. The fund should urge Wal-Mart to implement ways to lessen its destructive impact on local economies; while both Nike and Wal-Mart must stop benefiting from abusive sweatshops world-wide.
5. TIAA-CREF should pressure Unocal to stop financially supporting a Burmese government that has one of the world’s worst human rights records. Unocal recently lost a U.S. court case that found them liable for such abuses.
6. We thank TIAA-CREF for divesting from World Bank bonds. We ask that it publicly pledge to buy no new bonds as long as WB policies contribute to economic hardship globally.
7. Since our November meeting, we have added Coca-Cola to our list of companies we wish TIAA-CREF to act on. At home, Coca-Cola’s marketing practices have helped contribute to an epidemic of childhood obesity; abroad, Coca-Cola is responsible for serious human rights violations at its bottling plants in Colombia. TIAFF-CREF should pressure Coke to end all marketing to children and agree to an independent investigation of the human rights abuses at its Colombian bottling plants.

There are experts within our coalition who can speak to the issues raised above. They are ready to talk to you to present appropriate background information.

Finally, we feel it is essential to maintain communication starting with a meeting to discuss a timetable for progress on these issues. We want to speak favorably to others about a fund that shows concerns of this sort. Please do note that each week that goes by is time that TIAA-CREF could have used its economic and moral clout to benefit people worldwide. Indeed, we hope that TIAA-CREF will live by the implications, if not the intentions, of its new advertising tag-line “Financial services for the greater good.”

Sending you our highest regards,
I am sincerely yours,

Jeffrey Ballinger
Director, Press for Change
for the:
MAKE TIAA-CREF Ethical coalition;
TIAA-CREF: Out of the Bad and Into the Good.
CC. Herbert Allison, CEO

* The US Campaign for Burma * Corporate Accountability International* World Bank Bonds Boycott * Press for Change * Social Choice for Social Change * Canadian Committee To Combat Crimes Against Humanity (CCCCH) * Citizens Coalition (Frente Civico)* Educating for Justice * National Community Reinvestment Coalition * National Congress for Community Economic Development* Campaign to stop Killer Coke/Corporate Campaign, Inc*Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood* Sprawl-Busters*
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Do you want your money to help build housing and businesses in low-income communities?

Spend five minutes to support our proposed changes in TIAA-CREF’s socially responsible fund.

In the 1980s, participants lobbied the pension giant TIAA-CREF (TC) for five years to set up a socially responsible fund, the Social Choice Account. Now we are pushing for an improved fund with practices that are becoming standard in socially responsible investing (see below). Our effort has been endorsed by many academic and activist groups, and individuals like Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. (See below for a history of the campaign, including discussion of why we are restarting the effort after TC reneged on certain commitments. Our web site is www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org/SocialChoiceForSocialChange.html

n CONTACT TC and ask them to modify the Social Choice Account by investing in low-income area community development and in social venture capital for companies pioneering socially responsible products/services. Thank them for agreeing to vote their shares in corporate stock in a socially responsible manner, and ask them to otherwise lobby those companies to be socially responsible. If you are a participant, let them know that. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (monthly, if you can) or email him at HAllison@tiaa-cref.org (but calls are preferable. You will be asked to leave a message with an assistant.)

n RECEIVE CAMPAIGN UPDATES (every two to four weeks). Contact njwollman@manchester.edu to be added to the list—use subject line of “SCSC updates.”

n FORWARD THIS MESSAGE with a short personal endorsement to listserves, organizations, and your colleagues and friends nationally.

We are also part of a national coalition of activist groups that is pushing for TC to be more socially and environmentally responsible in its various investments--see http://www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org for more information.

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Social Choice for Social Change: TIAA-CREF Broke Its Promises, We Restart the Campaign

Since 1984, we have lobbied educational pension giant ($300 billion) TIAA-CREF (TC) to be more socially responsible in its investing. They resisted our efforts for years, but as a result of our pressure and dialogue, TC created a socially responsible fund (the Social Choice Account (SCA), now with $6 billion in investments).

For over five years we have pressured TC to further improve the SCA by adding (a) low-income area community investment; (b) social venture capital (in new companies promoting socially and environmentally responsible products/services); (c) shareholder advocacy (voting on shareholder resolutions and lobbying portfolio companies to advance social and environmental responsibility); and screening investments by using positive (not just negative/exclusionary) criteria, thus seeking companies that make a positive contribution to society. All of these are quite feasible and have been done successfully in other socially responsible mutual funds. They are also consistent with TC’s own Policy Statement on Corporate Governance and advertisements, in which it TC asserts its interest in and promotion of corporate and social responsibility.

Not only are these changes doable, but they are clearly supported by SCA participants. For example, we got hundreds of SCA participants to pledge that they would transfer $17 million of their TC assets into such a fund if it was established. And an earlier survey taken by TC itself found that over 80 percent of SCA participants supported investing in more positive ventures (and two-thirds were even willing to give up some level of return if such investing led to positive social change!). The campaign has been endorsed by dozens of academic and activist groups. We organized and led a national coalition of groups seeking for TC to be more responsible in its investing--investing in positive ventures and divesting from socially irresponsible companies (www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org ).

Using a variety of tactics—getting publicity to the public, generating hundreds of calls and emails to TC’s offices, leafleting at conferences where TC representatives spoke, doing demonstrations—we finally succeeded in getting TC to listen.. In 2002 they made one important change (positive screening) and in April 2004, TC officers finally agreed to seriously address our proposal and subsequently made various commitments to move forward. However, though we stuck with our promise to put our public campaign on hold, TC has made very little concrete progress in implementing the changes we requested. We finally made an ultimatum in April, ‘05: take concrete steps (which we detailed in a letter to them), or we will restart the campaign. After we received a “noncommittal, but let’s keep talking” reply in late April, they sent a letter in May agreeing to vote proxies for the SCA in a socially responsible way, but explicitly rejecting community development and social venture capital investment. Of course, the complete rejection of such investment totally contradicts statements they made over the year before, letting us know that working together we could make what we want happen. Commitments were made and broken and thus we restarted our public campaign

And so the campaign is back in full gear. We need your help if we are to succeed again. Even if you are not in the TC retirement system, you can promote the campaign.

· Most importantly, contact TC to express your support for the changes to the SCA described above. (If you are a TC participant, note that.) Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his assistant). You can email him at HAllison@tiaa-cref.org, but a call is much preferable. If you can call once a month, that’s even better.

· Sign up for campaign updates (email NJWollman@manchester.edu to receive one or two updates monthly—in subject line, say “SCSC updates.”; also, you can receive updates on the work of the broader “Make TIAA-CREF ethical” coalition—say “MTCE updates” www.MakeTIAA-CREFethical.org ).

· Let us know (NJWollman@manchester.edu ) which of the following you can do, as your time allows:
a. contact or ‘adopt’ a TC trustee in your area
b. visit a local TC office
c. participate in demonstrations or leafleting in your area (or at annual TC meetings)

d. contact media
e. further promote the issue to colleagues beyond forwarding this message
f. ask your organization/institution to endorse our effort, then tell TC
g. express your concerns to TC representatives visiting your campus
h. gather signatures on a petition

Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute, and Professor of Psychology , Manchester College

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NATIONAL COALITION URGES PENSION GIANT TIAA-CREF
TO INVEST MORE RESPONSIBLY
You can influence how $350 billion is invested!

For TIAA-CREF participants: Raise your voice inside the annual meeting in New York City, July 19

For participants and sympathetic others: Demonstrate outside the corporate office in New York

If you can’t be there: Call and email the CEO

For all: Please forward this message widely

We call for TIAA-CREF to:

► invest positively (such as in low-income housing and start-up companies promoting environmental protection);

► divest from Costco, Nike, Wal-Mart, Philip-Morris/Altria, Coke, and Unocal (or Unocal leave Burma); and

► pledge not to buy World Bank bonds.

MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW: Meeting begins 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 19 (participants call 1-877-535-3910, ext. 2440 for a pass to attend). Demonstration runs 8-10:00 a.m., 730 Third Ave. (between 45th and 46th Streets).

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW: Calls and emails: Anyone can raise a voice from their hometown during the week before the meeting (July 11-19). Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733 or 212-490-9000. Ask for Mr. Allison and speak to his assistant. Calls are best, but you can also email HAllison@tiaa-cref.org For background, see below or www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org (and sign-up at web site for campaign updates). For further details, contact nwollman@bentley.edu

“Make TIAA-CREF Ethical” Coalition

The US Campaign for Burma • Corporate Accountability International (formerly Infact) • World Bank Bonds Boycott • Press for Change • Social Choice for Social Change • Canadian Committee To Combat Crimes Against Humanity (CCCCH) • Citizens Coalition (Frente Civico) • Educating for Justice • National Community Reinvestment Coalition • National Congress for Community Economic Development • Campaign to Stop Killer Coke/Corporate Campaign, Inc. • Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood • Sprawl-Busters

Summary of the Issues

The nation’s largest pension system, TIAA-CREF, a retirement fund mainly for educators, prides itself on responsiveness to shareholders and being a “concerned investor” regarding social responsibility. “TIAA-CREF believes that building long-term shareholder value is consistent with directors giving careful consideration to issues of social responsibility…Efforts to promote good corporate citizenship may serve to enhance a company’s reputation and long-term economic performance…” It specifically notes environmental impact, labor practices, human rights, and the common good of a corporation’s communities (Policy Statement on Corporate Governance).

And yet, despite these statements:

· TIAA-CREF holds shares in corporations such as

Costco – promotes police brutality and the destruction of cultural heritage and the environment

Nike and Wal-Mart – condemned for selling products produced by overseas sweatshop labor

Wal-Mart – has bad domestic labor practices, hurts local business, and promotes urban sprawl

Unocal – its business ventures with Burma’s government help support that brutal regime

Philip Morris/Altria – responsible for Marlboro, the #1 deadly cigarette brand among youth

Coke – markets nutritionally deficient products to kids at home, tied to human rights abuses and water shortages abroad

And, TIAA-CREF divested its harmful World Bank bonds and should state it will buy no more.

· TIAA-CREF failed to follow through on its promise of April 2004 that it would address the concerns of the Social Choice for Social Change campaign that seeks investment in community development and other positive ventures. They talked for a year, then in May 2005 rejected all but one request.

A New York Times article published after the last TIAA-CREF annual meeting in New York.

A Plea to Invest in What's Good

by Joseph B. Treaster

December 16, 2003

Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

At the annual meeting yesterday of the largest investment organization catering to university and college faculties and staff, investors raised questions about the chief executive's pay and urged greater emphasis on selecting stocks according to the social and moral character of corporations.

Some of those attending the meeting in New York of the College Retirement Equities Fund, part of TIAA-CREF, the pension fund giant, complained about the poor performance of their pension and retirement plans during the last three years of depressed markets. But a message echoed repeatedly was that here was a group of investors who would accept a little less profit in exchange for making the world a little better.

"It's not only important how much income you get, but how you get it," said Donald W. Shriver, a former president of Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan.

Herbert M. Allison Jr., who joined TIAA-CREF as chief executive last fall after stepping down as president of Merrill Lynch, said, "We are mindful of the social issues." He added that the company tried to balance social concerns with its legal obligation to do its best to provide financial security and earnings for its more than 3.2 million investors.

But both Mr. Allison and Martin L. Leibowitz, the chief investment officer, indicated that the company's long-held, relatively conservative policy of investing in stock indexes, or baskets of stocks, meant that it would inevitably put money into companies that sell harmful products like cigarettes or that have been accused of abusive labor practices. Investors in an index, by definition, give up the freedom to pick and choose.

CREF already offers one of the largest funds that invests only in corporations that meet certain social criteria. But of the roughly $300 billion of TIAA-CREF's assets invested on behalf of clients, only about $5 billion is in its "social choice" fund.

The investors, many of them identifying themselves as Ph.D.'s as they rose to speak, seemed pleased at several changes that Mr. Allison announced in the company's corporate governance. For the first time, an independent trustee, not employed by the company, is to become chairman of the board of trustees, he said, and terms of the eight trustees will be reduced to one year from four years, which means that all will stand for election annually. As of today, the chairman will be Martin J. Gruber, a finance professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Mr. Allison's $8 million in salary and bonuses, which the company disclosed early last month, is nearly 50 percent more than his predecessor was paid. For some investors, the pay increase contrasted painfully with Mr. Allison's earlier announcement that he was laying off 500 employees.

James W. Keady, the founding director of Educating for Justice, a nonprofit organization that advocates social awareness for high school and college students, calculated that even without the roughly $4 million Mr. Allison was expected to receive in bonuses for long-term performance, he was being paid more than $10,000 a day. "If you have more money than you need," Mr. Keady said, quoting Gandhi, "you're stealing from somebody."

The roughly 150 investors at the meeting, more than double last year's turnout, broke into applause. Mr. Allison then turned the floor over to Ronald L. Thompson, the chief executive of a Midwest manufacturing company and chairman of the committee that conducted the chief executive search. Mr. Thompson said that the company had been in competition with "many large, aggressive organizations" to hire Mr. Allison, and that the compensation had to be competitive.

Throughout the meeting, Mr. Allison stood at a lectern at the front of the auditorium, listening more than talking. He remained calm, and so did most of the investors.

"We were very pleased with the meeting," said Steven Goldstein, a spokesman for TIAA-CREF.

The investors left in good spirits, too. "This is the most welcoming situation I've ever walked into," Mr. Keady told Mr. Allison and the others as the meeting ended.

He was speaking from experience at many conferences on corporate responsibility. "The atmosphere was much more open than I've found at other meetings," Mr. Keady said later.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

(For this update we are sending the same report to both update lists—the Make TIAA-CREF Ethical coalition and the more specialized Social Choice for Social Change effort. We don’t want to delay further in getting this out. Future updates will be separate, though with some overlap, as in the past.)

Social Choice for Social Change:

Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF

Dear Fellow TC Campaigners:

The following is excerpted from a report from us to the leaders/ of our “Make TIAA-CREF Ethical” coalition. It will serve as a summary on what transpired social-responsibility-wise at the July 19 TC annual meeting.

The meeting itself went reasonably well. We certainly dominated discussion throughout, speaking up in all sections of the meeting---to the dismay, at times, of CEO Allison. Both Ray (Killer Coke) and Dennis (World Bank Bonds, etc.) gave rousing introductory speeches calling TC on its irresponsible investments. Then we all got our causes across in individual short speeches by coalition group reps. With my personal longtime experience on TC matters, I introduced various ways that TC has been dragging its feet on social concerns over the years instead of being the responsive organization it proclaims itself to be. See www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org on our causes, organizations involved, correspondence with TC, etc.

Things went well for the outside demonstration, too. We had fliers, signs, our usual banner, some caps and gowns, etc. We could have used a larger crowd---maybe 15-20 folks were there, whereas we have had up to 60 in the past. But we did hand out plenty of fliers and conversed with sympathetic folks---and were snubbed by a few non-sympathetic ones! Many fliers got inside the building, and Regina of Sprawl-Busters made sure all trustees got one inside!.

Regarding media: Despite the fact that the Wall Street Journal writer we were in contact with never made it because her motorcycle conked out three blocks from the TC office!, we did get coverage in different places. We were in various web outlets via some directly using our press release or others doing a story (e.g. Economist.com and Business Times Malaysia). Stories also appeared in Pensions and Investments, Dow Jones Market Watch, and AM-NY. And we were mentioned briefly in outlets like the Kansas City Star. Additionally, we were interviewed on several radio stations. In the lead up to the meeting, including the Boston demo (Al from Sprawl-Busters and Josh from Campaign for A Commercial-Free Childhood) and efforts of Social Choice for Social Change, we were also in the Boston Herald, LA Times, Reuters News Service, Bloomberg News Service, Institutional Investor.com, Investment Management Weekly, and Inside Higher Ed. Of course, I don't always catch all, so let me know of any others, as we try to keep track. Still, our coverage did not match some past years.

Though we did not monitor it directly, based on anecdotal reports and past experience we presume we did well in calling (perhaps flooding) TC phone lines leading up to the meeting.

As a whole, we have scored some successes over the years due to our combined efforts. See the two revised introductory campaign messages below and ways you can help out or get your colleagues involved. We need everyone to succeed further.
Neil

Neil Wollman, Ph. D.

MC Box 135, Manchester College

North Manchester, IN 46962;

nwollman@bentley.edu;

260-982-5346; fax 260-982-5043

DO YOU WANT TIAA-CREF TO BE MORE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE IN ITS INVESTING?

The nation's largest pension fund, TIAA-CREF, a retirement fund mainly for educators, prides itself on being responsive to shareholders and a "concerned investor" with regard to social responsibility. The reality is that TIAA-CREF holds shares in some of the most controversial and notoriously unethical corporations, including Altria/Philip Morris, responsible for Marlboro-the #1 cigarette brand among youth; Nike and Wal-Mart, widely condemned for their use of sweatshop labor-- and other bad practices for the latter company regarding domestic labor, sprawl, and effects on local economies; Unocal, the oil giant currently being sued for human rights abuses in Burma. And Coke for human rights and environmental abuses overseas—and advertising to children in the U.S. TIAA-CREF has now sold all its World Bank bonds, which have resulted in harm to many Third World citizens, but it needs to assert that it will not buy any new ones. Such investment by TIAA-CREF violates certain principles in their Policy Statement on Corporate Governance—and is inconsistent with their advertising tagline of “… investing for the greater good.”

A coalition of groups urges the pension system to influence these companies to change these practices or to divest of shares in these corporations involved in human rights violations, and public health and environmental degradation, and instead invest in socially responsible ventures. We have done lobbying and taken direct actions to promote more social responsibility within TIAA-CREF. Because of the size and prominence of TIAA-CREF, if they make the changes we desire, it can lead other large institutional investors to do the same. See below the letter we sent TIAA-CREF that explains our concerns and rationale. Go to www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org to get more details on the effort. If you want to receive monthly (approximate) updates on the campaign, write nwollman@bentley.edu and say “send MTCE updates” in the subject line. The updates present current news on the effort, as well as give ways you can become involved.

We need your help if we are to succeed. Even if you are not in the TC retirement system, you can promote the campaign.

CONTACT TC and ask them why they are invested in the companies noted above given their irresponsible behavior. Tell TC they need to monitor and attempt to influence these companies for the better. And if positive changes are not made by those companies, TC needs to divest. If you are a participant, let them know that. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (monthly, if you can) or email him at HAllison@tiaa-cref.org (but calls are far preferable). You will be asked to leave a message with an assistant.

Forward this message widely, to colleagues and friends.
Sign up for campaign updates: nwollman@bentley.edu ; receive monthly (approximate) updates (say “send MTCE updates” in the subject line).

Let us know (nwollman@bentley.edu ) which of the following you can do, as your time allows:
a. contact or ‘adopt’ a TC trustee in your area

b. visit a local TC office

c. participate in demonstrations or leafleting in your area (or at annual TC meetings)

d. further promote the issue to colleagues beyond forwarding this message

e. ask your organization/institution to endorse our effort; then tell TC

f. express your concerns to TC representatives visiting your campus

g. gather signatures on a petition

h. get creative: cook up some new tactics, or suggest them to us

Thanks so much,

Neil Wollman, Ph.D.

Professor and Senior Fellow, Manchester College

260-982-5346

nwollman@bentley.edu

February 4th TIAA-CREF

Jeffrey Ballinger
KTH-527, 1280 Main St. West
Hamilton, ON L8S 4M4
Canada

February 4, 2005

Executive Vice Presidents Bertram Scott,
Scott Evans, and George Madison
TIAA-CREF
730 Third Avenue
New York, NY
10017

Dear Mr. Scott, Mr. Evans, and Mr. Madison:

We appreciate your interest, manifested in our November 1 meeting, in the social responsibility issues we have raised. Our concern is with the practices of a limited number of the companies in which you invest. We consider such practices to be harmful to the quality of life for millions world wide. Such practices also impact TIAA-CREF and its participants, as you imply in your Policy Statement on Corporate Governance:

TIAA-CREF believes that building long-term shareholder value is consistent with directors’ giving careful consideration to issues of social responsibility and the common good. We recognize that efforts to promote good corporate citizenship may serve to enhance a company’s reputation and long-term economic performance, and we encourage boards of both U.S. and international companies to adopt policies and practices that promote corporate citizenship and establish open channels of communication with shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers and the larger community.

Your policy statement also implies that TIAA-CREF has social responsibility concerns beyond the bottom line. You indicate that you will vote favorably on particular shareholder resolutions dealing with social responsibility--seemingly because it’s the right thing to do. We have read your policy statement guidelines closely and find within it room for your supporting resolutions calling for divestment.

You have noted that you remain invested in companies that some might consider as having questionable practices because it enables you to monitor and have a voice in company policies. In most cases our request is for your remaining in such companies for that purpose, but to be transparent and specific in your efforts to monitor and influence along these lines. We further ask that after a certain time period, perhaps stated publicly if not just privately, that you divest if changes are not made. Publicly divesting is an additional way to loudly voice your opinion.
At the meeting you noted that it is difficult to move against particular companies given the varied opinion of your large clientele. In response we note that CalPERS, another large pension system with a diverse clientele, has seen fit to sometimes divest or not invest in companies due at least in part to social concerns. At least one other state pension fund does, as well. We summarize our requests regarding particular companies with the following:

1. Philip Morris/Altria has been legally proven to be responsible for thousands of tobacco related deaths world wide. It should not be in any TIAA-CREF portfolio.
2. TIAA-CREF should request that Costco close its warehouse in Cuernavava, Mexico. The company is responsible for hurting the quality of life in that city, severely damaging an archeological site, and abusing human rights. This was concluded by the Office of the High Commission for Human rights of the United Nations.
3. TIAA-CREF should request that Wal-Mart close its Aurrera warehouse in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Like Costco, the company is responsible for destroying world heritage and violating human rights and civil liberties.
4. The fund should urge Wal-Mart to implement ways to lessen its destructive impact on local economies; while both Nike and Wal-Mart must stop benefiting from abusive sweatshops world-wide.
5. TIAA-CREF should pressure Unocal to stop financially supporting a Burmese government that has one of the world’s worst human rights records. Unocal recently lost a U.S. court case that found them liable for such abuses.
6. We thank TIAA-CREF for divesting from World Bank bonds. We ask that it publicly pledge to buy no new bonds as long as WB policies contribute to economic hardship globally.
7. Since our November meeting, we have added Coca-Cola to our list of companies we wish TIAA-CREF to act on. At home, Coca-Cola’s marketing practices have helped contribute to an epidemic of childhood obesity; abroad, Coca-Cola is responsible for serious human rights violations at its bottling plants in Colombia. TIAFF-CREF should pressure Coke to end all marketing to children and agree to an independent investigation of the human rights abuses at its Colombian bottling plants.

There are experts within our coalition who can speak to the issues raised above. They are ready to talk to you to present appropriate background information.

Finally, we feel it is essential to maintain communication starting with a meeting to discuss a timetable for progress on these issues. We want to speak favorably to others about a fund that shows concerns of this sort. Please do note that each week that goes by is time that TIAA-CREF could have used its economic and moral clout to benefit people worldwide. Indeed, we hope that TIAA-CREF will live by the implications, if not the intentions, of its new advertising tag-line “Financial services for the greater good.”

Sending you our highest regards,
I am sincerely yours,

Jeffrey Ballinger
Director, Press for Change
for the:
MAKE TIAA-CREF Ethical coalition;
TIAA-CREF: Out of the Bad and Into the Good.
CC. Herbert Allison, CEO

· The US Campaign for Burma * Corporate Accountability International* World Bank Bonds Boycott * Press for Change * Social Choice for Social Change * Canadian Committee To Combat Crimes Against Humanity (CCCCH) * Citizens Coalition (Frente Civico)* Educating for Justice * National Community Reinvestment Coalition * National Congress for Community Economic Development* Campaign to stop Killer Coke/Corporate Campaign, Inc*Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood*

=================================================================

ARE YOU IN THE TIAA-CREF RETIREMENT SYSTEM? (If not, you can still help.)

Do you want your money to help build housing and businesses in low-income communities?

To support socially and environmentally responsible products and services?

Spend five minutes to support our proposed changes in TIAA-CREF’s socially responsible fund.

In the 1980s, participants lobbied the pension giant TIAA-CREF (TC) for five years to set up a socially responsible fund, the Social Choice Account. Now we are pushing for an improved fund with practices that are becoming standard in socially responsible investing (see below). Our effort has been endorsed by many academic and activist groups, and individuals like Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. (See below for a history of the campaign, including discussion of why we are restarting the effort after TC reneged on certain commitments. Our web site is www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org/SocialChoiceForSocialChange.html )

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP (other important ways are described further below):

n CONTACT TC and ask them to modify the Social Choice Account by investing in low-income area community development and in social venture capital for companies pioneering socially responsible products/services. Thank them for agreeing to vote their shares in corporate stock in a socially responsible manner, and ask them to otherwise lobby those companies to be socially responsible. If you are a participant, let them know that. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (monthly, if you can) or email him at HAllison@tiaa-cref.org (but calls are preferable. You will be asked to leave a message with an assistant.)

n RECEIVE CAMPAIGN UPDATES (every two to four weeks). Contact nwollman@bentley.edu to be added to the list—use subject line of “SCSC updates.”

n FORWARD THIS MESSAGE with a short personal endorsement to listserves, organizations, and your colleagues and friends nationally.

We are also part of a national coalition of activist groups that is pushing for TC to be more socially and environmentally responsible in its various investments--see http://www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org/ for more information.

SOCIAL CHOICE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE:

Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF

For further information, contact Neil Wollman, Ph.D.; Senior Fellow; Professor of Psychology; Manchester College, North Manchester, IN 46962; nwollman@bentley.edu .

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Social Choice for Social Change:

TIAA-CREF Broke Its Promises, We Restart the Campaign

Since 1984, we have lobbied educational pension giant ($300 billion) TIAA-CREF (TC) to be more socially responsible in its investing. They resisted our efforts for years, but as a result of our pressure and dialogue, TC created a socially responsible fund (the Social Choice Account (SCA), now with $6 billion in investments).

For over five years we have pressured TC to further improve the SCA by adding (a) low-income area community investment; (b) social venture capital (in new companies promoting socially and environmentally responsible products/services); (c) shareholder advocacy (voting on shareholder resolutions and lobbying portfolio companies to advance social and environmental responsibility); and screening investments by using positive (not just negative/exclusionary) criteria, thus seeking companies that make a positive contribution to society. All of these are quite feasible and have been done successfully in other socially responsible mutual funds. They are also consistent with TC’s own Policy Statement on Corporate Governance and advertisements, in which it TC asserts its interest in and promotion of corporate and social responsibility.

Not only are these changes doable, but they are clearly supported by SCA participants. For example, we got hundreds of SCA participants to pledge that they would transfer $17 million of their TC assets into such a fund if it was established. And an earlier survey taken by TC itself found that over 80 percent of SCA participants supported investing in more positive ventures (and two-thirds were even willing to give up some level of return if such investing led to positive social change!). The campaign has been endorsed by dozens of academic and activist groups. We organized and led a national coalition of groups seeking for TC to be more responsible in its investing--investing in positive ventures and divesting from socially irresponsible companies (www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org).

Using a variety of tactics—getting publicity to the public, generating hundreds of calls and emails to TC’s offices, leafleting at conferences where TC representatives spoke, doing demonstrations—we finally succeeded in getting TC to listen.. In 2002 they made one important change (positive screening) and in April 2004, TC officers finally agreed to seriously address our proposal and subsequently made various commitments to move forward. However, though we stuck with our promise to put our public campaign on hold, TC has made very little concrete progress in implementing the changes we requested. We finally made an ultimatum in April, ‘05: take concrete steps (which we detailed in a letter to them), or we will restart the campaign. After we received a “noncommittal, but let’s keep talking” reply in late April, they sent a letter in May agreeing to vote proxies for the SCA in a socially responsible way, but explicitly rejecting community development and social venture capital investment. Of course, the complete rejection of such investment totally contradicts statements they made over the year before, letting us know that working together we could make what we want happen. Commitments were made and broken and thus we restarted our public campaign

And so the campaign is back in full gear. We need your help if we are to succeed again. Even if you are not in the TC retirement system, you can promote the campaign.

· Most importantly, contact TC to express your support for the changes to the SCA described above. (If you are a TC participant, note that.) Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his assistant). You can email him at HAllison@tiaa-cref.org, but a call is much preferable. If you can call once a month, that’s even better.

· Forward this message widely, to colleagues and friends.

· Sign up for campaign updates (email nwollman@bentley.edu to receive one or two updates monthly—in subject line, say “SCSC updates.”; also, you can receive updates on the work of the broader “Make TIAA-CREF ethical” coalition—say “MTCE updates” www.MakeTIAA-CREFethical.org).

· Let us know (nwollman@bentley.edu ) which of the following you can do, as your time allows:
a. contact or ‘adopt’ a TC trustee in your area
b. visit a local TC office
c. participate in demonstrations or leafleting in your area (or at annual TC meetings)

d. contact media
e. further promote the issue to colleagues beyond forwarding this message
f. ask your organization/institution to endorse our effort, then tell TC
g. express your concerns to TC representatives visiting your campus
h. gather signatures on a petition

i. get creative: cook up some new tactics, or suggest them to us

Thanks so much,

Neil Wollman, Ph.D.

Chair, Social Choice for Social Change: Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF

Professor and Senior Fellow, Manchester College

nwollman@bentley.edu 260-982-5346

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Social Choice for Social Change:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF

Dear TIAA-CREF (Social Choice For Social Change--SCSC) campaigners:

We are presently in good conversation with one particular TC official. Our campaign’s interests will be explored within in a social issues survey that TC will be giving to at least those participants in the Social Choice Account. The questionnaire will focus on community investment possibilities (one of our major thrusts), plus a couple of questions on social venture capital (also a priority for us). Our other principal concern has been for shareholder activism, and that was approved over the summer.

We are having an influence in all these areas, but the campaign will continue until we see further concrete changes. And, as you know, we are connected in principle and strategy with the concerns of the more general TC Coalition seeking for TC to use its shareholder activism to affect six particular target companies (Coke, Wal-Mart, Unocal, Nike, Philip-Morris/Altria, and Costco--with special demands as regards World Bank bonds). See www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org

Since our SCSC concerns are now being explored more fully by TC, Neil is focusing more of his time on the work of the greater coalition. Regarding that, it seems likely we will meet with TIAA-CREF officials in November or December.
▪ We welcome your involvement in that effort and include below a basic description of that campaign. Various ways of getting involved are described, and you can sign up for updates on the wider work of the coalition (send an email with "send MTEC updates" in the subject line).
▪ In addition, below is the revised Social Choice for Social Change description piece (http://www.maketiaa-crefethical.org/SocialChoiceForSocialChange.html.) There are still small things you can do for SCSC, as well.
▪ Any forwarding of either message is appreciated. If you do make contact with TC (via a call or email, a visit, a TC rep on campus, or otherwise) please do bring up our concerns.

Thanks, as always.

Neil and Abby
Co-Chairs, Social Choice for Social Change

Neil Wollman and Abby Fuller
MC Box 135, Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
nwollman@bentley.edu;
260-982-5346; fax 260-982-5043

=========================================================

DO YOU WANT TIAA-CREF TO BE MORE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE IN ITS INVESTING?
The nation's largest pension fund, TIAA-CREF, a retirement fund mainly for educators, prides itself on being responsive to shareholders and a "concerned investor" with regard to social responsibility. The reality is that TIAA-CREF holds shares in some of the most controversial and notoriously unethical corporations, including Altria/Philip Morris, responsible for Marlboro-the #1 cigarette brand among youth; Nike and Wal-Mart, widely condemned for their use of sweatshop labor--and other abhorrent practices, which for the latter include domestic labor practices, sprawl, and effects on local economies; Costco, for its warehouse in Cuernavaca, Mexico, which severely damages an archeological site and abuses human rights; Unocal, the oil giant currently being sued for human rights abuses in Burma. And Coke for human rights and environmental abuses overseas and advertising to children in the U.S. TIAA-CREF has now sold all its World Bank bonds that were harming many Third World citizens, but it needs to assert that it will not buy any new ones. Such investment by TIAA-CREF violates certain principles in their Policy Statement on Corporate Governance—and is inconsistent with their advertising tagline of “… investing for the greater good.”
A coalition of groups urges the pension system to influence these companies to change these practices or to divest of shares in these corporations involved in human rights violations and public health and environmental degradation, and instead invest in socially responsible ventures. We have done lobbying and taken direct actions to promote more social responsibility within TIAA-CREF. Because of the size and prominence of TIAA-CREF, if they make the changes we desire, it can lead other large institutional investors to do the same. See below the letter we sent TIAA-CREF that explains our concerns and rationale. Go to www.maketiaa-crefethical.org to get more details on the effort. If you want to receive monthly (approximate) updates on the campaign, write nwollman@bentley.edu with “send MTCE updates” in the subject line. The updates present current news on the effort, as well as give ways you can become involved.
We need your help if we are to succeed. Even if you are not in the TC retirement system, you can promote the campaign.
• CONTACT TC and ask them why they are invested in the companies noted above given their irresponsible behavior. Tell TC they need to monitor and attempt to influence these companies for the better. And if positive changes are not made by those companies, TC needs to divest. If you are a participant, let them know that. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (monthly, if you can) or email him at HAllison@tiaa-cref.org (but calls are far preferable). You will be asked to leave a message with an assistant.
• Forward this message widely, to colleagues and friends.
• Sign up for campaign updates: nwollman@bentley.edu ; receive monthly (approximate) updates (say “send MTCE updates” in the subject line).
• Let us know (nwollman@bentley.edu ) which of the following you can do, as your time allows:
a. contact or ‘adopt’ a TC trustee in your area
b. visit a local TC office
c. participate in demonstrations or leafleting in your area (or at annual TC meetings)
d. further promote the issue to colleagues beyond forwarding this message
e. ask your organization/institution to endorse our effort; then tell TC
f. express your concerns to TC representatives visiting your campus
g. gather signatures on a petition
h. get creative: cook up some new tactics, or suggest them to us
Make TIAA-CREF Ethical is a project of the Peace Studies Institute, Manchester College

Thanks so much,
Neil Wollman, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute, and
Professor of Psychology,
Manchester College
260-982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu
============================================================
Jeffrey Ballinger
KTH-527, 1280 Main St. West
Hamilton, ON L8S 4M4
Canada

February 4, 2005

Executive Vice Presidents Bertram Scott,
Scott Evans, and George Madison
TIAA-CREF
730 Third Avenue
New York, NY
10017

Dear Mr. Scott, Mr. Evans, and Mr. Madison:

We appreciate your interest, manifested in our November 1 meeting, in the social responsibility issues we have raised. Our concern is with the practices of a limited number of the companies in which you invest. We consider such practices to be harmful to the quality of life for millions world wide. Such practices also impact TIAA-CREF and its participants, as you imply in your Policy Statement on Corporate Governance:
TIAA-CREF believes that building long-term shareholder value is consistent with directors’ giving careful consideration to issues of social responsibility and the common good. We recognize that efforts to promote good corporate citizenship may serve to enhance a company’s reputation and long-term economic performance, and we encourage boards of both U.S. and international companies to adopt policies and practices that promote corporate citizenship and establish open channels of communication with shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers and the larger community.
Your policy statement also implies that TIAA-CREF has social responsibility concerns beyond the bottom line. You indicate that you will vote favorably on particular shareholder resolutions dealing with social responsibility--seemingly because it’s the right thing to do. We have read your policy statement guidelines closely and find within it room for your supporting resolutions calling for divestment.
You have noted that you remain invested in companies that some might consider as having questionable practices because it enables you to monitor and have a voice in company policies. In most cases our request is for your remaining in such companies for that purpose, but to be transparent and specific in your efforts to monitor and influence along these lines. We further ask that after a certain time period, perhaps stated publicly if not just privately, that you divest if changes are not made. Publicly divesting is an additional way to loudly voice your opinion.
At the meeting you noted that it is difficult to move against particular companies given the varied opinion of your large clientele. In response we note that CalPERS, another large pension system with a diverse clientele, has seen fit to sometimes divest or not invest in companies due at least in part to social concerns. At least one other state pension fund does, as well. We summarize our requests regarding particular companies with the following:
1. Philip Morris/Altria has been legally proven to be responsible for thousands of tobacco related deaths world wide. It should not be in any TIAA-CREF portfolio.
2. TIAA-CREF should request that Costco close its warehouse in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The company is responsible for hurting the quality of life in that city, severely damaging an archeological site, and abusing human rights. This was concluded by the Office of the High Commission for Human rights of the United Nations.
3. TIAA-CREF should request that Wal-Mart close its Aurrera warehouse in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Like Costco, the company is responsible for destroying world heritage and violating human rights and civil liberties.
4. The fund should urge Wal-Mart to implement ways to lessen its destructive impact on local economies; while both Nike and Wal-Mart must stop benefiting from abusive sweatshops world-wide.
5. TIAA-CREF should pressure Unocal to stop financially supporting a Burmese government that has one of the world’s worst human rights records. Unocal recently lost a U.S. court case that found them liable for such abuses.
6. We thank TIAA-CREF for divesting from World Bank bonds. We ask that it publicly pledge to buy no new bonds as long as WB policies contribute to economic hardship globally.
7. Since our November meeting, we have added Coca-Cola to our list of companies we wish TIAA-CREF to act on. At home, Coca-Cola’s marketing practices have helped contribute to an epidemic of childhood obesity; abroad, Coca-Cola is responsible for serious human rights violations at its bottling plants in Colombia. TIAFF-CREF should pressure Coke to end all marketing to children and agree to an independent investigation of the human rights abuses at its Colombian bottling plants.
There are experts within our coalition who can speak to the issues raised above. They are ready to talk to you to present appropriate background information.
Finally, we feel it is essential to maintain communication starting with a meeting to discuss a timetable for progress on these issues. We want to speak favorably to others about a fund that shows concerns of this sort. Please do note that each week that goes by is time that TIAA-CREF could have used its economic and moral clout to benefit people worldwide. Indeed, we hope that TIAA-CREF will live by the implications, if not the intentions, of its new advertising tag-line “Financial services for the greater good.”
Sending you our highest regards,
I am sincerely yours,

Jeffrey Ballinger
Director, Press for Change
for the:
MAKE TIAA-CREF Ethical coalition;
TIAA-CREF: Out of the Bad and Into the Good.
CC. Herbert Allison, CEO
* The US Campaign for Burma * Corporate Accountability International* World Bank Bonds Boycott * Press for Change * Social Choice for Social Change * Canadian Committee To Combat Crimes Against Humanity (CCCCH) * Citizens Coalition (Frente Civico)* Educating for Justice * National Community Reinvestment Coalition * National Congress for Community Economic Development* Campaign to stop Killer Coke/Corporate Campaign, Inc*Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood* Sprawl-Busters*
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ARE YOU IN THE TIAA-CREF RETIREMENT SYSTEM? (If not, you can still help.)
Do you want your money to help build housing and businesses in low-income communities?
To support socially and environmentally responsible products and services?
Spend five minutes to support our proposed changes in TIAA-CREF’s socially responsible fund.
In the 1980s, participants lobbied the pension giant TIAA-CREF (TC) for five years to set up a socially responsible fund, the Social Choice Account. Now we are pushing for an improved fund with practices that are becoming standard in socially responsible investing (see below). Our effort has been endorsed by many academic and activist groups, and individuals like Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. (See below for a history of the campaign, including discussion of why we are restarting the effort after TC reneged on certain commitments. Our web site is www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org/SocialChoiceForSocialChange.html
HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP (other important ways are described further below):
 CONTACT TC and ask them to modify the Social Choice Account by investing in low-income area community development and in social venture capital for companies pioneering socially responsible products/services. Thank them for agreeing to vote their shares in corporate stock in a socially responsible manner, and ask them to otherwise lobby those companies to be socially responsible. If you are a participant, let them know that. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (monthly, if you can) or email him at HAllison@tiaa-cref.org (but calls are preferable. You will be asked to leave a message with an assistant.)
 RECEIVE CAMPAIGN UPDATES (every two to four weeks). Contact nwollman@bentley.edu to be added to the list—use subject line of “SCSC updates.”
 FORWARD THIS MESSAGE with a short personal endorsement to listserves, organizations, and your colleagues and friends nationally.
We are also part of a national coalition of activist groups that is pushing for TC to be more socially and environmentally responsible in its various investments--see http://www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org for more information.
SOCIAL CHOICE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
Social Choice for Social Change is a project of the Peace Studies Institute, Manchester College. For further information, contact Neil Wollman, Ph.D.; Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute and Professor of Psychology; Manchester College, North Manchester, IN 46962; nwollman@bentley.edu .
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Social Choice for Social Change: TIAA-CREF Broke Its Promises, We Restart the Campaign
Since 1984, we have lobbied educational pension giant ($300 billion) TIAA-CREF (TC) to be more socially responsible in its investing. They resisted our efforts for years, but as a result of our pressure and dialogue, TC created a socially responsible fund (the Social Choice Account (SCA), now with $6 billion in investments).
For over five years we have pressured TC to further improve the SCA by adding (a) low-income area community investment; (b) social venture capital (in new companies promoting socially and environmentally responsible products/services); (c) shareholder advocacy (voting on shareholder resolutions and lobbying portfolio companies to advance social and environmental responsibility); and screening investments by using positive (not just negative/exclusionary) criteria, thus seeking companies that make a positive contribution to society. All of these are quite feasible and have been done successfully in other socially responsible mutual funds. They are also consistent with TC’s own Policy Statement on Corporate Governance and advertisements, in which it TC asserts its interest in and promotion of corporate and social responsibility.
Not only are these changes doable, but they are clearly supported by SCA participants. For example, we got hundreds of SCA participants to pledge that they would transfer $17 million of their TC assets into such a fund if it was established. And an earlier survey taken by TC itself found that over 80 percent of SCA participants supported investing in more positive ventures (and two-thirds were even willing to give up some level of return if such investing led to positive social change!). The campaign has been endorsed by dozens of academic and activist groups. We organized and led a national coalition of groups seeking for TC to be more responsible in its investing--investing in positive ventures and divesting from socially irresponsible companies (www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org ).
Using a variety of tactics—getting publicity to the public, generating hundreds of calls and emails to TC’s offices, leafleting at conferences where TC representatives spoke, doing demonstrations—we finally succeeded in getting TC to listen.. In 2002 they made one important change (positive screening) and in April 2004, TC officers finally agreed to seriously address our proposal and subsequently made various commitments to move forward. However, though we stuck with our promise to put our public campaign on hold, TC has made very little concrete progress in implementing the changes we requested. We finally made an ultimatum in April, ‘05: take concrete steps (which we detailed in a letter to them), or we will restart the campaign. After we received a “noncommittal, but let’s keep talking” reply in late April, they sent a letter in May agreeing to vote proxies for the SCA in a socially responsible way, but explicitly rejecting community development and social venture capital investment. Of course, the complete rejection of such investment totally contradicts statements they made over the year before, letting us know that working together we could make what we want happen. Commitments were made and broken and thus we restarted our public campaign
And so the campaign is back in full gear. We need your help if we are to succeed again. Even if you are not in the TC retirement system, you can promote the campaign.
• Most importantly, contact TC to express your support for the changes to the SCA described above. (If you are a TC participant, note that.) Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his assistant). You can email him at HAllison@tiaa-cref.org, but a call is much preferable. If you can call once a month, that’s even better.
• Forward this message widely, to colleagues and friends.
• Sign up for campaign updates (email nwollman@bentley.edu to receive one or two updates monthly—in subject line, say “SCSC updates.”; also, you can receive updates on the work of the broader “Make TIAA-CREF ethical” coalition—say “MTCE updates” www.MakeTIAA-CREFethical.org ).
• Let us know (nwollman@bentley.edu ) which of the following you can do, as your time allows:
a. contact or ‘adopt’ a TC trustee in your area
b. visit a local TC office
c. participate in demonstrations or leafleting in your area (or at annual TC meetings)
d. contact media
e. further promote the issue to colleagues beyond forwarding this message
f. ask your organization/institution to endorse our effort, then tell TC
g. express your concerns to TC representatives visiting your campus
h. gather signatures on a petition
i. get creative: cook up some new tactics, or suggest them to us.

Thanks so much,
Neil Wollman, Ph.D.
Chair, Social Choice for Social Change: Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute, and Professor of Psychology , Manchester College
nwollman@bentley.edu 260-982-5346

If you wish to be removed from this list, reply to this message with “remove” in the subject line.

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Social Choice for Social Change:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF

Dear TC campaigners:

Where We Are Now. Over the summer, we held a number of smaller actions preceding TC's annual meeting in July. Since then we've done much reflection and planning, taking into consideration that TC has recently indicated some receptiveness to our ideas and taken some favorable actions. In particular, we have had constructive contact with TC's new Director of Social Investing (their first employee with actual social investment expertise--an SRI insider who would not have been hired without our continuing pressure). We continue dialogue and are currently negotiating a meeting between TC reps and our MTCE coalition reps. See the attached letter which makes our case and requests a meeting.

At the same time, TC did not fulfill certain promises and has done nothing (to our knowledge) to influence the six companies targeted by our coalition (e.g. Wal-Mart and Nike). Hence while we have toned down our campaigning, we will carry on with lobbying and other actions (like demonstrations and seeking media attention) until we see more concrete results. We just restarted making media calls and leafleted at TC headquarters on November 3. There is less focus now on the specific SCSC effort within the broader coalition, as TC seems to be exploring those concerns with more vigor (principally community investing) for their socially responsible fund and otherwise.

Where We Are Going: A Plea For Your Participation. And now we call upon you again to raise your voices—which you (and we as a group) are now known for! Just one person devotes significant time to this project, and while a dozen national activist groups contribute their energy, they too have only limited time for the campaign. It is up to you if we are to have more successes.

• Help us expand our base by getting the (first) attached message to as many colleagues, friends, activists, and others as you can. Ask them to sign up for our updates. If you can get any groups on board (with an endorsing letter, a petition, whatever), so much the better.

• Help organize a small action (literally takes but a few folks) at a local TC office. Typically this involves holding signs and distributing leaflets. Dozens of offices are now open nationally, even in smaller cities and college towns. We have had these over the years, but more regular actions could have a significant impact. If you are in the New York City area, we want to do the same at their Manhattan headquarters. Can you help on just one demo? Office "visits" (rather than demonstrations) are possible too, though not as effective. Let us know.

• Can you reach out to one TC trustee? While residing in their city is preferable, it is not a necessity. You can "adopt" a trustee, at whatever time commitment you can. Trustees continue to have a big voice at TC.

We have all the information/resources/materials you will need—so please consider taking one or more of these actions. Only with many pitching in have we moved the giant TC in the past. TC has enormous financial influence—by working to change them, you can help promote that a union worker in Colombia won't be killed, that a kid won't be subjected to propaganda about cigarettes or soft-drinks, or that a worker in Indonesia can earn just a little more to support a family. I'll continue to work hard on this, as I have for twenty years, I promise.

Neil

Neil Wollman, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute, and
Professor of Psychology,
Manchester College
260-982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu

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Social Choice for Social Change:

Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF

Dear fellow campaigners,

It's been a while since the last update because the campaign has been relatively quiet. We have limited our lobbying for community investment and social venture capital for the Social Choice Account (SCA) in the face of evidence that TC is seriously looking at our concerns. For example, Neil is participating in a review process for a questionnaire TC will be conducting asking participants about issues of socially responsible investing (with some emphasis on community investing, but also a little on social venture capital).

That has led us to focus more attention recently on the more inclusive work of the TC coalition, which is concerned with TC using its influence to affect certain target companies. Coalition reps will be meeting with TC officers February 2, and at that time we will also know better exactly where TC stands on our SCA concerns. Last summer, as you know, they met our request for instituting social responsibility shareholder activism for the SCA fund (i.e. applying various means to affect the policies of their portfolio companies). That decision, of course, dovetails with the requests of our coalition, especially since TC now seems interested in using activism in all their funds, not just the SCA. So, we will reevaluate our SCA concerns after the February meeting.

Leading up to the February 2 meeting, folks are doing various things at the local level, and we have had a couple of small demonstrations at TC headquarters in New York (with another to follow soon). But at this time, we want to focus on one other important request.

Since there is only so much that we who are centrally involved in the campaign can do, we need your help. We want to do a better job of attracting to the campaign 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

Neil Wollman, Ph.D.

Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute

Professor of Psychology

Manchester College

MC Box 135

North Manchester, IN 46962

260-982-5346

nwollman@bentley.edu

P. S. Also see below another social concern project we have noted before. If of interest, your involvement or your passing on of the message to relevant folks is appreciated. Let me know if you want to pursue the project as we keep track of those involved.
Thanks, Neil

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 at 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 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

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 TV 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.

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Hello TIAA-CREF Campaigners:

It's been over two months since the last update, mainly because little action has happened. But there has been mutual correspondence with TC and as you may remember, we met with several of their reps on Feb 2. Though the meeting was friendly and they seemed open, we got no real answers or assurances. And follow up letters seeking that have not been successful in gaining such answers. If we take them at their word--I do--they have investigated our concerns further, and they are now drawing up a document that will set guidelines on how they will do shareholder activism on issues of social responsibility. (We had lobbied for such activism and they finally agreed to that over the summer.) But, of course, we want them to do shareholder activism on our particular target companies, like Coke, and that's what we want to hear about from them.

They are also conducting a survey of participants on issues of social responsibility-- with a number of questions relevant to community investing and one on social venture capital. These are the prime concerns of the Social Choice for Social Change campaign.

Our coalition group reps feel that with the length of our campaign, the meeting we had with them, and the letters we have sent asking for more specificity, we need more definitive answers now. So, indeed, we just sent them a strong letter, essentially noting our frustrations, saying we were restarting some efforts we had suspended around the time of our February meeting, and setting a deadline after which we would begin more intense pressure if we did not get a positive and more definitive response to our concerns.

We felt that at this point of the campaign we needed to be direct, specific, and “demanding”. We hope it will bring a positive response. If not, we will be setting out on a more intense course of action, as we have done successfully in the past. Know that I, personally, will become absorbed in that if it becomes necessary, as much as I can in my part time work on this, but we are hoping that each of you will do a little (or a large) piece as well, if needed and asked. We will let you know---as the struggle continues.

Neil.

P.S. While writing this update, I received the Quarterly TC publication "Advance" and saw that TC's Social Choice Equity fund for the public was one of their highest rated finds, 4 out of 5 possible stars (by an outside rating group). (This fund is similar to their pension system Social Choice Account, but the latter includes bonds.) This is "Doing well by doing good," as the relevant investment-related quote goes.

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Social Choice for Social Change:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF

Hello TIAA-CREF Campaigners:

It's been over two months since the last update, mainly because little has happened. As you may remember, we met with several TC reps on February 2 in New York. Though the meeting was friendly and they seemed open, we got no real answers or assurances, and follow-up letters from us have been unsuccessful in gaining such answers. If we take them at their word—and I do—they have investigated our concerns further, and they are now drawing up a document that will set guidelines on how they will do shareholder activism on issues of social responsibility. (We had lobbied for such activism and they finally agreed to that over the summer.) But, of course, as part of the Make TIAA-CREF Ethical coalition we want their shareholder activism to target particular companies, like Coke, and that's what we want to hear about from them.

TC is also conducting a survey of participants on issues of social responsibility, which includes a number of questions relevant to community investing and one on social venture capital. These are the prime concerns of the Social Choice for Social Change campaign.

Our coalition group reps feel that with the length of our campaign, the meeting we had with them, and the letters we have sent asking for more specificity, we need more definitive answers now. So, we have sent them a strong letter, noting our frustrations and stating that we are restarting some efforts we had suspended around the time of our February meeting, and setting a deadline after which we will begin more intense pressure if we do not get a more definitive positive response to our concerns.

We felt that at this point of the campaign we needed to be direct, specific, and demanding. We hope it will bring a positive response. If not, we will be setting out on a more intense course of action, as we have done successfully in the past. If that becomes necessary, I will give it my all, as much as I can in my part time work on this, and we hope that each of you will do your piece as well, when asked. We will let you know---as the struggle continues.

Neil

Neil Wollman, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute, and Professor of Psychology
Manchester College
MC Box 135
North Manchester, IN 46962
260-982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu

P.S. While writing this update, I received the Quarterly TC publication "Advance" and saw that TC's Social Choice Equity fund for the public was one of their highest rated finds, 4 out of 5 possible stars (by an outside rating group). (This fund is similar to their pension system Social Choice Account, but the latter includes bonds.) This is "Doing well by doing good," as the relevant investment-related quote goes.

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Before presenting new developments, we first thank you for the MANY calls (and emails) you and others made for this cause. If you have not yet contacted TC, please do so, and call monthly if you can. Information on how to contact TC can be found in our “Call to Action” on our renewed web site. Please check it out and suggest ways it could be more helpful (see www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org/SocialChoiceForSocialChange.html ).

We have some good news to announce: one component of our proposal has been adopted! TC recently told us that this summer, for the Social Choice Account (SCA), they will begin voting their shares in corporate stock using social responsibility guidelines. This is an important way to promote corporate responsibility--though we are still pushing them to otherwise lobby companies to be more socially responsible.

TC also announced on June 1 that they have hired a new Director of Social Investing--a move that our lobbying efforts surely contributed to. That should help our cause unless they force her to toe the company line, which now includes the following. In their letter to us announcing the change in the SCA, they also explicitly rejected investing in community development and social venture capital. Of course, this contradicts reassurance they have made over the past year to us that by working together we can implement these kinds of changes.

Given these positive developments, our Coordinating Committee has recommended that we reopen dialogue with TC, at least regarding assurances that their efforts to promote corporate socially responsibility will go beyond voting their shares to using “quiet diplomacy” and other means that TIAA-CREF currently employs to press corporations on governance issues. Our current strategy, then, is to pursue a two-track policy of talking with TC while continuing our more confrontational tactics.

Regarding your involvement, check out the web site which discusses making calls, getting colleagues involved, distributing TC “socially responsible money,” getting group endorsements, etc. We have a smaller pool of interested folks helping with planned mini-demionstrtions/leafletting and visits to local TC offices or reaching out to TC trustees. But we can always use more help along those lines. If you want more detail on this, let us know, as many hands make the work light. (Does anyone live--or have a friend--in the Orlando, Fl area who might help on one matter?)

Also, we will soon start planning in earnest for the Monday morning, July 19 TC annual meeting in New York. As before, if you can't come, please let us know if you are willing to designate someone connected with our campaign to go in your place as your representative to express views on social responsibility. It's pretty easy to do, requiring just a little paper work. (If you did so for last meeting, we are planning on contacting you anyway; but to be sure, please let us know.)

We have been in this for the long haul (for Neil, most of the last twenty years!) and urge you to stick with us. Because of your pressure, over the years TC has gradually made more and more changes toward greater social responsibility. And our current proposals go even further toward influencing corporate behavior and investing millions--even billions--of dollars toward improving people’s lives. So let’s keep pushing forward!

ARE YOU IN THE TIAA-CREF RETIREMENT SYSTEM? (If not, you can still help.)
Do you want your money to help build housing and businesses in low-income communities?
To support socially and environmentally responsible products and services?

Spend five minutes to support our proposed changes in TIAA-CREF’s socially responsible fund.
In the 1980s, participants lobbied the pension giant TIAA-CREF (TC) for five years to set up a socially responsible fund, the Social Choice Account. Now we are pushing for an improved fund with practices that are becoming standard in socially responsible investing (see below). Our effort has been endorsed by many academic and activist groups, and individuals like Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. (See below for a history of the campaign, including discussion of why we are restarting the effort after TC reneged on their commitments.)
HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP (other important ways are described further below):
n CONTACT TC and ask them to modify the Social Choice Account by (a) investing in low-income area community development; (b) investing in social venture capital for companies pioneering socially and environmentally responsible products and services; and (c) engage in socially responsible shareholder advocacy (vote their stock shares to influence corporate behavior). If you are a TC participant, note that. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his assistant). You can email him at HAllison@tiaa-cref.org, but a call is much preferable. If you can call once a month that’s even better for keeping on the pressure.
n RECEIVE CAMPAIGN UPDATES (every two to four weeks). Contact nwollman@bentley.edu to be added to the list.
n FORWARD THIS MESSAGE with a short personal endorsement to listserves, organizations, and your colleagues and friends nationally.
We are also part of a national coalition of activist groups that is pushing for TC to be more socially and environmentally responsible in its various investments--see http://www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org/ for more information.

SOCIAL CHOICE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
For further information, contact Neil Wollman, Ph.D.; Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute; Professor of Psychology; Manchester College, North Manchester, IN 46962; nwollman@bentley.edu .

Social Choice for Social Change: TIAA-CREF Broke Its Promises, We Restart the Campaign
Since 1984, we have lobbied educational pension giant ($300 billion) TIAA-CREF (TC) to be more socially responsible in its investing. They resisted our efforts for years, but as a result of our pressure and dialogue, TC created a socially responsible fund (the Social Choice Account (SCA), now with $6 billion in investments).
For the last seven years we have pressured TC to further improve the SCA by adding (a) low-income area community investment, (b) social venture capital (in new companies promoting socially and environmentally responsible products/services), and (c) shareholder activities (voting on shareholder resolutions and lobbying portfolio companies to advance social and environmental responsibility). All of these are quite feasible and have been done successfully in other socially responsible mutual funds. They are also consistent with TC’s own Policy Statement on Corporate Governance and recent advertisements, in which it TC asserts its interest in and promotion of corporate and social responsibility.
Not only are these changes doable, but they are clearly supported by SCA participants. For example, we got hundreds of SCA participants to pledge that they would transfer $17 million of their TC assets into such a fund if it was established. And an earlier survey taken by TC itself found that over 80 percent of SCA participants supported investing in more positive ventures (and two-thirds were even willing to give up some level of return if such investing led to positive social change!). The campaign has been endorsed by dozens of academic and activist groups (National Women’s Studies Association, Co-op America, National Community Capital Association, etc.), as well as by notable people like Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and Benjamin Barber. We organized and led a national coalition of groups seeking for TC to be more responsible in its investing--investing in positive ventures and divesting from socially irresponsible companies (www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org).
Using a variety of tactics—getting national media coverage of our campaign, generating hundreds of calls and emails to TC’s offices, leafleting at conferences where TC representatives spoke—we succeeded in getting TC to listen. In 2002 they made one important change and in April 2004, TC officers finally agreed to seriously address our proposal and subsequently made various commitments to move forward. However, though we stuck with our promise to put our public campaign on hold, TC has made very little concrete progress in implementing the changes we requested. We finally made an ultimatum: take concrete steps (which we detailed in a letter to them), or we will restart the campaign. We received only a noncommittal reply.
And so the campaign is back in full gear. We need your help if we are to succeed again. Even if you are not in the TC retirement system, you can promote the campaign.
• Most importantly, contact TC to express your support for the changes to the SCA described above. (If you are a TC participant, note that.) Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his assistant). You can email him at HAllison@tiaa-cref.org, but a call is much preferable. If you can call once a month, that’s even better.
• Forward this message widely, to colleagues and friends.
• Sign up for campaign updates (email nwollman@bentley.edu to receive one or two updates monthly; also, you can receive updates on the work of the broader “Make TIAA-CREF ethical” coalition).
• Let us know (nwollman@bentley.edu ) which of the following you can do, as your time allows:
a. contact or ‘adopt’ a TC trustee in your area
b. visit a local TC office
c. participate in demonstrations or leafleting in your area (or at annual TC meetings; e.g. July 19, 2005 in New York City)
d. contact media
e. further promote the issue to colleagues beyond forwarding this message
f. ask your organization/institution to endorse our effort, then tell TC
g. express your concerns to TC representatives visiting your campus
h. get creative: cook up some new tactics, or suggest them to us
As of early May 2005, our website has not been re-established. To check to see if it is up, go to the TC coalition web site (www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org), click on “organizations,” scroll down to “Social Choice for Social Change,” and there will be a link to our home page when it is on-line.
Thanks so much,
Neil Wollman, Ph.D.
Chair, Social Choice for Social Change: Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
Professor and Senior Fellow, Manchester College
nwollman@bentley.edu

Social Choice for Social Change: Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF

Dear Campaign Supporters:

You may have noticed that our updates have been far less frequent these past months. And, most updates have focused more on the work of the larger TC (TIAA-CREF) coalition of which we are a part than on our positive investing efforts. The reason, as you know, is that a year ago we moved into a stage of cooperation with TC which they initiated.

As a result of our dialogue with TC representatives, we made some progress over the last year—but not as much as we would have liked, and TC reneged on some commitments that were made. In an effort to turn up the heat once again, we recently sent the CEO the letter below (slightly edited a little here). Unfortunately, the deadline for their response passed, and so our Steering Committee has decided to restart the campaign in earnest.

In the near future, we will resume our aggressive media strategy of informing reporters about TC’s hypocrisy on this and related matters. We also will be slowly gearing up other activities, such as leafletting at TC-related events and demonstrating at various venues (including residences of TC officers or trustees, if need be). Though we regret the need for such actions, we feel we have been jilted. Nevertheless, we will continue to be forthright in our dealings with TC and the media.

We will also be calling upon you, again, for participation. Restarting the campaign is unpleasant in a number of ways: it means more work for us (as in the past), and it means confrontation. But we must “keep our eyes on the prize”: our proposal would (a) create low-income housing; (b) push TC to vote proxies in a way that can positively influence corporations; and (c) direct investment toward socially responsible business ventures that would benefit individuals and society.

We have influenced TC before on several matters: twenty years ago we pushed them to create the Social Choice Account. We can make a change again, with your continued commitment and participation at whatever level is feasible for you. We will be in touch asking you to take specific actions. We’re in it for the long haul.

Best wishes,
Neil

Neil Wollman, Co-Chair
MC Box 135
Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
nwollman@bentley.edu
260-982-5346

April 1, 2005

Herbert Allison
CEO and Chairman
TIAA-CREF

Dear Mr. Allison:

Because we are in a critical stage of discussions between TIAA-CREF and the Social Choice for Social Change (SCSC) campaign, I am writing you directly on behalf of our group rather than using the usual channel of communication. In a March 18 telephone conversation, Mr. Bert Scott described a few steps taken by TIAA-CREF regarding socially responsible investing. However, Mr. Scott’s status report did not address our concerns raised over the last few years and in our communications of February 14 and February 5 (see both messages below). On good faith, we essentially ended our lobbying efforts a year ago after TIAA-CREF promised to seriously address our concerns. However, we have continued to hear only promises and have seen few concrete results. For example, Mr. Scott told us to be patient and we would not be disappointed. He has also noted on more than one occasion that if what we want is “doable,” TIAA-CREF will find a way to make it happen. As noted below, what we seek is quite doable. Also, at the June 2004 annual meeting, you stated that TIAA-CREF would look for ways to incorporate community investment into the Social Choice Account (SCA). We have met our part of the “bargain” by refraining from more assertive tactics, but we have very little to show for it.
As noted in the correspondence below, our preference remains for a TIAA-CREF-sponsored resolution on the 2005 ballot that includes three components for the SCA: shareholder advocacy voting (and quiet diplomacy with portfolio companies); community investing (as commonly defined by the SRI industry); and social venture capital/private equity. It is not clear to us why this is no longer possible—why “the window of opportunity has closed” and we needed to wait for the 2006 ballot, as asserted by Mr. Scott in the March 18 conversation. It was months ago that we mutually acknowledged the need for such a resolution if community investing was to be incorporated into the SCA, and we offered to help with the necessary research. Mr. Scott has stated that TIAA-CREF is in “conceptual” agreement with this approach, and Mr. Evans said he would support a proxy resolution that would be mutually agreed upon by TIAA-CREF management and the SCSC campaign. We have pointed out that what we desire has been done by other SRI mutual funds and, thus, is both reasonable and feasible. However, a conference call in January between representatives of our group and TIAA-CREF vice presidents revealed that necessary background research had not been done that would allow for introducing such a resolution.
Given that the annual meeting is scheduled for July 19, there must be at least two months time left to draft a resolution, even considering the time needed for ballot preparation and distribution. We can provide sufficient background research for a proposal, with details of investment logistics to be handled later. We are also aware that approval of at least two shareholder introduced resolutions for 2005 is still under discussion. This suggests that in fact there is time for TIAA-CREF to introduce an additional resolution.

If you remain firm in your contention that a resolution is not possible for this year’s annual meeting, we see but one other option to avoid going public again with our concerns about SRI and TIAA-CREF’s failure to follow through on its stated commitments. Though it is decidedly not our preference, we would settle for a statement, in writing, from you on behalf of TIAA-CREF, that a TIAA-CREF sponsored resolution will be on the ballot for 2006 that includes community investing, shareholder advocacy voting and dialogue with companies, and social venture capital/private equity. (The second message below lays out our specific interests along those lines; we realize that some particular concerns about social venture capital/private equity must still be addressed.) This would give TIAA-CREF an entire year to work with us to prepare the resolution. We would additionally expect TIAA-CREF to start moving quickly, presumably after the new SCA manager is hired, to insure that background research is completed, the resolution is drafted, and planning for implementation begins. As plans progress, we will mutually address how best to handle specifics of the resolution in order to meet everyone's concerns. (Of course, we would also appreciate a good-faith effort to heighten TIAA-CREF’s social responsibility in other ways, such as incorporating standard SRI-field community investment into the TIAA Traditional Account and further integrating TIAA-CREF into the SRI community.)

If we do not hear a positive response from you within the next two weeks, we will interpret this as a lack of commitment on your part, and we will actively resume our campaign sometime in April. For by the 2006 annual meeting, over two years and three annual meetings will have transpired since we halted the campaign. If we do not see results by then, we must conclude that we were wrong to trust TIAA-CREF’s statements and cease our campaign in the first place. Note that I am speaking here on behalf of SCSC, not for the entire “Make TIAA-CREF Ethical” coalition we are a part of; though it is possible that we will seek to bring them and their participation on board if we must restart the campaign.

Sincerely,

Neil Wollman, Ph.D.
Co-Chair, Social Choice for Social Change
Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute
Professor of Psychology
Manchester College

CC. Bertram Scott, Scott Evans, Joann Mahoney

3/1/2005

REPORT ON TIAA-CREF CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES (FEB. 5-10)

n Thanks for your calls/emails to TIAA-CREF (TC) back in early February. We had enough that they started directing calls away from the CEO's office! Forward any responses you received—it helps us strategize.

n Besides calls, we submitted a shareholder resolution to TC (see copy below). We also sent a letter to TC officers and distributed a press release (linked at www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org)

n We got our message out widely via the press release and calls to 100 individual media folks. We appeared on such sites as Yahoo, One World, World News Network, and TV station web sites (also mention in Investment Management Weekly ).

n We’ve just added a Wal-Mart-related group to our coalition – (see www.sprawl-busters.com). And others have expressed interest.

n We always try to get actual TC participants involved since they have the most influence with TC--and they can contact their colleagues. (The Indiana U. progressive faculty coalition and a Wheaton College (MA) group just asked how they can help.) So, please widely distribute the below piece to relevant faculty and staff groups/individuals.

n If you’re not already on it, sign up for campaign updates (sent every month or two—repy with 'add to TC Coalition list' in subject line). Otherwise you’ll mainly just get occasional action alerts. Also, use ''add to SCSC list" in subject line to get updates for the specific campaign focusing on investing in low income area housing and other positive ventures ( Social Choice for Social Change).

n Finally, we share with you a poem submitted by a supporter (see below). And on a one-time basis we include below information on the Graduation Pledge Alliance. ("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."). Please inform/encourage/support students on this. Have possibly interested folks email nwollman@bentley.edu so we keep track.

Thanks,
Neil

Neil Wollman
Peace Studies Institute
MC Box 135
Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
260-982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu

(If you wish to be removed from this mailing list, reply with “remove” in the subject line.”)

Resolution Proposal

TIAA-CREF claims to exercise its voice to influence policies and practices of companies in whose stock CREF invests. Let it be resolved, therefore, that TIAA-CREF remain invested in Costco, Wal-Mart, and other general merchandise stores in order to transform them into less risky assets. Beyond fiduciary concerns, actions of these companies are antithetical to TIAA-CREF policies regarding social responsibility. A publicly stated timeline should be established for divestment, if these companies take no remedial action and their destructive practices persist.

Supporting Statement

Reflecting the moral values of the academic community, TIAA-CREF considers itself a “concerned investor” and its Policy Statement on Corporate Governance states “TIAA-CREF believes that building long-term shareholder value is consistent with directors' giving careful consideration to issues of social responsibility and the common good.” This is contravened by at least two companies in its portfolio, Costco and Wal-Mart, which put at risk the value of their brand by generating strong disapproval from the international community with their disregard for the law, the culture and the requests of communities where their outlets are established. With the support of corrupt local politicians, they have damaged culturally, ecologically and archeologically valuable sites. The High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations noted the violations of human rights by the destruction in Cuernavaca, Mexico, of the Casino de la Selva, as well as infringement on freedom of expression of citizens. Nearly 150 organizations urged Costco to stop its destruction and close this outlet, but the company refused. The erecting of the Teotihuacan, Mexico, Wal-Mart store resulted in similar circumstances.

There is an international boycott against both companies, with related lawsuits against Wal-Mart. The Danish LO trade union has dropped Wal-Mart's stock. Such actions devalue the company brands and put at risk the investments of their shareholders, including TIAA-CREF participants.

Competition by Costco and Wal-Mart has caused many small local businesses to file for bankruptcy and result in loss of income sources worldwide. Furthermore, Wal-Mart retails merchandise from sweatshops and faces lawsuits for discrimination. These activities violate TIAA-CREF's Policy Statement regarding “egregious repression of human rights,” “equal employment opportunities for all segments of the population,” and “the common good of the corporation's communities and its constituencies.”

Additionally, Costco and Walmart are paradigmatic of the general merchandise store sector that typically disregard small businesses, provide low wages and poor benefits, and contribute to urban sprawl.

TIAA-CREF's Policy Statement on Corporate Governance allows for resolutions supporting divestment. There is also precedent by the large CalPERS pension system, which has sometimes divested (or not invested) in companies due to social concerns. These screens apply to all of the fund's participants, not just to those in socially responsible funds.

For the reasons above, the proponent urges you to vote to have TIAA-CREF actively press for change, reparations, and potential divestment from Costco, Wal-Mart, and other general merchandise stores that are egregious in terms of disregard for small businesses, providing low wages and poor benefits, and contributing to urban sprawl, while generating fiduciary risk.

PROMOTING A SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TIAA-CREF
I am writing to assess your interest in promoting social responsibility within TIAA-CREF. Our group has made progress with them in a few areas of their operations and investment (see the statement below for a description of our work, with more details available at www.MakeTIAA-CREFethical.org). Providing us with the following information will help us in our future work.
1. Do you support this effort? ________________
2. What is your institutional affiliation? ________________
3. Would you be willing to contact TIAA-CREF on occasion by phone or email in support of these efforts? __________ (There are ways to get further involved--let us know if interested.)
4. Would you tell others at your institution about our TIAA-CREF efforts? _____________ (We can send something to distribute by email.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The nation's largest pension fund, TIAA-CREF, a retirement fund mainly for educators, prides itself on being responsive to shareholders and a "concerned investor" with regard to social responsibility. The reality is that TIAA-CREF holds shares in some of the most controversial and notoriously unethical corporations, including Altria/Philip Morris, responsible for Marlboro-the #1 cigarette brand among youth; Nike and Wal-Mart, widely condemned for their use of sweatshop labor; Chevron, the oil giant currently being sued for human rights abuses in Burma. TIAA-CREF has now sold all its World Bank bonds, which have resulted in harm to many Third World citizens, but it needs to assert that it will not buy any new ones.
A coalition of groups urges the pension system to divest of shares in corporations involved in human rights violations, and public health and environmental degradation, and instead invest in socially responsible ventures. We have done lobbying and taken direct actions to promote more social responsibility within TIAA-CREF. Because of the size and prominence of TIAA-CREF, if they make the changes we desire, it can lead other large institutional investors to do the same.
Neil Wollman; Ph. D.; Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute; Professor of Psychology; Manchester College, North Manchester, IN 46962; nwollman@bentley.edu; 260-982-5346

Daniel North, UK
THE CAGE OF UNETHICITY
You should really by now
Be getting the message
To stop violating civil liberty
And putting human rights in a cage.
But instead you repeat the same old evils
Again and again
Chasing money no matter whom it hurts
By placing people’s futures firmly down the drain.
Because you keep on ignoring, discarding the facts
Anyway I thought the risks of smoking were clear..?!
But you still blank out all what Altria has caused
Hoping that in time the truth will eventually smear.
Also rather than helping
You encourage the crippling of the Burmese
Destroying employment and allowing the slave trade
Watching on as economies crumble around their knees.
So please don’t buy any more of their WB bonds
As we will no longer be taken for a fool
In hope that they learn from the errors of their ways
So that the TIAA-CREF will become a lot more ethical.
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 Skidmore); large state universities (Oregon and Utah), and large private research universities (Princeton and Stanford). The Pledge is also now found at graduate and professional schools, high schools , and schools overseas (e.g., in France, Taiwan, 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 around the country (e.g., USA Today, Washington Post, Associated Press, and Chronicle of Higher Education), as well as being covered in 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.

Dear TC Campaign supporters:
In case you haven’t heard, after years of our lobbying TIAA-CREF (TC) has agreed to make some changes we desire (though not all as of yet!). Thanks so much for your work that helped make that happen. (The first brief piece below gives more details.)
However, the work of the larger coalition concerned with TC and social responsibility continues. The coalition "Make TIAA-CREF Ethical" is still seeking for TC to divest from a handful of companies that have been particularly irresponsible, or to otherwise influence those companies to make appropriate changes. (See another piece below describing the work of the coalition and the specific companies involved.)
TC, which recently has become more open to our ideas, has taken another welcome step by agreeing to meet with coalition representatives November 1 at their headquarters in NYC. We have reason to believe that they will give us a good hearing. Three of their top officers will be at the meeting. So they are taking us seriously.
Please contact TC this week and let them know that you support the efforts of the coalition. Tell them that you:
1. support the call for divestment of particular companies from their portfolio (and note some specifics, if you have particular concerns);
2. hope for an open and productive meeting in which our requests are given a full hearing; and
3. thank them for their recent openness and for actions they have taken in response to our requests to invest and advocate in ways that promote a better society.
It is most effective to use you own words and emphases (e.g. don’t just forward parts of this message if you contact them via email). And if you do send an email, no need to send a 'copy' to us.
Most effective is to phone CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him, and his assistant will take a message). You can also email him at HAllison@tiss-cref.org.
Many thanks,
Neil Wollman and Abby Fuller, Co-Chairs
Social Choice for Social Change: Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
nwollman@bentley.edu
260-982-5346
Campaign for Positive Investing

We met on April 19 with TIAA-CREF (TC) officials to discuss the possibility of a new socially responsible fund. WE hope that it would incorporate such progressive investment practices as (a) community development (e.g., low income housing), (b) social venture capital (direct investment - not stock - in a start-up company with a new environmental product) , and (c) shareholder activism (e.g. TC casting its own proxy/shareholder votes and otherwise lobbying in favor of a company avoiding sweatshop imports).

Before saying what happened at the meeting, we want to thank all who contacted TC prior to the meeting to voice your support for a new fund. They let us know that they received over a hundred emails on the issue -- and that doesn't even count the many phone calls that were made! And let us take this opportunity for a special recognition of Paul Sheridan, Brooklyn College professor. Though personal reasons kept him from much participation in the effort in the last few years of the campaign, for several years before that he was co-coordinator on the effort with Abby and Neil. Of course, so many folks helped in similar ways.

Though TC will not be starting a new fund, they will be very likely incorporating at least two of our interests in their current socially responsible fund. Plus, they will perhaps be doing so elsewhere in other appropriate funds of theirs. We know they are actively investigating these possibilities in several venues, contacting money managers in the field of socially responsible investing, having internal discussions on topics, and are near a final committee vote on one important component of our proposal (after earlier positive considerations)

As TC seems to have entered a new era of cooperation with us, in consultation with our Coordinating Committee, we have decided to at least temporarily suspend all lobbying efforts for the campaign. Unless it appears they are being disingenuous, or too much time passes without concrete changes, we will take them at their word and assume they are on the way to implementing new policies.

Work of the TIAA-CREF Coalition

We write to tell you about a coalition of national advocacy groups that have been working to get TIAA-CREF (TC) to be more socially conscious in its investments (areas of concern are sweatshop labor, tobacco, World Bank Bonds, and human rights regarding Burma and Mexico). We also want them to invest in social good (low-income are community development and products enhancing environmental sustainability, e.g.).

Despite positive steps on the latter, TIAA-CREF continues to invest heavily in a number of abusive corporations. Pressure groups are asking TIAA-CREF to do the following: (1) drop its stock in Philip Morris/Altria, the world's largest tobacco corporation; (2) remove Nike and Wal-Mart from the fund's portfolio due to their notorious sweatshop abuses; (3) take action on Chevron, a company in its stock portfolio that is invested in Burma, which has one of the world's worst human rights records; and (4) have Costco corporation remove the warehouses in Cuernavaca that were illegally constructed and implied the abuse of human rights -- or divest from the company. Activists are also urging TIAA-CREF to vow no new purchases of World Bank bonds, while congratulating them for eliminating their past holdings (WB loans have often resulted in hurting economic situations of poorer inhabitants of a country.).

*The US Campaign for Burma * Infact * World Bank Bonds Boycott * Press for Change * Social Choice for Social Change * Citizens Coalition (Frente Civico) * Educating for Justice * National Community Reinvestment Coalition * National Congress for Community Economic Development

7/8/2004

Social Choice for Social Change:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF

Dear TC Campaign supporters,

We continue our discussions with TIAA-CREF (TC) about investing in low-income community development and other positive contributions to society. We know they are actively investigating these possibilities in several venues, and they are in contact with money managers in the field of socially responsible investing. As TC seems to have entered a new era of cooperation with us, in consultation with our Coordinating Committee we have decided to at least temporarily suspend all lobbying efforts for the campaign. Unless it appears they are being disingenuous, or too much time passes without concrete changes, we will take them at their word and assume they are on the way to implementing new policies.

On a broader front, the TC Coalition, comprised of several organizations including ourselves, continues to push for greater social responsibility within TC in other areas. The Coalition is currently scheduling a meeting with TC personnel in their NYC headquarters. TC agreed to discussions at the recent annual shareholder meeting. We'll keep you updated regarding that meeting and new developments for our positive investing campaign.

Sincerely,

Neil Wollman and Abby Fuller, Co-chairs
MC Box 135
Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
260-982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu

6/20/2004

Social Choice for Social Change:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
Dear TC Campaign Supporter:
Summary of Annual Meeting Actions: Here is a summary of important events at the June 15 annual TIAA-CREF (TC) meeting in Charlotte, NC and the New York City demonstration at TC headquarters. It reports on the work of a coalition of groups seeking for TC to invest in ventures that aid society and divest from particular companies that are involved principally in human rights abuse, but also issues of environmental and health (tobacco) effects.
Attendance was low at the annual meeting, as we expected due to its location--around 25 folks total not associated with TC (including 5 of us), one-sixth or less of typical NYC meeting attendance in the past. In New York, there were 7 demonstrators at TC headquarters, down quite a bit from our recent crowds of 40-50 folks. They had a banner, signs, and distributed maybe 300 fliers. Some talked with TC employees fearful of a new round of firings.
All shareholder resolutions lost, gaining 8 -21% of the vote (divest tobacco, 21%; more transparency/reporting on social responsibility issues, 16%; gold mining divestment, anti- gun control, and “add more socially responsible Social Choice Account-type funds” each got under 10%). (I might be off by a few percentage points.)
Regarding media, there was a drop-off from our usual extensive coverage (due to several factors that I won’t elaborate on here). CBSMarketwatch.com did a story that was picked up by Investors Business Daily (on-line) and AFX. Reuters also filed a story, and a few news wires ran our press release. Dow Jones News Service should be filing a story, as well.
Dennis Brutus gave his usual good speech outlining our hopes. I complemented that with some additional points about the legitimacy of divestment. (Below this annual meeting report is the letter we sent CEO Herbert Allison prior to the meeting, which lays out our arguments.) As planned, we did not stand up or hold up signs as he spoke. Unfortunately, our plans for speeches on behalf of individual coalition groups fell through. Someone independent from our coalition gave a stirring anti-tobacco speech. I spoke on our efforts for positive investing (low-income area community development, social venture capital, and shareholder activism in the Social Choice Account (SCA)). I was very positive about their recent openness to our concerns and expressed hope for continued cooperation, and in his opening speech Allison noted the possibility of exploring positive investing. There were statements by others at times on social concern issues. Overall, it was much more subdued than the last annual meeting.
Allison reiterated the idea that those with social concerns should or have invested in the SCA (200,000 TC participants have already done so). He also said that TC can only divest (and make investment decisions) based on financial considerations. He said they continually monitor social concerns..
Dennis and I both noted our desire to meet with them about our specific concerns, and a follow-up request by Dennis led Allison to direct us to contact their Corporate Secretary about a meeting.
Draft Letter on Divestment: Below find a document I am working on that outlines general arguments for divesting that (a) cut across coalition issues; (b) address financial and other justifications; and (c) rely to some extent on TC’s own relevant policy statements. I think we have to make the case for divesting in general, as well as our specific causes. Suggestions are welcome.
Invitation to Get Involved: Finally, at the bottom of this email is a message from the Coalition that you can send along to friends and colleagues as we continue to build our base of support. Please forward it on to others and encourage them to sign up to receive the monthly coalition updates (sign up yourself if you haven’t). Though involvement by TC participants is particularly helpful, we welcome and can use the help of anyone.
THANKS,
Neil
Neil Wollman, Co-chair
Social Choice for Social Change: Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
MC Box 135
Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
(260) 982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu
www.manchester.edu/links/socialchoiceforsocialchange
===========================================================================
D R A F T
May 27, 2004
Herbert Allison
Chairman and CEO
TIAA-CREF
730 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Dear Mr. Allison,
With others who were present at the December participants' meeting, we thank you for the open spirit of that meeting. We feel that you and the rest of your management team are giving serious attention to strengthening the social responsibility of TIAA-CREF investments. We plan to raise such matters again at the upcoming meeting in June. We hope that at your committee meetings surrounding the annual meeting you will discuss specific issues raised below. Additionally, we propose a meeting with you in the weeks following the annual meeting to further the dialogue. We thank you already for the consideration you are showing toward those seeking for TIAA-CREF to invest in enterprises particularly strong on issues of social responsibility, as suggested by one of the groups in our coalition.
We wish to also express our support for TIAA-CREF’s recently revised Policy Statement on Corporate Governance. We particularly applaud the sections on social accountability and on open communication between shareholders and company management, including the board of directors. Some TIAA-CREF members felt that remarks made at the annual meeting last December indicated that in most of its portfolios, TIAA-CREF ignores good corporate governance for the sake of profits. The Policy Statement would seem to indicate that social concerns should be examined both for their own sake and because of implications for long-term shareholder value.
We have some additional questions regarding the revised policy. How does TIAA-CREF implement this policy statement in determining the size of its investments as well as actively pursuing its responsibilities as shareowner? Will TIAA-CREF be issuing regular reports to its participants on the actions it has taken and the results it has achieved? We would welcome such openness. If CREF would issue such reports, as proposed in one upcoming shareholder resolution, it likely would relieve some of the concerns that TIAA-CREF is not taking seriously enough its well known commitment to improve corporate social responsibility. We would like to understand TIAA-CREF’s present practices as we judge for ourselves how well CREF is managing our retirement funds on our behalf.
The policy statement makes clear that TIAA-CREF is quite concerned with issues of social responsibility. We feel that TIAA-CREF, itself, has moral choices to make, that it should not place all that responsibility upon those choosing the Social Choice Account. We assume, for example, that TIAA-CREF would not invest in slave trade even if it were expected to bring large financial gain. Yet TIAA-CREF does invest in tobacco companies that take human life (e.g., Philip-Morris/Altria) and in corporations tied to human rights abuse (Chevron, Costco, Nike, and Wal-Mart). Where will the line be drawn? We continue to urge you to divest from these dangerous and irresponsible corporations.
We applaud the Policy Statement declaration that “TIAA-CREF generally will support (shareholder) proposals that include reasonable requests and concern companies or countries where demonstrably egregious repression of human rights is found.” Thus we are hopeful that TIAA-CREF would then not itself invest in such companies itself. We have identified some prominent companies of this sort above. You also mention concerns with companies that have extremely poor environmental records. We hope you are open to investigating companies along these lines, as well, and are willing to listen to concerns about any other companies tied to moral abuses that you specifically identify in your Policy Statement.
As a matter of fact, researching social as well as financial concerns before investing in any company in any of your funds might be something to consider given the financial success of the Social Choice Account. As was noted at the last annual meeting, that was the only TIAA-CREF fund to receive a five star rating.
Complementary to the above, how does TIAA-CREF apply the Policy Statement on Corporate Governance to itself? For example, is there a sufficient and well-publicized “formal procedure (in place) to enable shareholders to communicate their views and concerns directly to board members,” as spelled out in paragraph 10 on page 15 of the Policy Statement? The SEC speaks to this issue, as well. We would welcome a procedure by which we can inform the various TIAA-CREF directors—particularly those on the two relevant Committees on Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility- about our concerns. And, as stated above, we hope you will consider delivering regular reports on your corporate social responsibility activities.
We and our consultants are eager to meet with TIAA-CREF management to discuss the details of implementing "responsibility," with profit, throughout the portfolios. We have coalition group members and TIAA-CREF participants in New York City ready to do so. We look forward to working with you and the TIAA-CREF Board to implement the TIAA-CREF Policy Statement on Corporate Governance both in its investments and within the operations of TIAA-CREF itself.
Sincerely,
Daniel Cook-Huffman, TIAA-CREF participant
Signed for other TIAA-CREF participants Paul Sheridan, Sumner Rosen, Terri Farless, and Anne Gibbons
Other TIAA-CREF participants or stakeholders as represented by members of the coalition TIAA-CREF: Out of the Bad and Into the Good: Jeremy Woodrum, The US Campaign for Burma; Patricia Lynn, Infact; Katrina Abarcar, World Bank Bonds Boycott; Jeffrey Ballinger, Press for Change; Abigail Fuller, Social Choice for Social Change; Jaime Lagunez, Citizens Coalition; James W. Keady, Educating for Justice, Inc.; John Taylor, National Community Reinvestment Coalition; Carol Wayman, National Congress for Community Economic Development
cc: Scott Evans. Chief Investment Officer
Elizabeth Monrad, Chief Financial Officer
Peter Clapman, Chief Counsel and Vice President
TIAA-CREF: Out of the Bad and into the Good
We are a coalition of national advocacy groups (listed below) that have been working to get TIAA-CREF (TC) to be more socially conscious in its investments. Areas of concern are sweatshop labor, tobacco, World Bank Bonds, and human rights in Burma. We also want them to invest in positive ways, such as in low-income-area community development and products enhancing environmental sustainability.
We are pleased to have met with TC representatives in April 2004, who seemed truly open to our concerns and are now looking in to implementing positive investments. Additionally, at the TC annual shareholder meeting in June 2004, TC agreed to meet privately with coalition reps about divesting from some companies. Beyond better directing of TC's own massive assets ($300 billion), due to its prominence in the investment world such changes will likely affect other large institutional investors.
The coalition has carried out traditional lobbying (calls and emails) to influence TC as well as protest actions when needed to gain attention. While we can point to a few victories, coalition members feel that we would have far more influence if we could communicate with more TC shareholders to provide periodic updates on campaign activities, as well as providing ways that folks can become involved. Those not in the TC system can certainly be involved and help, as well. Our current set-up involves campaign updates, about once a month.
Please consider signing up for these updates (write NJW@manchester.edu <mailto:NJW@manchester.edu> & put "TC Coalition Update" in the subject line). (You can also receive a bi-weekly update from Social Choice for Social Change, a group that focuses specifically on getting TC to institute positive investing; if interested in those updates, send a message with “SCSC update” in the subject line.)
Also, please do forward this message to individual colleagues and listservs which are concerned with the corporate responsibility movement and which might have participants in the TC pension system. And check out www.maketiaa-crefethical.org <http://www.maketiaa-crefethical.org> , the coalition web site for past campaign updates, descriptions of coalition groups, press releases, etc.
Thank you,
Neil Wollman, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow and Professor, Manchester College
for TIAA-CREF: Out of the Bad and into the Good [U.S. Campaign for Burma; Infact; Press for Change; Educating for Justice; World Bank Bonds Boycott; Citizen's Coalition (Frente Civico); Social Choice for Social Change: Campaign for a new TIAA-CREF; National Community Reinvestment Coalition; and National Congress for Community Economic Development]
6/2/2004
URGE PENSION GIANT TIAA-CREF TO INVEST IN SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE WAYS
Raise your voice at the annual shareholder meeting in Charlotte, NC on June 15
Demonstrate outside their corporate office in New York City on June 15
Call and email their CEO from June 8-15
Call for the influential $300 billion pension system to continue to explore investment in positive ventures (like low-income housing); divest from Nike, Wal-Mart, Costco, and Philip-Morris/Altria; pledge to remain out of World Bank bonds; and take action on Chevron, which invests in Burma.
New York City: "OUT OF THE BAD AND INTO THE GOOD" demonstration takes place Tuesday, June 15 from 11:30-1:30 p.m., at 730 Third Ave.(between 45th and 46th). Contact Dan Cook-Huffman for details (cook-hud@juniata.edu).
Charlotte: We’ll also be speaking out at the annual meeting in Charlotte--TIAA-CREF participants and non-participants alike. If you can attend, contact Dan Cook-Huffman (cook-hud@juniata.edu).
Calls and emails: Anyone can raise a voice from their hometown during the week before the meeting. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733 or 212-490-9000. Ask for Mr. Allison and speak to his assistant; calls are best, but otherwise email HAllison@tiaa-cref.org. USE YOUR OWN WORDS AND PLEASE NOTE THE POSITIVE STEPS THEY ARE TAKING AND THE NEED TO CONTINUE FORWARD, AS DESCRIBED BELOW. Please forward this message to others.
Sponsored by the coalition "TIAA-CREF: OUT OF THE BAD AND INTO THE GOOD."
The US Campaign for Burma; Infact; World Bank Bonds Boycott; Press for Change; Social Choice for Social Change; Citizens Coalition;
Educating for Justice, Inc.; National Community Reinvestment Coalition; and National Congress for Community Economic Development

Summary of the Issues
The nation’s largest pension system, TIAA-CREF, a retirement fund mainly for educators, prides itself on being responsive to shareholders and being a “concerned investor” with regards to social responsibility. “TIAA-CREF believes that building long-term shareholder value is consistent with directors’ giving careful consideration to issues of social responsibility… efforts to promote good corporate citizenship may serve to enhance a company’s reputation and long-term economic performance…” (Policy Statement on Corporate Governance, 2003)
TIAA-CREF has been quite open of late in considering shareholder requests for investment in enterprises making a positive contribution to society (e.g., low-income area community development). Yet it continues to hold stocks companies that harm segments of our society. Thus pressure groups are asking TIAA-CREF to do the following: (1) drop its stock in Philip Morris/Altria, the world’s largest tobacco corporation; (2) remove Nike and Wal-Mart from the fund's portfolio due to their notorious sweatshop abuses; (3) take action on Chevron, a company in its stock portfolio that is invested in Burma, which has one of the world's worst human rights records (TIAA-CREF divest or ask Chevron to pull out of Burma); and (4) demand that Costco close its illegal warehouses in Cuernavaca, Mexico, or divest because of human rights and environmental abuses. Also, after eliminating their past holdings, TIAA-CREF needs to vow no new purchases of World Bank bonds.
New York Times article published after the last TIAA-CREF annual meeting:

A Plea to Invest in What's Good
by Joseph B. Treaster
December 16, 2003
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Some of those attending the meeting in New York of the College Retirement Equities Fund, part of TIAA-CREF, the pension fund giant, complained about the poor performance of their pension and retirement plans during the last three years of depressed markets. But a message echoed repeatedly was that here was a group of investors who would accept a little less profit in exchange for making the world a little better.

"It's not only important how much income you get, but how you get it," said Donald W. Shriver, a former president of Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan.

Herbert M. Allison Jr., who joined TIAA-CREF as chief executive last fall after stepping down as president of Merrill Lynch, said, "We are mindful of the social issues." He added that the company tried to balance social concerns with its legal obligation to do its best to provide financial security and earnings for its more than 3.2 million investors.

But both Mr. Allison and Martin L. Leibowitz, the chief investment officer, indicated that the company's long-held, relatively conservative policy of investing in stock indexes, or baskets of stocks, meant that it would inevitably put money into companies that sell harmful products like cigarettes or that have been accused of abusive labor practices. Investors in an index, by definition, give up the freedom to pick and choose.

CREF already offers one of the largest funds that invests only in corporations that meet certain social criteria. But of the roughly $300 billion of TIAA-CREF's assets invested on behalf of clients, only about $5 billion is in its "social choice" fund.

The investors, many of them identifying themselves as Ph.D.'s as they rose to speak, seemed pleased at several changes that Mr. Allison announced in the company's corporate governance. For the first time, an independent trustee, not employed by the company, is to become chairman of the board of trustees, he said, and terms of the eight trustees will be reduced to one year from four years, which means that all will stand for election annually. As of today, the chairman will be Martin J. Gruber, a finance professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Mr. Allison's $8 million in salary and bonuses, which the company disclosed early last month, is nearly 50 percent more than his predecessor was paid. For some investors, the pay increase contrasted painfully with Mr. Allison's earlier announcement that he was laying off 500 employees.

James W. Keady, the founding director of Educating for Justice, a nonprofit organization that advocates social awareness for high school and college students, calculated that even without the roughly $4 million Mr. Allison was expected to receive in bonuses for long-term performance, he was being paid more than $10,000 a day. "If you have more money than you need," Mr. Keady said, quoting Gandhi, "you're stealing from somebody."

The roughly 150 investors at the meeting, more than double last year's turnout, broke into applause. Mr. Allison then turned the floor over to Ronald L. Thompson, the chief executive of a Midwest manufacturing company and chairman of the committee that conducted the chief executive search. Mr. Thompson said that the company had been in competition with "many large, aggressive organizations" to hire Mr. Allison, and that the compensation had to be competitive.

Throughout the meeting, Mr. Allison stood at a lectern at the front of the auditorium, listening more than talking. He remained calm, and so did most of the investors.

"We were very pleased with the meeting," said Steven Goldstein, a spokesman for TIAA-CREF.

The investors left in good spirits, too. "This is the most welcoming situation I've ever walked into," Mr. Keady told Mr. Allison and the others as the meeting ended.

He was speaking from experience at many conferences on corporate responsibility. "The atmosphere was much more open than I've found at other meetings," Mr. Keady said later.
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5/19/2004
Hello TC Campaign Supporters:
We are happy to report that we have continued to talk with TIAA-CREF reps via one channel or another, and it seems that things are generally moving along in strengthening TC's socially responsible investments and policies (with different levels of progress depending on the specific changes we are asking for). Nothing concrete has happened yet, so we will, of course, carry on with our efforts. However, given the progress made so far, we are taking a more positive approach by praising TC's cooperation in talking with media and others regarding our efforts. We will be monitoring what happens and move appropriately—and will keep you informed about that. The larger TC coalition, of which we are a part, will move ahead with its agenda.
The next annual meeting of TIAA-CREF is June 15, in Charlotte, NC. It has been moved up to the summer so that TC’s meetings are more in sync with most annual meetings, which are in the spring or summer. We will have more info later on the meeting and events surrounding it. But, as usual, if you can't come, please let us know if you are willing to designate that someone connected with our campaign can go in your place as your representative to express views on social responsibility. It's pretty easy to do, requiring just a little paper work. (If you did so for last meeting, we will be contacting you anyway.)
Just a brief mention that one of our colleagues had filed a shareholder resolution for the upcoming annual meeting asking TC to institute a policy preventing the same person from holding both the positions of Chairman and CEO. Since that time, TC decided to make that change and the proposal was withdrawn! (Some ambiguity remains on this issue, but it does look like progress.). Though there is more work to be done regarding both social responsibility and corporate governance, we do applaud TC for making moves in the right direction.
Enjoy the weather,
Abby and Neil
Neil Wollman and Abigail A. Fuller, Co-Chairs
Social Choice for Social Change: Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
MC Box 135
Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
nwollman@bentley.edu
260-982-5346
5/1/2004
Social Choice for Social Change:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF

Dear Supporters,

We met on April 19 with TIAA-CREF (TC) officials to discuss the possibility of a new socially responsible fund. We hoped that it would incorporate such progressive investment practices as (a) community development (e.g., low income housing), (b) social venture capital (direct investment—not stock—in a start-up company with a new environmental product), and (c) shareholder activism (e.g., TC casting its own proxy/shareholder votes in favor of a company avoiding sweatshop imports).

Before saying what happened at the meeting, we want to thank all who contacted TC prior to the meeting to voice support for a new fund. They let us know that they received over a hundred emails on the issue --and that doesn’t even count all the calls that were made!

Several media were interested in the outcome of our meeting, and below are the talking points we used for that. They give detail on both the meeting and our plans for the future. But the bottom line is that, after consulting with our coordinating committee, we are pulling back from demanding a new fund (at least for now). Instead, we will return to pushing for modification of the socially responsible Social Choice Account that adds the progressive investment practices described above.

We do so for two reasons. First, TC argued strongly at the meeting against creating a new socially responsible fund. (We had been misinformed earlier by a TC rep who had told someone in our campaign that they were ready to start a new socially responsible fund of some sort.)

Second, TC seems quite open to instead implementing in some other, current accounts the progressive investment practices described above (or to at least thoroughly investigate this possibility). This includes possibly engaging in shareholder activism in the Social Choice Account. We see this as a victory of sorts, even if not all we pushed for. Of course, we have not yet seen results. We will be trying to continue dialogue—and monitoring their sincerity!

We will see how things progress and then likely call upon you again, as always, to further our combined efforts. We have made these gains so far because of our supporters' willingness to voice their concerns to TC.

Three additional issues:

1. For those so inclined, we are posting below a message sent to us about another TC practice. If you contact TC about that, please don’t mention names of Neil Wollman or Abby Fuller in your message (for reasons we won’t go into here).

2. Someone suggested that we would generate more ideas, volunteers, etc. for our various TC efforts if we established a listserv where folks can share ideas (rather than our regular “one-way-communication” updates). We have no idea whether this is going over the top in expected participation.. Opinions are most appreciated—-especially from “TC_Coalition@yahoogroups” folks and the Social Choice for Social Change coordinating committee.

3. We may be involved in a campaign activity at Dartmouth College in several weeks. If you or someone you know will be there then and perhaps might get involved, let us know. If you contact us, that is not a commitment to take part.

Thanks,
Neil and Abby

Neil Wollman and Abby Fuller, Co-Chairs
Social Choice for Social Change:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
MC Box 135
Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962

aafuller@manchester.edu
nwollman@bentley.edu

MEDIA TALKING POINTS:

1. We feel our meeting with TC went well.
2. We appreciate their openness to possibilities.
3. Regarding some of the things we proposed for a new socially responsible fund (community development investment, social venture capital investment, and shareholder advocacy for any money invested using social responsibility criteria), TC said they are willing to investigate incorporating these components into one of their current funds rather than starting a new fund. They have already done begun to do so. This is an important step toward accomplishing at least some of our goals.
5. Though we think they will conclude this is feasible if they explore it, we understand some of their hesitancy due to the logistics and expense of starting a new fund.
6. Though we need to consult with our advisory board, our initial leanings are toward endorsing the modification of their present socially responsible fund rather than starting a new one. Their concerns expressed would not seem to apply to modifying their current Social Choice Account.
7. We would like to see such a modification of their current socially responsible fund because the components we seek belong there, even if they are also included in other funds. They are components that currently are a part of other socially responsible funds. And, some participants (like ourselves) who have all their money in the Social Choice Account do not want to move our money to unscreened funds, even if new positive components are added to them.
8. One thing we picked up from our meeting is that TC has a strong interest in meeting the desires of participants. And a desire for the type things we propose has already emerged from participants in the Social Choice Account:
- $17 million of money already invested in TC was pledged toward a new fund incorporating the components we what;
- a survey TC conducted itself of Social Choice Account participants found that a high percentage desired investment in companies really outstanding on social issues, with two-thirds of participants even willing to give up some level of financial return if it resulted in desirable social change—and the components we suggest indeed promote such desirable social change.
9. With this information and their interest in meeting customer desires, we hope they will either survey participants again or just put out a proposal to all Social Choice Account participants about this possible change (and we hope we can be a part of shaping what is presented to shareholders).
10. At this point, after the good meeting, we are hoping for further communication or meetings on specifics, and hearing about their investigations over the next two months leading up to the next annual TC shareholder meeting in mid-June.
11. Our campaign is involved with a larger coalition concerned with the social responsibility of TC’s general investment practices. And as part of that coalition, we certainly will acknowledge in our coalition materials about TC’s openness on our particular campaign.

REQUEST FOR YOUR BRIEF CALL TO TC ON A PARTICULAR SOCIAL CONCERN MATTER

If you invest retirement funds with TIAA-CREF, please contact them now to encourage fund managers to vote "yes" on the shareholder resolution concerning Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.(FCX). The resolution was put forward by the New York City Teachers' Retirement System (NYCTRS) and NYC Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS). TIAA-CREF is a major institutional investor in FCX. New Orleans-based FCX is the majority owner of the Freeport copper and gold mine in Papua, the world's largest facility of its kind.

The resolution, which comes before FCX shareholders at the company's May 7, 2004, annual general meeting in Wilmington, Delaware, calls on Freeport management to end its financial payments to the Indonesian military (TNI) until the armed forces cooperate with an ongoing U.S.Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of - and the Indonesian government criminally prosecutes those responsible for - a deadly August 2002 ambush on Freeport's mining road. U.S. government > officials and Indonesian police investigators have cited TNI involvement in the attack, in which gunmen ambushed the entire teaching staff of Freeport's international school in Papua(Indonesia), killing the principal and two schoolteachers (including 2 American citizens) and injuring seven other American schoolteachers and a six-year-old girl. The U.S. Embassy has termed the incident "terrorist attack" on American citizens.

Call 1-800-TIA-CREF (or 212-490-9000) and ask to speak to someone about voicing your opinion on one of TC’S shareholder votes
4/9/2004
ON APRIL 19 WE MEET WITH TOP TIAA-CREF (TC) OFFICIALS ON THIS MATTER. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT.
If you are a participant in their educational pension system (or can reach folks in education who might be), please contact TC about a possible new investment option. It would be a new socially responsible fund that would have such progressive components as investment in community development (low-income housing, e.g.,) and social venture capital (money for companies with new socially/environmentally responsible products). We also seek for the fund to be involved in “shareholder activism.” in proxy voting.
Apparently TC will be starting a second socially responsible fund—but at this point, above components that would make it a real social change vehicle are not incorporated. Tell them you support the creation of the fund we propose and, if you are willing, that you agree to transfer some of your current TC funds into such an account, if created. Call TC on this matter before the meeting, encouraging them to adopt the proposal that will be presented at that time. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his assistant). Calls bring the most attention, but if that is not possible, you can email him at HAllison@TIAA-CREF.org. THANKS
Neil Wollman; Ph. D.; Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute; Professor of Psychology; Manchester College, North Manchester, IN 46962; nwollman@bentley.edu; 260-982-5346; fax 260-982-5043

2/27/2004

Dear TIAA-CREF Campaigners,
We are sad to report that TIAA-CREF has chosen the easy, anti-shareholder path and moved the next annual meeting, in June, to Charlotte, NC. After feeling heat from shareholders at the 2001 meeting, they moved the 2002 meeting to Charlotte (claiming they wanted to celebrate their new regional office and give other shareholders a chance to attend--though only about 20 shareholders/shareholder reps did so. Even their trustees did not attend!) With the meeting back in NYC for 2003, hundreds attended, with a demo outside, and attention from NYC media (Wall Street Journal, NY Times, among others).
So, TC is moving the meeting back to North Carolina for 2004--wonder why! We may be mounting a mini-campaign (calls, media attempts, etc.) to try to reverse this or at least bring them some adverse publicity for this blatant attempt to suppress shareholders and their representatives. We will keep you informed.
We have had several successful small demos at local offices (3-6 people). And we recently held a small one at their headquarters in NYC that drew attention in several ways. We are still looking for folks (or your friends) in the general vicinity of these remaining cities for such involvement: Tampa, Dallas, Charlottesville, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Columbus. Someone is interested in doing something at the Seattle office, but he is trying to locate a willing individual to also get involved.
We also have a number of folks who are contacting TC trustees (usually by telephone) to help us move forward with the effort for new fund. However, are there folks in Cleveland, Toledo, or Portland (OR) who might reach out to TIAA-CREF trustees there? We are trying to get these in by early April in the run up to our meeting with TC.
In the coming months, we will be reaching out to new groups to join our coalition of organizations working to make TIAA-CREF more socially responsible. If you have any suggestions (or better yet, connections) concerning such possibilities, let us know. You could suggest content areas or specific advocacy groups. Most relevant would be organizations that, in some aspect of their work, focus on corporate responsibility, especially on influencing particular corporations.
Finally, for those of you associated with the American Psychological Association, there is an effort underway to get the association to become more socially responsible in its investing. If you are interested in this, let us know. We can put you in contact with folks who have done some preliminary work and need some assistance to move forward.
THANKS,
Abby and Neil
Abby Fuller and Neil Wollman, Co-chairs
Social Choice for Social Change: Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
MC Box 135
Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
(260) 982-5346

Social Choice for Social Change:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
Dear Campaigners,
PHONE CALLS! We thank you for your phone calls to TIAA-CREF--and for reporting them to us--regarding our upcoming meeting with them. We will not be meeting until mid-April, due to scheduling logistics for the seven or more folks who will attend (including three TIAA-CREF Exec. V.P.s!). (A long wait, but Neil has been at this with TIAA-CREF in one way or another for the majority of twenty years--so what''s a few months!) We''ll likely ask for more calls from you in early April, but please do call now if you can. It takes but three minutes: phone CEO Herbert Allison's office (800-842-2733; 212-490-9000) and tell his assistant that you support the proposal for establishing a new socially responsible fund and thank him for agreeing to meet and discuss the proposal.
DEADLINE FOR FILING SHAREHOLDER RESOLUTIONS. The next annual meeting of TIAA-CREF has been moved to June, so we'll be at it again sooner than we expected. If you want to consider filing a shareholder resolution on your own, on social responsibility or corporate governance concerns, let us know. We can help with the specifics of doing so (only 500 words, but a quick February 12 deadline).
LETTER TO ALLISON. We will soon prepare a letter for Herbert Allison, with coalition group reps as co-signers, we hope. It will be a follow-up response to annual meeting statements made by Allison, and will refer to socially resopnsible aspects of the new TC Policy Statement on Corporate Governance. It will (a) raise Dennis Brutus's concern about the TC VP's statement that financial concerns override any conceivable social concerns; (b) discuss TC's assertion that they and their portfolio companies should take social issues into account for ALL their investments because it affects shareholder value, and ask them to report how, specifically, they do this; (c) ask them why they would come out against divestment or asking companies to leave countries when such actions might improve shareholder value; and (d) assert that they have a moral choice, too, in their investing-it's not only TC participants who must make that choice. We are open to other suggestions.
ONGOING DEMOS. As key organizers in the TC coalition, we are keeping the pressure on via local demonstrations and reaching out to trustees. Just this past week we held a small demonstration at their NYC headquarters, where we distributed 200 fliers and talked to TC employees. It drew their security folks and other attention-even a media person who happened to come by and will likely be doing a story! Does anyone have a contact in the New Haven, CT area for a possible small action at their office there? Just need a few folks and less than an hour. We supply all else (basic info, fliers, etc.
Thanks,
Onward and upward,
Neil and Abby
Neil Wollman and Abigail Fuller, Co-Chairs
MC Box 135
Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
(260) 982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu
www.manchester.edu/links/socialchoiceforsocialchange
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ARE YOU IN THE TIAA-CREF RETIREMENT SYSTEM?
Do you want your money to help build housing in low-income communities?
To support socially and environmentally responsible smaller companies?

SPEND FIVE MINUTES TO SUPPORT OUR PROPOSED NEW TIAA-CREF (TC) FUND
THAT WOULD MAKE SOCIAL CHANGE.

In the 1980s, participants lobbied TIAA-CREF (TC) for five years to set up a socially responsible fund. Now we're pushing for an improved fund with practices that are becoming standard in socially responsible investing (see specifics below). We've been endorsed by many academic and activist groups, faculty/staff unions, and such individuals as Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn.

In January, 2002, TC's then-CEO John Biggs stated in a New York Times article that he would support creating a new fund that moves in this direction if there was sufficient financial interest. We've now gathered over $18 million in pledges to transfer current TC retirement assets should the fund materialize! In August 2002, TC finally made some changes in their current socially responsible fund. But much is still lacking.

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
-- CONTACT TC in support of the proposed fund, noting one or more of these components: (a) community development investment; (b) social venture capital; (c) stock in particularly responsible small companies; and (d) socially responsible shareholder advocacy. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his assistant).
-- VISIT http://www.manchester.edu/links/pledgetofund to pledge to the proposed fund. For the campaign details, visit http://www.manchester.edu/links/socialchoiceforsocialchange
-- RECEIVE CAMPAIGN UPDATES (every two weeks); contact nwollman@bentley.edu.
-- FORWARD THIS MESSAGE with a short personal endorsement to listserves, organizations, and your colleagues nationally.

Also, see http://www.maketiaa-crefethical.org concerning a coalition of national activist groups that seeks for TC to be more socially responsible in its various investments.

Here are examples of the inconsistencies and hypocrisies practiced by TIAA-CREF in regards to corporate governance and social responsibility. I can go further into the below as you wish, and can respond to anything they raise in response. I also can put you in contact with folks having specific expertise on the issues raised below.

In addition, there are three TIAA-CREF trustees/directors who are on a committee dealing specifically with governance and social responsibility issues. I can put you in contact with them. And there is a mid-level TIAA-CREF employee who is willing to talk to media about TIAA-CREF and inconsistencies regarding socially responsibility in its investments. The identity of the person needs to be kept out of the story, but you would most certainly be able to determine that the person is indeed a TIAA-CREF employee.

Neil Wollman
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TIAA-CREF DOES NOT PRACTICE WHAT IT PREACHES

I. TIAA-CREF claims to be and is seen as a leader in promoting corporate governance reform and championing shareholder rights. Their newly revised (December, 2003) Policy Statement on Corporate Governance states that their governance program for its portfolio companies is intended to "...improve long-term value for our participants.." and to "balance the rights of shareholders and the needs of the board and management to direct and mange effectively the corporation's affairs." YET:

1) At its December, 2003 annual meeting, it opposed its own shareholders' resolutions on three important governance issues that good governance folks support: a) Chairman and CEO positions must be held by different people (the Conference Board Commission on Public Trust and Private Enterprise recommended such a split); b) reconstituting the independent committee that nominated some trustees; c) Adopting the principles set forth in the conclusions of the Conference Board Commission just noted in "a)" above. I have contact information for the resolution filers, as we have a small group of participants that put forth all three governance resolutions that were on the shareholder ballot.

2) After attendees concerned about social responsibility issues persistently raised serious questions at the 2001 annual meeting, the 2002 meeting was held in a much less accessible city. This resulted in a much lowered attendance. And in contrast to the past, almost no trustees were present at the 2002 meeting. To their credit, TIAA-CREF returned to New York for their December, 2003 meeting.

3) For that meeting, TIAA-CREF again got ballots out late, so much, in fact, that they had to delay the meeting date. Also, for the second time in three (or four) years, they had mistakes on the ballot that hurt the chances of shareholders filing resolutions. This is all for a group that is self/other acclaimed as a model of good corporate governance.

We do welcome some recent (December 2003) changes made by TIAA-CREF on several governance concerns. It took various lobbying attempts by participants to help bring this about, but we do appreciate their eventual responsiveness.

4) As noted above, it eliminated the independent committee that nominated some trustees.

5) It supported a proposed SEC resolution making it harder for shareholders to resubmit resolutions (public outcry resulted in not adopting the measure).

6) TIAA-CREF claims that they take no government subsidies--and they shouldn't as a large pension fund. However, they do admit to taking "financial incentives," including an "incentive" of $1.17 million from the City and County of Denver.

7) Though a leader in reigning in excessive CEO salaries for their portfolio companies, their former CEO John Biggs sat on the boards of two companies that gave excessive CEO compensation (Biggs was on the compensation committee for one board and apparently approved a high salary for the other (we have details, including a St. Louis P-D expose on the excessive compensation).

Their current CEO Herbert Allison received an excessive pay package, including a yearly compensation of over $9 million and a $24 million severance deal! This is for a non-profit serving mainly low-paid college personnel. They took much heat from shareholders on this at their 2003 annual meeting.

8) While filing a shareholder resolution, David Gordon, University of Washington, received negative treatment from one of TIAA-CREF's top governance people and chief counsel Peter Clapman.

9) Getting 30% and 35% of the vote on two resolutions they filed was labeled as "very substantial" and a "large portion of shareholders, " respectively, in two press releases they distributed. A resolution filed against them that got 30% was labeled by their CEO as "soundly defeated."

10) In November, '03, TIAA-CREF sold at least one component of its insurance practice to Met Life. Some of those 46,000 participants involved who have studied the issue feel that TIAA-CREF was both deceptive on this transaction and placed them in financial jeopardy. I can provide an extensive letter sent to TIAA-CREF on this matter by one well-informed participant.

II. TIAA-CREF says that it factors social concerns into all investment decisions and that doing so builds long term shareholder value (TIAA-CREF: A Concerned Investor). Their Policy Statement on Corporate Governance says that companies should take into account issues such as "environmental impact" "... the corporation's communities and its constituencies... egregious repression of human rights", YET:

1) It won't reveal how it does so. And they say they don't divest so that they can have influence with companies, but, again, they won't say how or when they have done so or how they have had influence with companies regarding social responsibility.

2) They also say that socially concerned participants have a choice and can invest in their socially screened Social Choice Account. This is their response to requests for divestment of certain stocks. But morality should not be confined just to the individual investor. TIAA-CREF has a choice, too, in what they invest in for all their funds. Would they, hypothetically, invest in profitable slave trade and say, " Well, its your choice, if you want to avoid slave trade you can always invest in our socially responsible fund."

3) There is much attention given to the human rights situation in pre-war Iraq, yet brutalities exist in other countries and situations in which investment by TIAA-CREF lends support to such injustice. TIAA-CREF holds shares in Nike and Wal-Mart-sweatshops; Chevron-- helps keep afloat the Burmese brutal dictatorship; Philip Morris/Altria--- Marlboro is the deadly #1 cigarette brand; Even TIAA-CREF's socially responsible fund holds stock in Costco, which has engaged in ecological destruction and caused the illegal arrest of environmentalists and others in Mexico.

4) After an "offer" from their CEO in a New York Times article (January, 2002), one campaign gained over $17 million in pledges for a new socially responsible fund that would include low-income area community development and other "positive investing." Now TIAA-CREF is stonewalling on that (their most recent excuse about filing a shareholder resolution is easily addressed). CREF trustees Bevis Longstreth, Willard Carleton, and Robert Vishny can be contacted to see why TIAA-CREF is again not listening to their shareholders on this matter.

This comes on the heals of two earlier campaigns to promote social responsibility for TIAA-CREF's investing. After years of excuses, certain desired changes were finally made. However, much is still lacking. (At this writing, TIAA-CREF has finally agreed to meet with campaign leaders about the proposed new socially responsible fund. Campaign participants appreciate that offer and please ask me for an update.)

5) TIAA-CREF invests in companies that follow practices inconsistent with its own internal company ethics policies (details can be given).

6) T-C is of three minds regarding social responsibility. (a) "T-C does not express approval or disapproval of any particular business activity or company." They make only financial judgments. (b) T-C acknowledges certain activity as being socially responsible (such as good environmental practice). But they are desirable (only) because they add to long term shareholder value. (c) Finally, they have supported social responsibility for its inherent good. (e.g., they talk about their investing in companies engaged in "socially beneficial activities." A benign interpretation of these three faces on social responsibility is that they are just confused on the issue or haven't thought out things as they should. A more likely interpretation is that they pick and choose different interpretations for their own self-interest.

7) See www.maketiaa-crefethical.org for details on the work of the coalition of groups trying to get TIAA-CREF to be more socially responsible in its investing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Full policy statement is at https://www5.tiaa-cref.org/bookstore/detail.do?id=146. The press release announcing the new statement is at the bottom here.

Social Responsibility Issues

TIAA-CREF believes that building long-term shareholder value
is consistent with directors' giving careful consideration to issues of
social responsibility and the common good. We recognize that
efforts to promote good corporate citizenship may serve to enhance a
company's reputation and long-term economic performance, and we
encourage boards of both U.S. and international companies to adopt
policies and practices that promote corporate citizenship and establish
open channels of communication with shareholders, employees,
customers, suppliers and the larger community. In particular, we
believe that the following concerns should be among the issues that
companies address:
* The environmental impact of the corporation's operations and
products.
* Equal employment opportunities for all segments of the population.
* Employee training and development.
* Evaluation of corporate actions to ensure that these actions do not
negatively affect the common good of the corporation's communities
and its constituencies.
In developing our proxy voting guidelines for social issues, we seek
to balance fiduciary responsibility with a commitment to corporate
social responsibility and a belief that companies should be allowed
flexibility in dealing with these issues. We will evaluate whether or not
a resolution is practical and reasonable when it seeks action on the
part of a corporation, and whether or not the shareholder resolution
process is the appropriate forum for addressing the issues raised by
proponents. We may be sympathetic to the concerns raised by proponents
but may not believe that the actions requested of the corporation
provide an effective remedy for those issues. In such instances, TIAACREF
will vote to abstain.
23 TIAA-CREF Policy Statement on Corporate Governance
This approach to proxy voting is applied to a wide array of social
issues. Our guidelines for voting on some of the more frequent issues
are as follows:
Environmental Resolutions
TIAA-CREF generally will support resolutions that request reasonable
disclosure about the environmental impact of a corporation's
operations and products. TIAA-CREF generally will not support proposals
that would require companies to take highly specific actions or
adopt very specific policies aimed at improving the environment.
Exceptions may be made in cases where companies have extremely
poor environmental records.
Human Rights Resolutions
TIAA-CREF generally will support resolutions that request reasonable
reports concerning company activities in countries with records
of repression of human rights. TIAA-CREF generally will not support
resolutions that would mandate that a company take specific actions
(such as withdrawing from a country) for the sole purpose of promoting
a particular agenda.
Tobacco-Related Resolutions
TIAA-CREF generally will support proposals that call for increased
disclosure about the risks of tobacco use and those that aim to reduce
youth access to and use of tobacco products. TIAA-CREF generally will
not support proposals that would require investment or divestment of
a company's assets and/or pension funds. We believe that each participant
should have the choice of whether or not to invest in an account
that uses non-financial criteria for its investment program.
Labor Issues Resolutions
TIAA-CREF generally will support proposals that call for a company
to increase the diversity of its workforce and implement non-discrimination
policies.
24 TIAA-CREF Policy Statement on Corporate Governance
TIAA-CREF will consider on a case-by-case basis proposals concerning
labor policies and practices. TIAA-CREF generally will support
proposals that include reasonable requests and concern companies
or countries where demonstrably egregious repression of human
rights is found.

Dear TIAA-CREF Folks,
We thank you for the phone calls you have been making to TIAA-CREF—and telling us about-- relevant to our future private meeting with them. But more calls will always help. We do want to say, however, that due to certain scheduling logistics for the seven or more folks who will attend (including three TIAA-CREF Exec. V.P.s!), we will not be meeting till mid-April. A long wait, but Neil has been at this with TIAA-CREF in one way or another for the majority of twenty years–so what’s a few months! We’ll likely ask for more calls from you in early April—but please do call now and later if you can. It takes but three minutes.
Regarding our meeting with TIAA-CREF and depending on certain circumstances, we may need hundreds of dollars to cover various expenses. We really are not sure of the final total, but if you can give anything going specifically toward that, please do (tax deductible, made out to Manchester College, memo–“for TIAA-CREF”). If we get more money than we need, we can either use for the campaign otherwise, or return the full or partial amount depending on meeting costs (let us know your option). THANKS MUCH.
The next annual meeting of TIAA-CREF has been moved to June, so we’ll be at it again sooner than we expected. It’s more work—but more exposure to our coalition causes. If any of you want to consider filing a shareholder resolution on your own, on social responsibility or corporate governance concerns, let us know. We know the specifics of doing so from working with folks who have done so previously (only 500 words, but a quick February 12 deadline).
We will soon prepare a letter for TC CEO Herbert Allison, with coalition group reps as c-signers, we hope. It would be a follow-up response to annual meeting statements made by Allison—and refer to SR aspects of the new TC Policy Statement on Corporate Governance. It would a) raise Dennis Brutus’s issue about the TC VP’s statement at the annual meeting about financial concerns overriding any conceivable social; b) deal with TC’s stating that their portfolio companies (and themselves) should take social issues into account for ALL their investments because it affects shareholder value; (c) ask them to report on how, specifically, they do take social issues into account; (d) ask them why come out against divestment or asking companies to leave countries when it might improve shareholder value; and (e) assert that they have a moral choice, too, in their investing—it’s not up just to TC participants to do so. We are open to suggestions.
We, as a part of and key organizers in the TC coalition, are keeping the pressure on via local demonstrations and reaching out to trustees. Just this past week we had a small demonstration back at their headquarters in NYC. We distributed 200 fliers and talked to TC employees, among other aspects. It went well, drawing their security folks and other attention—even a media person who happened to come by and will likely be doing a story later! Is anyone in the New Haven, CT area or know someone who is for a possible small action at their office nearby? Just need a few folks and less than an hour. We supply all else (basic info, fliers, etc.)
Finally here are a few pieces you might find of interest–
(1) the "usual" piece about our campaign for calling or spreading the word purposes.
(2) The revised pieces we send to media on TIAA-CREF inconsistencies on social responsibility and governance issues; and
(3) The socially responsible investing part of TIAA-CREF’s new policy statement on corporate governance,
Neil and Abby
(1)
ARE YOU IN THE TIAA-CREF RETIREMENT SYSTEM?
Do you want your money to help build housing in low-income communities?
To support socially and environmentally responsible smaller companies?

SPEND FIVE MINUTES TO SUPPORT OUR PROPOSED NEW TIAA-CREF (TC) FUND
THAT WOULD MAKE SOCIAL CHANGE.

In the 1980s, participants lobbied TIAA-CREF (TC) for five years to set up a socially responsible fund. Now we're pushing for an improved fund with practices that are becoming standard in socially responsible investing (see specifics below). We've been endorsed by many academic and activist groups, faculty/staff unions, and such individuals as Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn.

In January, 2002, TC's then-CEO John Biggs stated in a New York Times article that he would support creating a new fund that moves in this direction if there was sufficient financial interest. We've now gathered over $18 million in pledges to transfer current TC retirement assets should the fund materialize! In August 2002, TC finally made some changes in their current socially responsible fund. But much is still lacking.

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
-- CONTACT TC in support of the proposed fund, noting one or more of these components: (a) community development investment; (b) social venture capital; (c) stock in particularly responsible small companies; and (d) socially responsible shareholder advocacy. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his assistant).
-- VISIT http://www.manchester.edu/links/pledgetofund to pledge to the proposed fund. For the campaign details, visit http://www.manchester.edu/links/socialchoiceforsocialchange
-- RECEIVE CAMPAIGN UPDATES (every two weeks); contact nwollman@bentley.edu.
-- FORWARD THIS MESSAGE with a short personal endorsement to listserves, organizations, and your colleagues nationally.

Also, see http://www.maketiaa-crefethical.org concerning a coalition of national activist groups that seeks for TC to be more socially responsible in its various investments.

Here are examples of the type of inconsistencies and hypocrisies practiced by TIAA-CREF in regards to corporate governance and social responsibility. I can go further into the below as you wish, and can respond to anything they raise in response. I also can put you in contact with folks having specific expertise on the issues raised below.

Plus there are three particular TIAA-CREF trustees/directors who are on a committee dealing specifically with governance and social responsibility issues. I can put you in contact with them. And there is a mid-level TIAA-CREF employee who is willing to talk to media about TIAA-CREF and inconsistencies regarding socially responsibility in its investments. The identity of the person needs to be kept out of the story, but you would most certainly be able to determine that the person is indeed a TIAA-CREF employee. Neil Wollman

(2)

TIAA-CREF DOES NOT PRACTICE WHAT IT PREACHES:

I) TIAA-CREF claims to be and is seen as a leader in promoting corporate governance reform and championing shareholder rights. Their newly revised (December, 2003) Policy Statement on Corporate Governance states that their governance program for its portfolio companies is intended to "...improve long-term value for our participants.." and to "balance the rights of shareholders and the needs of the board and management to direct and mange effectively the corporation's affairs." YET:

1) At its December, 2003 annual meeting, it opposed its own shareholders' resolutions on three important governance issues that good governance folks support: a) Chairman and CEO positions must be held by different people (the Conference Board Commission on Public Trust and Private Enterprise recommended such a split); b) reconstituting the independent committee that nominated some trustees; c) Adopting the principles set forth in the conclusions of the Conference Board Commission just noted in "a)" above. I have contact information for the resolution filers, as we have a small group of participants that put forth all three governance resolutions that were on the shareholder ballot.

2) After attendees concerned about social responsibility issues persistently raised serious questions at the 2001 annual meeting, the 2002 meeting was held in a much less accessible city. This resulted in a much lowered attendance. And in contrast to the past, almost no trustees were present at the 2002 meeting. To their credit, TIAA-CREF returned to New York for their December, 2003 meeting.

3) For that meeting, TIAA-CREF again got ballots out late, so much, in fact, that they had to delay the meeting date. Also, for the second time in three (or four) years, they had mistakes on the ballot that hurt the chances of shareholders filing resolutions. This is all for a group that is self/other acclaimed as a model of good corporate governance.

We do welcome some recent (December 2003) changes made by TIAA-CREF on several governance concerns. It took various lobbying attempts by participants to help bring this about, but we do appreciate their eventual responsiveness.

4) As noted above, it eliminated the independent committee that nominated some trustees.

5) It supported a proposed SEC resolution making it harder for shareholders to resubmit resolutions (public outcry resulted in not adopting the measure).

6) TIAA-CREF claims that they take no government subsidies--and they shouldn't as a large pension fund. However, they do admit to taking "financial incentives," including an "incentive" of $1.17 million from the City and County of Denver.

7) Though a leader in reigning in excessive CEO salaries for their portfolio companies, their former CEO John Biggs sat on the boards of two companies that gave excessive CEO compensation (Biggs was on the compensation committee for one board and apparently approved a high salary for the other (we have details, including a St. Louis P-D expose on the excessive compensation).

Their current CEO Herbert Allison received an excessive pay package, including a yearly compensation of over $9 million and a $24 million severance deal! This is for a non-profit serving mainly low-paid college personnel. They took much heat from shareholders on this at their 2003 annual meeting.

8) While filing a shareholder resolution, David Gordon, University of Washington, received negative treatment from one of TIAA-CREF's top governance people and chief counsel Peter Clapman.

9) Getting 30% and 35% of the vote on two resolutions they filed was labeled as "very substantial" and a "large portion of shareholders, " respectively, in two press releases they distributed. A resolution filed against them that got 30% was labeled by their CEO as "soundly defeated."

10)In November, '03, TIAA-CREF sold at least one component of its insurance practice to Met Life. Some of those 46,000 participants involved who have studied the issue feel that TIAA-CREF was both deceptive on this transaction and placed them in financial jeopardy. I can provide an extensive letter sent to TIAA-CREF on this matter by one well-informed participant.

II) TIAA-CREF says that it factors social concerns into all investment decisions and that doing so builds long term shareholder value (TIAA-CREF: A Concerned Investor). Their Policy Statement on Corporate Governance says that companies should take into account issues such as "environmental impact" "... the corporation's communities and its constituencies... egregious repression of human rights", YET:

1) It won't reveal how it does so. And they say they don't divest so that they can have influence with companies, but, again, they won't say how or when they have done so or how they have had influence with companies regarding social responsibility.

2) They also say that socially concerned participants have a choice and can invest in their socially screened Social Choice Account. This is their response to requests for divestment of certain stocks. But morality should not be confined just to the individual investor. TIAA-CREF has a choice, too, in what they invest in for all their funds. Would they, hypothetically, invest in profitable slave trade and say, " Well, its your choice, if you want to avoid slave trade you can always invest in our socially responsible fund."

3) There is much attention given to the human rights situation in pre-war Iraq, yet brutalities exist in other countries and situations in which investment by TIAA-CREF lends support to such injustice. TIAA-CREF holds shares in Nike and Wal-Mart-sweatshops; Chevron-- helps keep afloat the Burmese brutal dictatorship; Philip Morris/Altria--- Marlboro is the deadly #1 cigarette brand; Even TIAA-CREF's socially responsible fund holds stock in Costco, which has engaged in ecological destruction and caused the illegal arrest of environmentalists and others in Mexico.

4) After an "offer" from their CEO in a New York Times article (January, 2002), one campaign gained over $17 million in pledges for a new socially responsible fund that would include low-income area community development and other "positive investing." Now TIAA-CREF is stonewalling on that (their most recent excuse about filing a shareholder resolution is easily addressed). CREF trustees Bevis Longstreth, Willard Carleton, and Robert Vishny can be contacted to see why TIAA-CREF is again not listening to their shareholders on this matter.

This comes on the heals of two earlier campaigns to promote social responsibility for TIAA-CREF's investing. After years of excuses, certain desired changes were finally made. However, much is still lacking. (At this writing, TIAA-CREF has finally agreed to meet with campaign leaders about the proposed new socially responsible fund. Campaign participants appreciate that offer and please ask me for an update.)

5) TIAA-CREF invests in companies that follow practices inconsistent with its own internal company ethics policies (details can be given).

6) T-C is of three minds regarding social responsibility. (a) "T-C does not express approval or disapproval of any particular business activity or company." They make only financial judgments. (b) T-C acknowledges certain activity as being socially responsible (such as good environmental practice). But they are desirable (only) because they add to long term shareholder value. (c) Finally, they have supported social responsibility for its inherent good. (e.g., they talk about their investing in companies engaged in "socially beneficial activities." A benign interpretation of these three faces on social responsibility is that they are just confused on the issue or haven't thought out things as they should. A more likely interpretation is that they pick and choose different interpretations for their own self-interest.

7) See www.maketiaa-crefethical.org for details on the work of the coalition of groups trying to get TIAA-CREF to be more socially responsible in its investing

(3)

Full policy statement is at https://www5.tiaa-cref.org/bookstore/detail.do?id=146. And the press release announcing the new statement is at the bottom here.

Social Responsibility Issues
TIAA-CREF believes that building long-term shareholder value
is consistent with directors’ giving careful consideration to issues of
social responsibility and the common good. We recognize that
efforts to promote good corporate citizenship may serve to enhance a
company’s reputation and long-term economic performance, and we
encourage boards of both U.S. and international companies to adopt
policies and practices that promote corporate citizenship and establish
open channels of communication with shareholders, employees,
customers, suppliers and the larger community. In particular, we
believe that the following concerns should be among the issues that
companies address:
• The environmental impact of the corporation’s operations and
products.
• Equal employment opportunities for all segments of the population.
• Employee training and development.
• Evaluation of corporate actions to ensure that these actions do not
negatively affect the common good of the corporation’s communities
and its constituencies.
In developing our proxy voting guidelines for social issues, we seek
to balance fiduciary responsibility with a commitment to corporate
social responsibility and a belief that companies should be allowed
flexibility in dealing with these issues. We will evaluate whether or not
a resolution is practical and reasonable when it seeks action on the
part of a corporation, and whether or not the shareholder resolution
process is the appropriate forum for addressing the issues raised by
proponents. We may be sympathetic to the concerns raised by proponents
but may not believe that the actions requested of the corporation
provide an effective remedy for those issues. In such instances, TIAACREF
will vote to abstain.
23 TIAA-CREF Policy Statement on Corporate Governance
This approach to proxy voting is applied to a wide array of social
issues. Our guidelines for voting on some of the more frequent issues
are as follows:
Environmental Resolutions
TIAA-CREF generally will support resolutions that request reasonable
disclosure about the environmental impact of a corporation’s
operations and products. TIAA-CREF generally will not support proposals
that would require companies to take highly specific actions or
adopt very specific policies aimed at improving the environment.
Exceptions may be made in cases where companies have extremely
poor environmental records.
Human Rights Resolutions
TIAA-CREF generally will support resolutions that request reasonable
reports concerning company activities in countries with records
of repression of human rights. TIAA-CREF generally will not support
resolutions that would mandate that a company take specific actions
(such as withdrawing from a country) for the sole purpose of promoting
a particular agenda.
Tobacco-Related Resolutions
TIAA-CREF generally will support proposals that call for increased
disclosure about the risks of tobacco use and those that aim to reduce
youth access to and use of tobacco products. TIAA-CREF generally will
not support proposals that would require investment or divestment of
a company’s assets and/or pension funds. We believe that each participant
should have the choice of whether or not to invest in an account
that uses non-financial criteria for its investment program.
Labor Issues Resolutions
TIAA-CREF generally will support proposals that call for a company
to increase the diversity of its workforce and implement non-discrimination
policies.
24 TIAA-CREF Policy Statement on Corporate Governance
TIAA-CREF will consider on a case-by-case basis proposals concerning
labor policies and practices. TIAA-CREF generally will support
proposals that include reasonable requests and concern companies
or countries where demonstrably egregious repression of human
rights is found.

1/8/2004

SOCIAL CHOICE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF

Dear TC Colleagues
As you saw from our report of the TIAA-CREF annual meeting, they have agreed to a meeting to discuss our proposal for a new socially responsible fund! We have informed them that we hope the meeting will be one in which we together address ways to meet their financial/administrative concerns. (We met with top officers before, but within minutes we knew their intention was to tell us they would not implement our desires.)
This is a critical time. To maintain our momentum and insure that the meeting is productive, we ask that you make one call to TC in the next two weeks endorsing such a meeting, and requesting that at this meeting our ideas are fully explored. If you have pledged to place some of your savings in such a new account, let them know. (You still can do so, to increase our current $17 million total—see below). If you don’t intend to pledge, please say that you plan to invest in the new account, if established, if you are so willing and able. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 1-800- 842-2733; 212-490-9000 (you’ll reach his assistant). See the usual piece below that briefly describes the fund, or visit the web site for more details.
We are continuing, as well, with actions at the local level. We have had several small demonstrations at local TC offices (3-6 people) and folks in our campaign have contacted a number of trustees individually. We want as many as we can before we meet TC, likely sometime later in January. Are you willing to lead/participate in a small demo or visit a trustee if there is an opportunity in your area? (Does anyone have a contact in the Yale– New Haven area that might be helpful here?)
Finally, below is information about the Graduation Pledge Alliance, another social responsibility project. It has grown dramatically over the years, but we always have room for more. Also, we plan to set up a related national speakers' bureau of folks who can talk on issues of corporate social responsibility, social consciousness in the workplace, social/environmental responsibility in career decision-making, etc. If you are so inclined or can suggest possibilities, let us know.
Thanks ,
Abby and Neil
Abby Fuller and Neil Wollman, Co-Chairs
MC Box 135, Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
260-982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu
ARE YOU IN THE TIAA-CREF RETIREMENT SYSTEM?
Do you want your money to help build housing in low-income communities?
To support socially and environmentally responsible smaller companies?

SPEND FIVE MINUTES TO SUPPORT OUR PROPOSED NEW TIAA-CREF (TC) FUND
THAT WOULD MAKE SOCIAL CHANGE.

In the 1980s, participants lobbied TIAA-CREF (TC) for five years to set up a socially responsible fund. Now we're pushing for an improved fund with practices that are becoming standard in socially responsible investing (see specifics below). We've been endorsed by many academic and activist groups, faculty/staff unions, and such individuals as Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn.

In January, 2002, TC's then-CEO John Biggs stated in a New York Times article that he would support creating a new fund that moves in this direction if there was sufficient financial interest. We've now gathered over $18 million in pledges to transfer current TC retirement assets should the fund materialize! In August 2002, TC finally made some changes in their current socially responsible fund. But much is still lacking.

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
-- CONTACT TC in support of the proposed fund, noting one or more of these components: (a) community development investment; (b) social venture capital; (c) stock in particularly responsible small companies; and (d) socially responsible shareholder advocacy. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his assistant).
-- VISIT http://www.manchester.edu/links/pledgetofund to pledge to the proposed fund. For the campaign details, visit http://www.manchester.edu/links/socialchoiceforsocialchange
-- RECEIVE CAMPAIGN UPDATES (every two weeks); contact nwollman@bentley.edu.
-- FORWARD THIS MESSAGE with a short personal endorsement to listserves, organizations, and your colleagues nationally.

Also, see http://www.maketiaa-crefethical.org concerning a coalition of national activist groups that seeks for TC to be more socially responsible in its various investments.
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 what being "responsible" means to themselves. Students at well over a hundred colleges and universities have used the pledge at some level. The schools involved include small liberal arts colleges (Whitman and Skidmore); large state universities (Oregon and Wisconsin), and large private research universities (Harvard and Stanford).. This now includes some schools overseas, graduate and professional schools, and high schools. Graduates who voluntarily signed the pledge have turned down jobs they did not feel morally comfortable with 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, fifty percent of students sign and keep a wallet-size card stating the pledge, while students and supportive faculty wear green ribbons at commencement and 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 just 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 around the country (e.g., USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and Boston Globe), as well as being covered in magazines (e.g., Business Week), national radio networks (for instance, ABC), and local T.V. stations (like in Ft. Wayne, IN).

The pledge helps educate and motivate one to contribute to a better world. Think of the impact if even a significant minority of the one million college graduates each year signed and carried out the Pledge.

PLEASE KEEP US INFORMED OF ANY PLEDGE EFFORTS YOU UNDERTAKE, AS WE TRY TO MONITOR WHAT IS HAPPENING, AND PROVIDE PERIODIC UPDATES ON THE NATIONAL EFFORT. Contact nwollman@bentley.edu for information/questions/comments; or write GPA, MC Box 135, Manchester College, 604 E. College Ave., North Manchester, IN 46962. The Campaign also has a web site, at http://www.graduationpledge.org

Social Choice for Social Change:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
Dear TC Campaigners:
Things went very well, in several ways, at the December 15 annual meeting. We may file a fuller report later, but for now, here are some highlights:
* Between 15-20 folks from our various coalition groups went inside the meeting and raised voices for social responsibility. Other folks in the room raised issues with TIAA-CREF on other corporate responsibility and corporate governance concerns. Besides his work on the TC Coalition and the Social Choice for Social Change (positive investing) effort, Neil played a leadership role in a small group of TC participants that filed the majority of shareholder resolutions this year.
So, as a combined group of individuals spanning various concerns, we raised a multitude of important issues with TC. We are dominating discussion at their annual meetings. Without going into detail here, we may be making some headway with TC management (for one example, they have now suggested a meeting with those interested in starting a new socially responsible fund). But we will need to carry our efforts beyond the annual meeting to keep the heat on them. As some of you may know, we have been doing that via contacts with trustees, phone calls and emails to TC, demonstrations at local TC offices, and media publicity.
* We again gained much major media surrounding the meeting, with some further story possibilities. At the time of this writing, stories concerning one or more of our joint concerns have appeared in the following (mainly initiated by us): Barons, Dow Jones News Service, Wall Street Journal, Corporate Social Responsibility New Service going to thousands of outlets, Bloomberg News Service, New York Daily News, NY Post, Investor Relations web, New York Times (great photo of our particular folks during the meeting), Newsday, WFUV in NYC, Voice of America, and Investor Relations in January. So TC knows we hit all the major NYC area media.
If you know of further places where stories appeared, PLEASE let me know so we can keep track. A Business Week writer was there, and while she communicated later that her editors decided against a story because the Wall Street Journal and New York Times had already covered it, she did say she/they was quite open to an in-depth story.
* Outside the building we had, at one time or another, perhaps 40 supporters (though no at the same time). There was a Christmas theme (a plastic Santa Claus and Santa hats), plus we had a jazz band and a great banner! We also talked with several employees who supported us and have some misgivings about the TC. We distributed fliers to several hundred folks inside and outside the building.
* If you attended the meeting or have other things to note/report/suggest regarding media coverage, what went on in the meeting, ways to proceed in the future, please let us know.
Thanks for all your work! It was a great day.
Neil Wollman
MC Box 135
Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
260-982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu

SOCIAL CHOICE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE:
CAMPAIGN FOR A NEW TIAA-CREF
Dear TIAA-CREF colleagues:
For the last time, here is the demonstration announcement. We presume that by now those who are able to attend the meeting and demonstration have already made plans to do so, and/or have informed NYC-area friends and colleagues about it. Thus, all we’ll ask at the present is that you make your call to TC headquarters sometime this coming week, before the December 15 meeting. [See below for talking points--we suggest you mention the overall theme of the upcoming demonstrations (TC Out of the Bad and Into the Good), but do emphasize our positive investing effort].
We are gearing up for the meeting. We will have likely around 20 folks inside the meeting to raise their voices on the various issues of our coalition. And we’ll have our usual crowd outside, too. Reps from at least several major media outlets will be there to cover a number of governance issues that we are promoting, and we hope they will cover our social responsibility concerns as well. As you may know, there is a small group of TC participants, that Neil has helped organize, which has filed four of the six shareholder resolutions on the shareholder ballot. So we are having a big influence.
Speaking of media, Neil has recently been quoted in several stories, e.g. NY Post, Newsday, and Barons. And there are interested reporters from Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and elsewhere. So look for good coverage of criticisms of TC and our positive investing effort.
Since the meeting was postponed, we made a final push toward reaching trustees. A number have now been contacted and a few more will be contacted in the coming days. We can always use more participation of that sort, as well as for local TC office mini-demonstrations. Let us know.
Finally let us call your attention, via the announcements below, to three other social responsibility efforts based here at Manchester College. You can receive periodical updates about any of them; just ask. There are opportunities to get further involved, as well.
Best wishes,
Abby and Neil
Neil Wollman and Abigail Fuller, Co-Chairs
MC Box 135, Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
(260) 982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu
-------------------------------------------
ACTIVISTS PROTEST AT ANNUAL SHAREHOLDER MEETING
TO PRESS PENSION FUND TO INVEST RESPONSIBLY AND
IMPROVE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
"Out of the Bad and into the Good"

Monday, December 15, 8:30-11 a.m. Annual Shareholder meeting of TIAA-CREF. A call for the $300 billion pension giant to invest in positive ventures (like low-income housing); divest Chevron, Nike, Wal-Mart, BP, Costco, and Philip-Morris/Altria; and boycott World Bank bonds. Outside of TIAA-CREF headquarters in New York City; 730 Third Ave. (between 45th and 46th streets). TIAA-CREF pension system participants can call to receive an admission pass to attend or speak up inside the meeting (800-842-2733, 212-490-9000).
During the week before the meeting, TIAA-CREF participants and others please call CEO Herbert Allison at the same phone numbers and note the above issues.
For information, see www.maketiaa-crefethical.org <www.maketiaa-crefethical.htm> ; 260-982-5346; nwollman@bentley.edu
Sponsored by Citizens' Coalition, Infact, International Tibet Independence Movement, Press for Change, Students for a Free Tibet, U.S. Campaign for Burma, U.S. Tibet Committee, World Bank Bonds Boycott, and Social Choice for Social Change.

==========================================================
As the nation's largest pension fund, TIAA-CREF, a retirement fund mainly for educators, prides itself on being responsive to shareholders and a socially responsible "concerned investor." However, the fund continues to hold large investments that support tobacco sales, sweatshop labor, harmful environmental practices, and oil companies tied to brutal dictatorships. Other funds earn good returns while investing in more socially beneficial ways.
A broad-based coalition is calling for funds to be invested in affordable housing and in companies that are, for example, pioneering socially or environmentally responsible products or services. Also, TIAA-CREF is weak or contradictory in its own governance practices, despite being considered a leader in good corporate governance. Three relevant shareholder-proposed resolutions are on the annual meeting ballot.
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 what being "responsible" means to themselves. Students at well over a hundred colleges and universities have used the pledge at some level. The schools involved include small liberal arts colleges (Whitman and Skidmore); large state universities (Oregon and Wisconsin), and large private research universities (Harvard and Stanford).. This now includes some schools overseas, graduate and professional schools, and high schools. Graduates who voluntarily signed the pledge have turned down jobs they did not feel morally comfortable with 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, fifty percent of students sign and keep a wallet-size card stating the pledge, while students and supportive faculty wear green ribbons at commencement and 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 just 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 around the country (e.g., USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and Boston Globe), as well as being covered in magazines (e.g., Business Week), national radio networks (for instance, ABC), and local T.V. stations (like in Ft. Wayne, IN).
The pledge helps educate and motivate one to contribute to a better world. Think of the impact if even a significant minority of the one million college graduates each year signed and carried out the Pledge.
PLEASE KEEP US INFORMED OF ANY PLEDGE EFFORTS YOU UNDERTAKE, AS WE TRY TO MONITOR WHAT IS HAPPENING, AND PROVIDE PERIODIC UPDATES ON THE NATIONAL EFFORT. Contact nwollman@bentley.edu <mailto:nwollman@bentley.edu> for information/questions/comments; or write GPA, MC Box 135, Manchester College, 604 E. College Ave., North Manchester, IN 46962. The Campaign also has a web site, at <http://www.graduationpledge.org>
==========================================================
Subject: TIAA-CREF and socially responsible investment
Dear :
We are writing because you either have had some interest regarding TIAA-CREF(TC) and socially responsible investing or you have a general interest in corporate responsibility. Otherwise, we are sorry. Beyond your particular TC concerns, we write to tell you about a coalition of national advocacy groups that have been working to get TC to be more socially conscious in their investments (areas of concern are sweatshop labor, tobacco, World Bank Bonds, and human rights regarding Burma and Tibet). We also want them to invest in social good (low-income area community development and products enhancing environmental sustainability, e.g.). Beyond better directing of TC's own massive assets ($260 billion), because of its prominence in the investment world, changes TC makes will likely affect other large institutional investors.
The coalition has carried out traditional lobbying (calls and emails) to influence TC as well as protest actions when needed to gain attention. While we can point to a few victories, coalition members feel that we would have far more influence if we could communicate with TC shareholders to provide periodic updates on campaign activities, as well as giving ways that folks like you can become involved at some small or large level. Certainly there will be no more than one report a month.
Please consider signing up for updates (write NJW@manchester.edu <mailto:NJW@manchester.edu> & put "TC Coalition Update" in the subject line). Also, please do forward this message to individual colleagues and listservs which are concerned with the corporate responsibility movement and which might have participants in the TC pension system. And check out www.maketiaa-crefethical.org <http://www.maketiaa-crefethical.org/>, the coalition listserv.
Thank you,
Neil Wollman, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow and Professor, Manchester College
for "TIAA-CREF: Out of the Bad and into the Good" (US Campaign for Burma, Infact, Press for Change, World Bank Bonds Boycott, US Tibet Committee, Students for a Free Tibet, International Tibet independence Movement, Citizen's Coalition, and Social Choice for Social Change: Campaign for a new TIAA-CREF)
============================================================================
Manchester College researchers warn of society at risk
Unique study melds homelessness, health, hunger and dropout statistics
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. (August 2003) – We in America consider ourselves a generous people – and in many ways we are. Yet hunger, homelessness and inadequate health care continue to expand, while a worrisome school dropout rate shows no improvement.
• Emergency food requests have multiplied an astounding 20-fold since 1984 – including nearly a 20 percent jump just last year.
• Homeless families with children comprised 41 percent of the U.S. homeless population in 2002.
• In 2002, more than 41 million U.S. residents were without health insurance.
• The Bush Administration’s proposed budget cuts $1.4 billion from No Child Left Behind funding, including money for reducing the number of high school dropouts.
Though researchers and the media have looked at these factors individually, it is only by examining them together that we can see how a society, in general, looks after its citizens, particularly its most vulnerable. So asserts Neil Wollman, Ph.D., senior fellow of the Manchester College Peace Studies Institute. He led a research team of mathematics Professor Jim Brumbaugh-Smith, Ph.D.; social work Professor Bradley Yoder, Ph.D., and three students. They discovered alarming trends.
“Unfortunately, unless new forces come into play, the overall picture cannot be expected to improve in the foreseeable future,” says Wollman. “Certainly no one is anticipating a decrease in these human needs. No significant economic upturn is generally predicted for the near future – even with tax cuts. State budgets are suffering record shortfalls, with more than a third of the states cutting educational funding by a total of billions of dollars.”
The United States has experienced a large increase in hunger and homelessness since the 1980s. In medium to large cities surveyed each year by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, emergency requests for food rose 20-fold between 1984 and 2002, with a 19 percent increase between 2001 and 2002. Only one-third of surveyed U.S. cities were able to meet this demand in 2001. As measured by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 33.6 million people experienced food insecurity in 2001. That is, 12.6 percent of the nation (17.6 percent of children) wondered at sometime during 2001 whether they would have sufficient resources to acquire food.
The housing statistics are equally dire, with a 12-fold increase in emergency shelter requests from 1984 to 2002, including a 19 per cent increase from 2001 to 2002. The social group most susceptible to homelessness is families with children, Wollman says. In 2002, homeless families made up 41 percent of the overall homeless population – 1.5 times the rate in 1985. In 60 percent of the cities surveyed, homeless families were sometimes turned away for lack of available shelter.
The researchers describe the level of basic health care in the United States by the percentage of the population lacking health insurance for an entire 12-month period. Again, health coverage has deteriorated fairly steadily over the years 1987 to 2002. In 2002, 41.2 million individuals (14.5 percent of the population!) did not have health insurance. Many of these people are among the “working poor” – in families with at least one person working full-time for an employer who doesn’t offer health insurance or offers insurance with premiums that would jeopardize rent and food supplies for the families.
“Fortunately, the creation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by Congress in 1997 has helped to extend health care to some of the poorest of U.S. children.” Yoder says. “The possible creation of prescription drug benefits by Congress under Medicare would improve the health care of older people, but, unfortunately, would have no impact on the 41 million who currently have no access to care.”
Another area of societal concern the researchers studied is education, which they measured by the U.S. high school dropout rate. Contrary to the other areas addressed, annual drop out rates have remained fairly consistent over the past 20 years, hovering near 5 percent since 1982, notes Professor Yoder. “Though stable, the fact that there are so many student retention programs leads one to conclude that the dropout rate is considered too high by society,” says Yoder. Such programs include President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" program, which directs some funding toward decreasing the number of high school dropouts.
“A number of programs are successful at the local level – identifying key factors for lowering the rate –however, these programs never spread significantly enough to translate into sustained improvement at the national level,” says Yoder. Furthermore, the dropout problem is particularly acute for certain minority populations. (7.4 percent of Hispanic and 6.1 percent of African-American students dropped out in 2000, versus 4.1 percent of Caucasians and 3.5 percent of Asian Americans.) In 2001, the most recent data reveal that 11 percent of 16-24 year olds (about 3.8 million) were out of school without a high school diploma.
At the federal level, the administration's 2004 budget proposal makes no major changes that would significantly address these social needs, the researchers found. For example, the budget proposes $1.4 billion less funding for No Child Left Behind than was enacted in 2003, while restructuring Housing Assistance for Needy Families as a state-run block grant program likely will weaken, rather than improve, housing assistance. Funding remains essentially frozen for other programs, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and the Workforce Investment Act (job training for unemployed workers). “Net improvement in people’s daily lives is unlikely,” Brumbaugh-Smith notes.
"Given the basic nature of these long unfulfilled needs – and the fact that a number of other countries see fit to provide in these area – we may need to look more closely at ourselves and our self image of being a compassionate people," Wollman concludes.
Manchester College students involved in the research were Benjamin E. Leiter of New Windsor, Md.; Amy L. Fry-Miller of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Erin H. McCourt of Fremont, Calif.
The housing, food, health, and education measures used are part of the 19-variable National Index of Violence and Harm, produced annually by Manchester College students and faculty. Complete details about the index are available at: <http://www.manchester.edu/links/violenceindex>
To contact Neil Wollman: nwollman@bentley.edu <mailto:nwollman@bentley.edu> or 260.982.5346
The independent, liberal arts Manchester College is located in North Manchester in northeast Indiana. It is home to the nation’s first undergraduate Peace Studies program and of the Graduation Pledge Alliance. The residential college offers more than 45 areas of study to more than 1,140 students from 21 states and 29 countries. To learn more about Manchester College, visit its web site at www.manchester.edu <http://www.manchester.edu>

If you wish to be removed from this list, please
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----------------------------------------------------
SOCIAL CHOICE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
Hello TC Campaigners,
First, thanks so much for the financial contributions received thus far.
Some were especially large, but we are thankful for all donations! In the
past, many of you have thanked us for our work and successes--and this is
another way of doing so. Rest assured that whatever you give will be put to
good and frugal use. (See instructions for contributing at the end of this
letter.)
Below is the new demonstration announcement, coordinated with the postponed
annual TC shareholder meeting. As we asked before, please distribute as
widely as you can. A brief introductory message from you could help
encourage New York City area folks to raise their voices either inside the
meeting or at the outside demonstration (TC participants need to call in
ahead of time for a pass: 1-800-TIA-CREF.)
Neil will again be leading the outside demonstration and several folks will
be inside, among other TC coalition group reps, lobbying for our proposed
new socially responsible fund.
*** You can help make the lobbying even more impressive by getting a couple
of colleagues or friends to pledge to the proposed fund before the December
15 meeting (we’re over $17 million now – see the usual forwardable message
below).
*** If your contacts cannot go to the meeting, please ask them (and
yourself!) to take just five minute to call TC headquarters the week before
the meeting and voice your concerns (it’s a small commitment, but added
together, means a lot – see demo announcement). Folks need not be TC
participants themselves to make a call.
Other activities:
*** As you know, we have staged demonstrations in recent months at several
local TC local (Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, and San Francisco)
supporting the work of our TC coalition.
*** We have also distributed fliers in several cities at conferences where
TC reps spoke.
*** See the below correspondence with TC Corporate Secretary Laverne Jones
regarding our recent calls to TC trustees. Some of you are reaching out
that way, lobbying for our proposed fund, but we can always use more
involvement. We can provide all the needed background and hints.
Finally, we’ll be sending you soon a multi-announcement message that we
also hope will be widely distributed. In addition to the usual
coalition-related causes, this includes several governance-related issues
pertinent to TC. For example, internal TC mistakes led to postponement of
the meeting. And there have been recent revelations, spurred by the media,
of the excessive compensation package of the (relatively) new CEO. Neil
actually had a hand in some of these discoveries!
So long for now,
Neil and Abby
(Contributions are tax deductible. Checks should be made out to Manchester
College, with "for Neil Wollman - TIAA-CREF project" written in the memo
line. Mail them to Neil Wollman, MC Box 135, Manchester College, North
Manchester, IN~ 46962.
??===========================================
??????ACTIVISTS PROTEST AT ANNUAL SHAREHOLDER MEETING
TO PRESS? PENSION FUND TO INVEST RESPONSIBLY AND
IMPROVE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
"Out of the Bad and into the Good"
Monday, December 15, 8:30-11 a.m. Annual Shareholder meeting of? TIAA-CREF.
A call for the $300 billion pension giant to invest in positive ventures
(like low-income housing); divest Chevron, Nike, Wal-Mart, BP, Costco, and
Philip-Morris/Altria; and boycott World Bank bonds. Outside of TIAA-CREF
headquarters in New York City; 730 Third Ave. (between 45th and 46th
streets). TIAA-CREF pension system participants can call to receive an
admission pass to attend or speak up inside the meeting (800-842-2733,
212-490-9000).
During the week before the meeting, TIAA-CREF participants and others
please call CEO Herbert Allison at the same phone numbers and note the
above issues.
For information, see? www.maketiaa-crefethical.org ; 260-982-5346;
nwollman@bentley.edu
Sponsored by Citizens' Coalition, Infact, International Tibet Independence
Movement, Press for Change, Students for a Free Tibet, U.S. Campaign for
Burma, U.S. Tibet Committee, World Bank Bonds Boycott, and Social Choice
for Social Change.
==============================================
As the nation's largest pension fund, TIAA-CREF, a retirement fund mainly
for educators, prides itself on being responsive to shareholders and a
socially responsible "concerned investor." However, the fund continues to
hold large investments that support tobacco sales, sweatshop labor, harmful
environmental practices, and oil companies tied to brutal dictatorships.
Other funds earn good returns while investing in more socially beneficial
ways.
A broad-based coalition is calling for funds to be invested in affordable
housing and in companies that are, for example, pioneering socially or
environmentally responsible products or services. Also, TIAA-CREF is weak
or contradictory in its own governance practices, despite being considered
a leader in good corporate governance. Three relevant shareholder-proposed
resolutions are on the annual meeting ballot.
ARE YOU IN THE TIAA-CREF RETIREMENT SYSTEM?
Do you want your money to help build housing in low-income communities?
To support socially and environmentally responsible smaller companies?
SPEND FIVE MINUTES TO SUPPORT OUR PROPOSED NEW TIAA-CREF (TC) FUND THAT
WOULD MAKE SOCIAL CHANGE.
In the 1980s, participants lobbied TIAA-CREF (TC) for five years to set up
a socially responsible fund. Now we're pushing for an improved fund with
practices that are becoming standard in socially responsible investing (see
specifics below). We've been endorsed by many academic and activist groups,
faculty/staff unions, and such individuals as Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn.
In January, 2002, TC's then-CEO John Biggs stated in a New York Times
article that he would support creating a new fund that moves in this
direction if there was sufficient financial interest. We've now gathered
over $18 million in pledges to transfer current TC retirement assets should
the fund materialize! In August 2002, TC finally made some changes in their
current socially responsible fund. But much is still lacking.
HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. CONTACT? TC in support of the proposed fund, noting one or more of these
components: (a) community development investment; (b) social venture
capital; (c) stock in particularly responsible small companies; and (d)
socially responsible shareholder advocacy. Call CEO Herbert Allison at
800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his
assistant).
2. VISIT? http://www.manchester.edu/links/pledgetofund? to pledge to the
proposed fund. For the campaign details, visit
http://www.manchester.edu/links/socialchoiceforsocialchange
3. RECEIVE CAMPAIGN UPDATES (every two weeks); contact
nwollman@bentley.edu.
4. FORWARD THIS MESSAGE with a short personal endorsement to listserves,
organizations, and your colleagues nationally.
Also, see http://www.maketiaa-crefethical.org concerning a coalition of
national activist groups that seeks for TC to be more socially responsible
in its various investments.
=========================================================
Neil Wollman, Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute; Professor of
Psychology; Manchester College, N. Manchester, IN 46962; 260-982-5346; fax
260-982-5043; njw@manchester.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------?
7 November 2003
Dear Professor Wollman:
Thank you for your letter to Mr. Allison concerning your attempts to
contact CREF trustee Robert W. Vishny.
I am not aware with whom you spoke here at TIAA-CREF, but participants are
free to contact any of our trustees.? In that connection, here are some
approaches that we have developed for coordinating and facilitating
participant/trustee relations:
?-?????? We encourage participants to communicate with trustees in writing,
which affords the trustee an opportunity to respond thoughtfully.
-?????? We encourage participants to discuss general corporate matters with
our Presiding Trustees, Stephen A. Ross for CREF and Ronald L. Thompson for
TIAA.? Communications pertaining to matters such as social responsibility
should be directed to the committee chairs of the Corporate Governance and
Social Responsibility Committees.
-?????? Some trustees have asked our corporate staff to assist them in
managing some of their participant relations.? In those instances, it is
the responsibility of staff members to ensure that the trustee is made
aware of such communications and the issues involved to allow them to take
part in the discussion if he or she so desires.
In this instance it sounds like the person in your group was finally
successful in reaching Professor Vishny.? I am glad to hear it, and regret
any inconvenience we may have caused.
Sincerely,
?E. Laverne Jones
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 15, 2003
E. Laverne Jones
Corporate Secretary
TIAA-CREF
Dear Ms. Jones,
First let me extend condolences concerning the tragic death of trustee Ruth
Simms Hamilton. We had been trying to reach her and we further regret the
way she died.
Thank you for your letter and your openness to contacts with trustees. I
still cannot understand why someone from TIAA-CREF told someone in our
campaign not to talk to trustees. And I am the one who has tried
unsuccessfully to reach Professor Vishny. It was trustee Bevis Longstreth
who re-contacted someone in our campaign and has engaged in dialogue. We
appreciated that opportunity for dialogue.
After consulting with our coordinating committee, I must report that we
will be continuing on with contacting various trustees, by calls if we can,
and by seeking in-person visits. Recent telephone calling has led to
dialogue with some trustees, while past written communication with heads of
committees has not. ?In any case, the trustees are our elected
representatives and all should be open to discussion. All have some input
into decision-making, even by informal contacts with other trustees.
So, we will carry on with our attempts, likely increasing outreach over
time in attempts to complete our mission of incorporating positive
investing into the Social Choice Account-- or as part of a new socially
responsible fund. We wish that the inherent value of our proposals were
sufficient to convince the trustees without the need for a persuasive
campaign, but we will carry on with our campaign nonetheless.
Out of respect, I will forward your email to TIAA-CREF trustee contacts,
but will append a note stating that our coordinating committee recommends
against that approach. We are still hoping for a meeting on this topic
between TIAA-CREF trustees or fund managers and our representatives in the
field of socially responsible investing. The purpose is to see if your
concerns can be met. We have sought that meeting for years and will
continue to do so.
Sincerely,
Neil Wollman, Ph.D.
Co-Chair
Social Choice for Social Change:
Campaign for a new TIAA-CREF

** Please spread this message especially to colleagues in the NYC area who
might be able to attend the November 13 demonstration. TC participants are
particularly needed: last year, we had a good crowd from our coalition
partners, but very few with TC investments. **
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello folks interested in more socially responsible actions from TIAA-CREF:

Our biggest action of the year is approaching, at the annual meeting on
November 13. Below is the announcement that is being sent widely to
activists and educators.

If you can get to the meeting, great. Some folks are traveling long
distances. We can use your involvement either inside or outside of the
meeting?so let me know if you will be there.

If you can't make it, PLEASE do make a call as explained below and forward
the notice below to supportive folks.

Neil and Abby, Co-Chairs
Social Choice for Social Change: Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
nwollman@bentley.edu
(260) 982-5346
================================================
ACTIVISTS PROTEST AT ANNUAL SHAREHOLDER MEETING
TO PRESS PENSION FUND TO INVEST RESPONSIBLY AND
IMPROVE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
"Out of the Bad and into the Good"
Thursday, November 13, 8:30-11 a.m. Annual Shareholder meeting of
TIAA-CREF. A call for the $300 billion pension giant to invest in positive
ventures (like low-income housing); divest Chevron, Nike, Wal-Mart, BP,
Costco, and Philip-Morris/Altria; and boycott World Bank bonds. Outside of
730 Third Ave. (between 45th and 46th streets).
During the week of the meeting, also call CEO Herbert Allison at
800-842-2733, 212-490-9000 and note the above issues.
For information, see www.maketiaa-crefethical.org ; 260-982-5346, or
nwollman@bentley.edu.
Sponsored by Citizens' Coalition, Infact, International Tibet Independence
Movement, Press for Change, Students for a Free Tibet, U.S. Campaign for
Burma, U.S. Tibet Committee, World Bank Bonds Boycott, and Social Choice
for Social Change.
==============================================
As the nation's largest pension fund, TIAA-CREF, a retirement fund mainly
for educators, prides itself on being responsive to shareholders and a
socially responsible "concerned investor." However, the fund continues to
hold large investments that support tobacco sales, sweatshop labor, harmful
environmental practices, and oil companies tied to brutal dictatorships.
Other funds earn good returns while investing in more socially beneficial
ways.
A broad-based coalition is calling for funds to be invested in affordable
housing and in companies that are, for example, pioneering socially or
environmentally responsible products or services. Also, TIAA-CREF is weak
or contradictory in its own governance practices, despite being considered
a leader in good corporate governance. Three relevant shareholder-proposed
resolutions are on the annual meeting ballot.
================================================
10/16/2003
If you wish to be removed from this list, please reply with "remove" in the
subject line.
-------------------------------------
SOCIAL CHOICE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
Hello again:
We are gearing up for the annual TC meeting in New York City on November
13. The coalition of interested national groups has conducted strategy
sessions and plans are progressing. If you are in New York or can get there
on the morning of the 13th, please join us! You can meet some of the key
organizers for the positive investment effort, as well as the coalition
groups' participants. Being a part of the outside action and/or raising
voices inside are both needed and empowering. Let us know.
--> As usual, if you can't come, please let us know if you can designate
that someone can go in your place as your representative to express views
on social responsibility. It's pretty easy to do, but does require a little
paper work. (If you did so last year, we will be contacting you anyway.)
--> A number of you have helped, or are about to, in other ways by
organizing small demonstrations at local TC offices or reaching out to a
trustee (we have not heard from some of you of late, but are really
counting on you coming through with your help as a lead-in to the annual
meeting--thanks).
--> If you can't participate these actions, you can help by calling TC or
taking other actions we have highlighted before (see our regular message
below, again, regarding our positive investing effort).
On the media front, Neil was interviewed recently by several publications,
and stories will appear in such publications as Barons, Institutional
Investor, and possibly others that have expressed interest (such as
Business Week and the Washington Post). As usual, we should be getting
media surrounding our annual meeting actions.
Also see below two other pieces.
--> One is TC related and comes from one of our coalition partners, the
World Bank Bonds Boycott; sign on if you can.
--> The other piece is our intro piece for the TC Coalition and how you
(and colleagues) can get involved in that effort.
Finally, even though we just put out the call a few days ago, we have
already received several donations, as well as promises from others. Thanks
so much. All contributions are greatly appreciated and every penny will be
put to good use.
Best wishes,
Neil & Abby
Neil Wollman and Abigail Fuller, Co-Chairs
MC Box 135, Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
(260) 982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu
===================================================
ARE YOU IN THE TIAA-CREF RETIREMENT SYSTEM?
Do you want your money to help build housing in low-income communities?
To support socially and environmentally responsible smaller companies?
SPEND FIVE MINUTES TO SUPPORT OUR PROPOSED NEW TIAA-CREF (TC) FUND THAT
WOULD MAKE SOCIAL CHANGE.
In the 1980s, participants lobbied TIAA-CREF (TC) for five years to set up
a socially responsible fund. Now we're pushing for an improved fund with
practices that are becoming standard in socially responsible investing (see
specifics below). We've been endorsed by many academic and activist groups,
faculty/staff unions, and such individuals as Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn.
In January, 2002, TC's then-CEO John Biggs stated in a New York Times
article that he would support creating a new fund that moves in this
direction if there was sufficient financial interest. We've now gathered
over $18 million in pledges to transfer current TC retirement assets should
the fund materialize! In August 2002, TC finally made some changes in their
current socially responsible fund. But much is still lacking.
HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. CONTACT TC in support of the proposed fund, noting one or more of these
components: (a) community development investment; (b) social venture
capital; (c) stock in particularly responsible small companies; and (d)
socially responsible shareholder advocacy. Call CEO Herbert Allison at
800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his
assistant).
2. VISIT
www.manchester.edu/academic/programs/departments/peace_studies/fund/
to pledge to the proposed fund. For the campaign details, visit
www.manchester.edu/academic/programs/departments/peace_studies/njw/.
3. RECEIVE CAMPAIGN UPDATES (every two weeks); contact
nwollman@bentley.edu to get on the list.
4. FORWARD THIS MESSAGE with a short personal endorsement to listserves,
organizations, and your colleagues nationally.
Also, see www.maketiaa-crefethical concerning a coalition of
national activist groups that seeks for TC to be more socially responsible
in its various investments.
==========================================
Neil Wollman, Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute; Professor of
Psychology; Manchester College, N. Manchester, IN 46962; 260-982-5346; fax
260-982-5043; njw@manchester.edu

Neil,
Would you mind circulating this to your list?
Thx
neil
World Bank Bonds Boycott Campaign ACTION ALERT
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
October 1, 2003
** Please forward widely / apologies for cross-postings **
TELL TIAA-CREF: Take the Next Step on World Bank Bonds!
Late last year, TIAA-CREF, America's largest pension fund, sold off all its
holdings of World Bank bonds. TIAA-CREF cited financial considerations as
the main reason for its decision. Whatever reason TIAA-CREF sold its bonds,
this is an important development and victory for those of us working to
challenge unjust globalization and to pressure the World Bank for change.
Now, especially if you are a member of the pension fund, TIAA-CREF needs to
hear from you again. We are asking you to sign-on to the below letter to
TIAA-CREF thanking them for their decision to sell off their World Bank
bonds, and to ask TIAA-CREF to take the next step. The next step is to
adopt a policy against future investment in World Bank bonds, both in its
main fund and its Social Choice Account. This campaign is important because
TIAA-CREF is the largest pension fund in the country and what they do is
noticed by other large institutional investors as well.
We want to deliver the below letter, with hundreds of signatories from
TIAA-CREF members across the country, to TIAA-CREF's upcoming Annual
Meeting, which will take place on November 13, 2003 in New York City.
Please act today, and please forward this message widely to listserves and
other people you may know that are members. You can sign onto the letter by
sending your name, title, affiliation (your organization or educational
institution) to tcletter@econjustice.net.
This message is distributed by the World Bank Bonds Boycott campaign. The
World Bank Bonds Boycott is an international grassroots campaign that is
building moral, political, and financial pressure on the World Bank for
change. The World Bank raises most of its funds by issuing bonds. Ordinary
people, through their pension funds, labor unions, churches,
municipalities, and universities are exerting pressure for change on the
World Bank by refusing to buy its bonds. The campaign demands an end to the
World Bank's harmful "structural adjustment" policies; 100% debt
cancellation; and an end to environmentally destructive projects,
especially for oil, gas, mining, and dams.
For more information, background materials, fact sheets, and to sign on to
the letter electronically visit the World Bank Bonds Boycott website at
www.worldbankboycott.org. Also, visit The World Bank Bonds Boycott
TIAA-CREF campaign webpage, which has copies of this action alert and a
flyer suitable for posting in your organization or in faculty lounges is --
see http://econjustice.net/wbbb/news/tiaacref_index.htm

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Letter to TIAA-CREF: Take the Next Step on World Bank Bonds
** To sign on to this letter, send an e-mail with your name, title, and
affiliation (university or organization) to tcletter@econjustice.net. **
Herbert M. Allison, Jr., Chairman, President, and CEO
Martin Leibowitz, Chief Investment Officer
TIAA-CREF
730 3rd Ave.,
New York, NY 10017
Dear Mr. Allison and Mr. Leibowitz:
As members of TIAA-CREF, we want to thank you for TIAA-CREF's recent
decision to sell its holdings of World Bank bonds. We applaud you for your
decision both because it is a financially sound decision to make, and
because it is a socially responsible move.
We write today to urge you to take the next step. We request that TIAA-CREF
adopt a policy against investing in bonds issued by the World Bank (the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or IBRD), and
instead invest in bonds that promote social good. We would urge you to
adopt such a policy for all TIAA-CREF funds, including the Social Choice
Account.
There are compelling financial and social reasons for adopting a policy
against World Bank bond investment. First, from a financial perspective,
there are a number of risk factors associated with World Bank bond
investment. A growing number of World Bank borrowers --including, in
November 2002, Argentina are defaulting on payments to the institution, or
may be forced to do so in the future. Moreover, many World Bank loans are
poorly monitored and are not sustainable, which may increase risks of
non-payment. Finally, a growing campaign which urges investors not to
purchase the bonds, the World Bank Bonds Boycott campaign, is increasing
risks associated with holding the bonds and seeks to lower the Bank's "AAA"
rating.
Second, World Bank bonds are not socially responsible investments.
The World Bank lacks democracy and transparency in its operations: voting
power in the institution is heavily skewed in favor of rich countries, and
its Board meetings held in secret. The World Bank's lending in recent years
has been increasingly oriented towards so-called "adjustment" loans which
allow the Bank to avoid environmental and social safeguard policies in
place for its project lending. As members of TIAA-CREF, education is a
strong priority for us. Many of the World Bank's loans for education have
come with requirements that user fees be charged on students and that
teacher salaries be cut. Finally, the World Bank's refusal to cancel
illegitimate and unpayable debts owed to it by impoverished countries means
that dozens of countries around the world must make unconscionable payments
to the World Bank while their education and health systems collapse.
We support a statement of policy from TIAA-CREF against investment
in World Bank bonds. Such a statement would reduce the risks to TIAA-CREF
participants that are associated with holding World Bank bonds, and it
would send a strong message for change to the World Bank.
Thank you for considering our request, and we look forward to receiving
your response.
Sincerely,
[Initial signers include:]
Patrick Bond, Professor, University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg) and
Visiting Professor,
York University (Toronto)
Salih Booker, Executive Director, Africa Action, Washington, DC
Dennis Brutus, Professor Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh
Tim Canova, Professor of Law, University of New Mexico School of Law
Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research,
Washington, DC
Emira Woods, Co-Director, Foreign Policy in Focus, Institue for Policy
Studies, Washington, DC
Iris Marion Young, Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago
** To sign on to this letter, send an e-mail with your name, title, and
affiliation (university or organization) to tcletter@econjustice.net. **

+++++++++++++++++++
World Bank Bonds Boycott Campaign
Center for Economic Justice
733 15th Street, NW, Suite 928
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: (202) 393-6665
Fax: (202) 393-1358
Email: bankboycott@econjustice.net
Web: www.worldbankboycott.org

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+++++++++++++++++++
Neil Watkins
World Bank Bonds Boycott
Center for Economic Justice
733 15th Street, NW, Suite 928
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: (202) 393-6665
Fax: (202) 393-1358
Web: www.worldbankboycott.org

9/20/2003
TIAA-CREF UPDATE: Carrying On Still

We are planning for the November TIAA-CREF Annual Meeting with our TC coalition partners. Since we last updated, we have added three new groups to the coalition that is lobbying TC in various ways for various causes (to learn more about the coalition, check www.make tiaa-cref ethical ---?? and let Neil know if you want monthly – at most – updates; nwollman@bentley.edu <<~~DLNK0.URL>> ).

You can further our particular positive investors campaign greatly by spreading word to others. The more folks involved, the sooner we will complete our half-completed mission. There are many ways to spread the word. – some we have suggested before. Get out the word via groups you are associated with (professional organizations, your colleagues at work – schools or otherwise, faculty/staff unions which also endorse our effort. Since our previous update, we have now distributed several hundred of the catchy half-page “socially responsible money” (with description of the program on the back). Consider distributing these to colleagues at work (staff mail boxes), putting them in envelopes you mail to appropriate folks, mailing to conferences for display on a free literature table, or otherwise.

Well, enough for now – and better to spend time on spreading word to others ourselves!!

Abbey and Neil

Hello TC campaign folks:
We are gearing up for the TC annual meeting in November. More actions are planned leading up to the meeting, and some of us in academia will be reaching out to TC trustees in our communities.
--> It would be a big push if each of us gets a faculty or staff organization, or an activist group, to endorse the effort. (We can help; ask us.) Over two dozen have already (such as the National Women's Studies Association, and United For a Fair Economy) along with well-known individuals like Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn.
--> Below is a revised basic "advertising" message to use for spreading the word.
--> Let us know if you'd like some copies of our popular and catchy "socially responsible money" to distribute--large green bills (half-page sized) that describe our campaign. (You can see the front side at our web site: http://www.manchester.edu/academic/programs/departments/peace_studies/njw/.
--> Finally, if you have limited time, we urge you to commit to FIVE MINUTES A MONTH: Mark in your calendar one day each month when you will make a call to TC and voice your concerns (see advertising message below for details on what to say). If several hundred people call each month, it WILL have an effect. Meanwhile, we will continue to work hard here in campaign headquarters, but TC needs to hear many, many voices. You may have the personal satisfaction of knowing that you helped get many millions of dollars to go toward making the world better in tangible ways.
Thanks,
Neil and Abby
Neil Wollman and Abigail Fuller, Co-Chairs
MC Box 135, Manchester College
N. Manchester, IN 46962
260-982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu
==========================================================
ARE YOU IN THE TIAA-CREF RETIREMENT SYSTEM?
Do you want your money to help build housing in low-income communities?
To support socially and environmentally responsible smaller companies?

SPEND FIVE MINUTES TO SUPPORT OUR PROPOSED NEW TIAA-CREF (TC) FUND THAT WOULD MAKE SOCIAL CHANGE.
In the 1980s, participants lobbied TIAA-CREF (TC) for five years to set up a socially responsible fund. Now we're pushing for an improved fund with practices that are becoming standard in socially responsible investing (see specifics below). We've been endorsed by many academic and activist groups, faculty/staff unions, and such individuals as Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn.
In January, 2002, TC's then-CEO John Biggs stated in a New York Times article that he would support creating a new fund that moves in this direction if there was sufficient financial interest. We've now gathered over $18 million in pledges to transfer current TC retirement assets should the fund materialize! In August 2002, TC finally made some changes in their current socially responsible fund. But much is still lacking.
HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
K1. CONTACT TC in support of the proposed fund, noting one or more of these components: (a) community development investment; (b) social venture capital; (c) stock in particularly responsible small companies; and (d) socially responsible shareholder advocacy. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his assistant).
K2. VISIT http://www.manchester.edu/academic/programs/departments/peace_studies/fund/ <<~~DLNK0.URL>> to pledge to the proposed fund. For campaign details, visithttp://www.manchester.edu/academic/programs/departments/peace_studies/njw/.
K3. RECEIVE CAMPAIGN UPDATES (every two weeks); contact nwollman@bentley.edu.
K4. FORWARD THIS MESSAGE with a short personal endorsement to listserves, organizations, and your colleagues nationally.
Also, see http://www.maketiaa-crefethical concerning a coalition of national activist groups that seeks for TC to be more socially responsible in its various investments.

Hello TC campaign folks:
--> RECENT ACTIVITIES: We have restarted activities leading up to the annual meeting in November. TIAA-CREF has moved the meeting back to New York (perhaps embarrassed after last year's move to a branch office, with very few participants, or trustees, in attendance). A few months back, the NY Times ran a story on companies holding meetings in obscure places to avoid the heat of shareholders. But one would not expect a corporate governance leader like TIAA-CREF to run and hide.
Recently, we distributed fliers at a conference in Amsterdam at which a TC speaker participated. We assume it shook them a bit that we followed them all the way to Europe (aided by a coalition partner lead). And recently we had small demonstrations at the Chicago and Boston local offices. Many fliers were distributed.
More such actions will follow, as well as contacts with TIAA-CREF trustees around the country. Over ten folks have already volunteered for that! Though TC officers continue to refuse to meet with us to see if their concerns can be met, our contact with trustees will certainly start with attempts at dialogue.
--> WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
1. Below is our basic "advertising" message. You could greatly expand our effort by sending it to as many folks as you can (individuals, listserves, web sires, etc.) with a short opening endorsement. You can also take some of the actions listed in that message--for example, pledge or raise your pledge to the new proposed fund if you haven't.
2. Most important is to call TC and tell them that the Social Choice Account should include community development investment, social venture capital, stock in particularly responsible small companies; and socially responsible shareholder advocacy. Calling on a regular basis helps keep the topic on their minds--always. Pick one day a month, please.
3. Finally, if you are at a school, consider doing something to promote the effort there this fall. Some folks have asked their college faculty/staff union to endorse the effort (by sending a letter to TC and getting folks involved otherwise). If you are faculty, you can also get your professional discipline group to endorse, If you are not at a school but can get a group you are associated with to endorse, great (ask for details). We have over two dozen academic or advocacy groups that have done so.
--> TC DIVESTMENT EFFORT: Below the basic advertising message, see information from a colleague concerning her attempts to get a resolution on TC's annual meeting ballot calling for divestment of Freeport McMoRan stock because of environmental and social impacts at its mining site in West Papua, Indonesia. (She was rebuffed.) This is from one of our most consistent supporters. Take a look and help her if you can.
--> DONATIONS: We will be sending an email soon requesting small (or large!) donations. We do what we can on a shoestring budget (less than $10,000 a year--and that is actually for three different projects!), but our funds are dwindling.
Thanks,
Neil and Abby
Neil Wollman and Abigail Fuller, Co-Chairs
MC Box 135, Manchester College
N. Manchester, IN 46962
260-982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu
============================================================
ARE YOU IN THE TIAA-CREF RETIREMENT SYSTEM? SPEND FIVE MINUTES TO SUPPORT A PROPOSED NEW TIAA-CREF FUND THAT MAKES SOCIAL CHANGE. (Others, please forward this message to educators.)
Make a call to TIAA-CREF (TC) even if you did earlier or make a pledge of future investment into the proposed fund.
In the 1980s, participants lobbied TC for five years to set up a socially responsible fund. Now we're pushing for that fund to invest in particularly responsible companies and in low-income area housing and business, as well as engage in shareholder advocacy. These are becoming more standard in socially responsible investing and are quite viable financially. Besides many academic and activist group endorsements (such as the National Women's Studies Association and United for a Fair Economy), we're supported by Benjamin Barber, Dennis Brutus, Noam Chomsky, Sandi Cooper, Ursula Goodenough, and Howard Zinn. College presidents and faculty/staff unions have sent supportive letters to TC. Help in encouraging such endorsements and letters is appreciated. We can provide details.
Last year, TC's then-CEO John Biggs stated in a New York Times article that he would support setting up a new fund that moves in this direction if there was sufficient financial interest. We have now gathered over $16 million in pledges from over 600 individuals who have committed to transfer some of their current TC retirement assets should the fund materialize! At TC's last annual meeting, we announced the pledges received and TC officials said they would consider our proposal. HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
(1) CONTACT TC to voice support for the proposed fund, even if you have called before; note one or more of these components (1) community development investment; (2) social venture capital; (3) stock in particularly responsible small companies; and (4) socially responsible shareholder advocacy (the web page has details). Let them know about your TC membership, money pledge (if you did), and affiliation,. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his assistant). Also, a petition is available at the first web site below.
(2) VISIT http://www.manchester.edu/academic/programs/departments/peace_studies/fund/ to learn more about the proposed fund and to make a pledge. For campaign background/history visit http://www.manchester.edu/academic/programs/departments/peace_studies/njw/
(3) FORWARD THIS MESSAGE with a short personal endorsement to listserves, organizations, and your colleagues nationally.
Contact us to receive campaign updates about every two weeks. And let us know of any actions you take and TC's response.
Thanks so much,
Neil Wollman and Abby Fuller
P.S. You may have read in TC's August 2002 Participant magazine that they finally made certain changes, for which we lobbied, in their current socially responsible fund. But much is still lacking and unfortunately TC seems to be stonewalling again. They recently urged us to file a shareholder resolution--a disingenuous suggestion, we believe, as they know the great difficulty of gaining a majority vote on company-opposed resolutions. Interest has already been expressed via money pledges, calls, and a survey TC previously conducted.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Neil Wollman; Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute; Prof. of Psychology; Manchester College; N. Manchester, IN 46962; 260-982-5346; nwollman@bentley.edu
============================================================
Northwest Corporate Accountability Project
P.O. Box 17804
Seattle, WA 98127-1804
(206) 789-6136
<deo@foxinternet.com>
RELEASE - July 26, 2003
CREF CLAIMS IGNORANCE OF GOLD MINING CONTROVERSIES
The College Retirement Equities Fund(pension fund for college/university faculty and staff), which offers the largest singly managed stock account in the word, notified the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 24, 2003 of its intent to omit a shareholder proposal from its proxy material for the 2003 CREF Annual Meeting.
The proposal requesting a vote of CREF participants on divestment of gold mining investments was submitted by Ann E. Marchand, a CREF participant from Seattle, WA. In its letter to the SEC, CREF claims, "The Company is not aware of any debate, media attention, or legislative or regulatory initiatives regarding gold mining."
However, significant social policy concerns regarding gold mining are not new to CREF. In 1999, Ms. Marchand submitted a shareholder proposal to CREF specifically requesting that CREF divest itself of Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Stock because of its environmental and social impacts at its mining site in West Papua, Indonesia.
(see:
http://www.moles.org/ProjectUnderground/motherlode/freeport/tenrisks.html <<~~DLNK0.URL>> )
This proposal received 17.3% of the vote at CREF's 1999 Annual Meeting, documenting a significant interest by CREF participants in this issue and far in excess of the vote needed to resubmit the proposal under Rule 14a-8(i)(12). Along with another CREF participant, the proposal was resubmitted to CREF in 2000. This time CREF launched an all out effort to defend Freeport and exclude the proposal. Because the proposal dealt with a single stock, the SEC concurred that the proposal could be omitted. CREF (pub. avail. Sept. 7, 2000).
The proposal submitted to CREF in 2003 included in the supporting statement information concerning Freeport's practices. In CREF's response to the SEC, it referenced Freeport's website as a source of rebuttal information, pointed to the lack of information concerning other companies, and claimed that CREF was unaware of any concerns or controversy regarding gold mining.
As a result, an amended resolution has been submitted to CREF with the same proposal, but documenting problems with other gold mining companies including Newmount Mining; Placer Dome; Rio Tino; and NewCrest Mining. The SEC is currently reviewing the amended resolution and will soon make a decision whether or not CREF must include the resolution in its proxy material.
What you can do:
Write to
William J. Kotapish, Esq.
Assistant Director
Division of Investment Management
Securities and Exchange Commission
450 5th St., N.W.
WA D.C. 20054
Strongly urge that the SEC require CREF to include in its 2003 proxy material the gold mining divestment proposal submitted by Ann Marchand. Include any references, websites, or other material concerning environmental and social impacts from gold mining.
Send a copy of your letter to:
Herbert Allison
Chairman and CEO
CREF
730 Third Ave
New York, N.Y.
10017-3206
===
AMENDED 2003 RESOLUTION TO CREF ON DIVESTMENT FROM GOLD MINING
July 2003
For both ethical and financial reasons, participants request CREF: 1) To announce that CREF will make no additional gold mining-related investments, and 2) To begin an orderly divestment of all gold mining investments.
Participant's Supporting Statement
Central banks and international financial institutions hold more than 34,000 tons of gold. This is more than 13 times the annual production of the world's mines; if sold, these reserves could satisfy gold demand for more than 8 years (current demand is approximately 4,000 tons per year). Of this demand, 85% is typically used for jewelry.
Gold mining companies cause environmental and social impacts.
- Newmont Mining: The Indonesia government is sending a team to take tailing samples from gold mining firm Newmont in North Sulawesi following a report that cyanide levels in the tailings exceeded the government limit. (Jakarta Post, Moch N. Kurniawan, June 21, 2003). Newmont has admitted spilling mercury at its mining operations in Peru in 2000. "Newmont CEO Parries Environmental Attacks At Shareholder Meeting", Tom Locke, Dow Jones Newswires, May, 7, 2003)
- Placer Dome: Indigenous Dayak Meratus of Indonesia, submitted a statement at the Placer Dome Annual Shareholder meeting April 30, 2003, stating that Placer Dome's proposed gold mine on their lands threaten their environment and their very existence as indigenous peoples. The Dayak Meratus live in the last remaining native forest in Kalimantan, Indonesia, which has enjoyed protected status since 1928. Placer Dome proposes to build a gold mine in the Meratus Mountain Range Protected Forest, violating Forestry Law 41. The Dayaks have already made unequivocal statements opposing this mine. ("Three Communities Protest at Placer Dome AGM," Report from Miningwatch, Canada, April 30, 2003.)
- Rio Tinto: Rio Tinto operates over 60 mines and processing plants in 40 countries. Rio Tinto owns 90% of the Kelian gold mine in Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. Prior to Rio Tinto's arrival to Kalimantan, small-scale gold mining was performed by the local population. Around 1989, paramilitary police forced the local miners out of the mines. In 1990, Rio Tinto acquired more land, evicting more people who had to live in shanties. A total of 440 families were displaced from their homes. Some compensation was paid, but it was not adequate to cover losses. (Asia-Pacific Human Rights Network, Corporate Watch, Human Rights Features, July 16, 2001.)
- NewCrest Mining: The conflict between forest protection laws and mining leases issued in protected areas has created a political storm in Indonesia. Indonesian Ministers and officials fear international legal action if mining is excluded from protected areas. Media reports have linked Indonesian government fears of costly international arbitration to Australian owned projects such as Newcrest's PT. ("Protected areas international arbitration threat to Indonesia", Koran Tempo, 3 April 2002 [translation].)
It is unclear how much environmental liability, cleanup responsibility, and remediation costs may exist, and no existing audit contains information on any environmental liability.
Should CREF financially co-sponsor the manufacture and promotion of such mining activities? If not, vote for orderly divestment.
Submitted by Ann E. Marchand, 7043 22nd Ave. N.W., Seattle, WA 98117
===
Original Resolution
CREF RESOLUTION ON DIVESTMENT FROM GOLD MINING - May 2003
For both ethical and financial reasons, participants request CREF: 1) To announce that CREF will make no additional gold mining-related investments, and 2) To begin an orderly divestment of all gold mining investments.
Participant's Supporting Statement
Central banks and international financial institutions hold more than 34,000 tons of gold. This is more than 13 times the annual production of the world's mines; if sold, these reserves could satisfy gold demand for more than 8 years (current demand is approximately 4,000 tons per year). Of this demand, 85% is typically used for jewelry.
Gold mining companies cause environmental and social impacts. For example, Louisiana-based Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold recently disclosed in a report to the Security Exchange Commission that it paid the Indonesian national military, Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) an estimated US$5.6 million in 2002 for security purposes at its mine in West Papua, Indonesia.
"It is clear from a number of incidents that the states' security forces and the transnationals stand shoulder to shoulder in committing violence and human rights abuses. Still worse, such payments only promote current practices by the state apparatus with very harmful consequences for the people," reads a joint statement put out by a coalition of twelve human rights groups active in Indonesia.
Since 1967, PT Freeport Indonesia Company (PT-FI) an operating unit of Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold, Inc. (FCX) has been operating on lands traditionally inhabited by indigenous people, especially the Amungme and Komoro. In May 2000, just days after an environmental audit praised Freeport's mining practices, a landslide at its Wanagon Lake waste dump cost the lives of four Freeport workers.
PT-FI has discharged over 110,000 tons of tailings per day into local Irian Jaya rivers and has expanded its milling operations to exceed 190,000 cubic tons per day. In 1995, prior to a settlement with PT-FI, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a U.S. government agency which provided political risk insurance to this operation stated that the mine "created and continue to pose unreasonable or major environmental, health, or safety hazards with respect to the rivers that are being impacted by the tailings, the surrounding terrestrial ecosystem and the local inhabitants."
PT-FI has attempted to ameliorate the social and environmental damages by proposing the "one Percent Trust Fund Offer" and the establishment of an Amungme Foundation, but the Amungme Tribal Council (LEMASA), an organization representing one of the indigenous communities affected by PT-FI's operations in Irian Jaya, issued a resolution "unconditionally and absolutely" rejecting these two proposals.
It is unclear how much environmental liability, cleanup responsibility, and remediation costs may exist, and no existing audit contains information on any actual environmental liability;
Should TIAA-CREF financially co-sponsor the manufacture and promotion of such mining activities? If not, vote for orderly divestment.

Hello TIAA-CREF campaigners:
There is no new news here as we carry on with plans noted earlier. But we want to forward you two messages. As you know, we have taken a leading role in the TC coalition. Immediately below is the first monthly (at most) update for folks interested in the work of the coalition. A number of folks are already signed up to receive the reports. For that broader effort, we are specifically looking for folks enrolled in the TIAA-CREF pension system, as the coalition thinks that that will be most helpful in future lobbying. (In our positive investing campaign, we, of course, much appreciate non-TC folks who are joined with us; the coalition wants to really focus on getting TC participants involved in future lobbying..) Take a look at the first update and if you want to receive them, please let us know-- reply to this message with "TC Coalition Update" in the subject line . The update also notes ways of spreading the word to others. And that would surely help.
Secondly, there is a campaign based in Mexico with the company Costco. And they want TC to divest of that stock, certainly from their socially responsible fund. The campaign has been quite active, once holding a demonstration with over 15,000 participants! So, take a look at the message below. And there is web site with more info and a contact person we have had much correspondence with. Thanks, Neil and Abby
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Hello TIAA-CREF (TC) reformers:
Thanks for showing interest in keeping up to date on the actions of our coalition to promote social responsibility within TC. The group is informally called "TIAA-CREF: Out of the Bad and into the Good" because we want TC to seek out certain types of investments and divest from others.
We hope that once you hear about our interests and goals you will want to become involved. We have done everything from gaining extensive media, to organizing call-ins/ emailing to TC, to direct action, like demonstrations at TC's national and local offices (the latter only after years of resistance by TC to policies they since have adopted). Some of this has been done by the coalition, some by coalition member groups.
We'll keep you informed via coalition updates. At the web site (www.makeTIAA-CREFethical.org) read about the work of the coalition work and its individual members. A few groups have provided links to their web pages and opportunities to get involved. Several groups have had success with TC and you can read about that. Some groups distribute their own periodic updates (not a listserv). Ask them via contact information at the web site.
So if you want to get started:
1. Take a look at the web site to learn more about the work at the coalition lobbying TC.
2. Call (preferred) or email TC about the overall goals of the coalition or specific demands (e.g.. divestment from Chevron)
3. Pass along the below coalition introduction message to colleagues around the country, appropriate listserv, organizations, web sites, etc. -- with a brief endorsement from yourself. We are relying on you all to spread the word!
Let us know if you wish to become involved at a deeper level (planning activities / actions, participating in actions such as demonstrations and leafleting, or helping get media attention - see media talking points below that we currently use at the national level. We are especially looking for folks in a few US cities--San Francisco, DC, Pittsburgh, and Dallas-- to participate in or even lead a small action relevant to this issue.
Talk to you in a month-- and hope to hear from you before that,
Neil
Neil Wollman
Coordinator Graduation Pledge Alliance
Senior Fellow Peace Studies Institute
Manchester College
nwollman@bentley.edu
260-982-5346

Subject: TIAA-CREF and socially responsible investment
Dear :
We are writing because you either have had some interest regarding TIAA-CREF(TC) and socially responsible investing or you have a general interest in corporate responsibility. Otherwise, we are sorry. Beyond your particular TC concerns, we write to tell you about a coalition of national advocacy groups that have been working to get TC to be more socially conscious in their investments (areas of concern are sweatshop labor, tobacco, World Bank Bonds, and human rights regarding Burma and Tibet). We also want them to invest in social good (low-income area community development and products enhancing environmental sustainability, e.g.). Beyond better directing of TC's own massive assets ($260 billion), because of its prominence in the investment world, changes TC makes will likely affect other large institutional investors.
The coalition has carried out traditional lobbying (calls and emails) to influence TC as well as protest actions when needed to gain attention. While we can point to a few victories, coalition members feel that we would have far more influence if we could communicate with TC shareholders to provide periodic updates on campaign activities, as well as giving ways that folks like you can become involved at some small or large level. Certainly there will be no more than one report a month.
Please consider signing up for updates (write NJW@manchester.edu & put "TC Coalition Update" in the subject line). Also, please do forward this message to individual colleagues and listservs which are concerned with the corporate responsibility movement and which might have participants in the TC pension system. And check out www.maketiaa-crefethical.org, the coalition listserv.
Thank you,
Neil Wollman, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow and Professor, Manchester College
for "TIAA-CREF: Out of the Bad and into the Good" (Free Burma Coalition, Infact, Press for Change, World Bank Bonds Boycott, US Tibet Committee, Students for a Free Tibet, International Tibet independence Movement, Global sweatshop Coalition, and Social Choice for Social Change: Campaign for a new TIAA-CREF)

Subject: TIAA-CREF inconsistencies on corporate governance and social responsibility
Dear :
Here are examples of the type of inconsistencies and hypocrisy's practiced by TIAA-CREF as regards to corporate governance and social responsibility. I can go further into the below as you wish, and can respond to anything they raise in response. We also have folks with specific expertise on the issues we are below that we can put you in contact with. Plus there are three particular TIAA-CREF trustees/directors who are on a committee dealing specifically with governance and social responsibility issues. I can put you in contact with them. And there is a mid-level TIAA-CREF employee who is willing to talk to media about TIAA-CREF and inconsistencies regarding socially responsibility in its investments. The identity of the person needs to be kept out of the story, but you would most certainly be able to determine that the person is indeed a TIAA-CREF employee. Neil Wollman (contact information is at the bottom)
==========================================
TIAA-CREF DOES NOT PRACTICE WHAT IT PREACHES:

I) TIAA-CREF claims to be and is seen as a leader in promoting corporate governance reform and championing shareholder rights, yet

1) At its November 2002 annual meeting, it opposed its own shareholders' resolutions on two important governance issues that good governance folks support.
a) revealing of proxy votes
b) Chairman and CEO positions must be held by different people (The Conference Board Commission on Public Trust and Private Enterprise recommended such a split.)
(After attendees concerned about social responsibility issues persistently raised serious questions at the 2001 annual meeting, the 2002 meeting was held in a much less accessible city. This resulted in a much lowered attendance. And in contrast to the past, almost no trustees were present at the 2002 meeting. To their credit, they have now decided to return to New York for their next meeting.) Several governance related resolutions will be on the ballot for the next annual meeting and I have contact information for several of the filers.
2) Eliminated an independent committee that nominated some trustees.
3) Supported a proposed SEC resolution making it harder for shareholders to resubmit resolutions (public outcry resulted in not adopting the measure).
4) TIAA-CREF claims they take no government subsidies--and they shouldn't as a large pension fund. However, they do admit to taking "financial incentives," including an "incentive" of $1.17 million from "the City and County of Denver."
5) Though a leader in reigning in excessive CEO salaries for their portfolio companies, their recent former CEO John Biggs sat on the boards of two companies that gave excessive CEO compensation (Biggs was on the compensation committee for one board and apparently approved a high salary for the other (we have details, including a St. Louis P-D expose on the excessive compensation).
6) While filing a shareholder resolution, David Gordon, University of Washington, received negative treatment from one of TIAA-CREF's top governance people and chief counsel Peter Clapman.
7) Getting 30% and 35% of the vote on two resolutions they filed was labeled as "very substantial" and a "large portion of shareholders, " respectively, in two press releases they distributed. A resolution filed against them that got 30% was labelled by their CEO as "soundly defeated."
II) TIAA-CREF says they factor social concerns into all investment decisions and that doing so builds long term shareholder value, yet they won't reveal how they do so (TIAA-CREF: A Concerned Investor). But they also say that socially concerned participants have a choice and can invest in their socially screened Social Choice Account. This is their response to requests for divestment of certain stocks. But morality should not be confined just to the individual investor. TIAA-CREF has a choice, too, in what they invest in for all their funds. And
1) There was much attention given to the human rights situation in pre-war Iraq, yet brutalities exist in other countries and situations in which investment by TIAA-CREF lends support to such injustice. TIAA-CREF holds shares in Nike-sweatshops; British Petroleum- destructive project with China that helps subjugate Tibetans; Chevron-- helps keep afloat the Burmese brutal dictatorship; Altria-Phillip Morris--- Marlboro is the deadly #1 cigarette brand; World Bank Bonds-
hurting many Third World citizens. TIAA-CREF's socially responsible fund holds stock in Costco, which has engaged in ecological destruction and caused the arrest of environmentalists and others in Mexico.
2) After an "offer" from their CEO in a New York Times article (January, 2002), we gained $17 million in pledges for a new socially responsible fund that would include low-income area community development and other "positive investing." Now TIAA-CREF is stonewalling on that (their most recent excuse about filing a shareholder resolution is easily addressed). CREF trustees Bevis Longstreth, Victor Santiago, and Robert Vishny can be contacted to see why TIAA-CREF is again not listening to their shareholders on this matter. This comes on the heals of two earlier campaigns to promote social responsibility for TIAA-CREF's investing. After years of excuses, certain desired changes were finally made.
3) After the Fall 2002 TIAA-CREF annual meeting, a TIAA-CREF officer approached one participant about submitting a proposal concerning community investment. The officer did so because of the participant's statements during the meeting. The proposal was submitted but was never responded to.
4) TIAA-CREF invests in companies that follow practices inconsistent with its own internal company ethics policies (details can be given).
5) T-C is of three minds regarding social responsibility. (a) "T-C does not express approval or disapproval of any particular business activity or company." They make only financial judgements. (b) T-C acknowledges certain activity as being socially responsible (such as good environmental practice). But they are desirable (only) because they add to long term shareholder value. (c) Finally, they have supported social responsibility for its inherent good. (e.g., they talk about their investing in companies engaged in "socially beneficial activities." A benign interpretation of these three faces on social responsibility is that they are just confused on the issue or haven't thought out things as they should. A more likely interpretation is that they pick and choose different interpretations for their own self-interest.
6) See www.maketiaa-crefethical.org for details on the work of the coalition of groups trying to get TIAA-CREF to be more socially responsible in its investing.
===============================================================================
Neil Wollman, Ph.D.; Senior Fellow, Peace Studies Institute; Professor of Psychology; Manchester College, N. Manchester, IN 46962; 260-982-5346; fax 260-982-5043; njw@manchester.edu
============================================================================================================

THE COALITION OF ACTIVISTS FOR THE "CASINO DE LA SELVA"
IN CUERNAVACA, THE CCCCH AND THE MONITOR OF TIAA-CREF, SOCIAL CHOICE
FOR SOCIAL CHANGE, AS WELL AS OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, MAINTAIN THEIR
SUPPORT OF THE GLOBAL BOYCOT AGAINST COSTCO CORPORATION.

THE COMPANY HAS NOT MODIFIED ITS PLANS TO OPEN ITS
WAREHOUSES IN THE CENTER OF THE CITY OF CUERNAVACA MEXICO. THIS
ILLEGAL PROJECT HAS IMPLICATED THE DESTRUCTION OF VALUABLE WORKS OF
ART, CENTENNARY TREES, AND THE LOSS OF THE NATURAL SOURCE OF INCOME
OF THE CITY (www.procasino.org). FURTHERMORE, BECAUSE OF PRESSURE
FROM THE COMPANY ON LOCAL AND FEDERAL AUTHORITES, TENS OF ACTIVISTS,
ENVIRONMENTALISTS, ARTISTS, ACADEMICS, STUDENTS AND PARENTS WERE
ARRESTED. THIS CONSTITUTES A FLAGRANT VIOLATION OF THE CARTA MAGNA
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, OF THE UNITED NATIONS.

AS IT MANY TAKE SEVERAL YEARS UNTIL THERE IS A CLEAR
RESPONSE FROM THE COMPANY TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE TO THE COMMUNITY OF
CUERNAVACA, WE ASK YOU TO MAINTAIN AND PROMOTE THE GLOBAL BOYCOT WE
HAVE CALLED FOR. AS A FIRST STEP WE ASK YOU TO COPY THE NO-TO-COSTO
(AND NO-TO-CM, ITS SISTER COMPANY IN MEXICO) BUTTON FROM OUR WEB
SITE www.procasino.org IN SOLIDARITY OF THIS STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE.

Hello TIAA-CREF activists:
1. RECENT AND UPCOMING ACTIONS
--> We recently had handed out leaflets at a conference where the TC CEO spoke. Mini-actions are also planned for the near future at a couple of TC local offices. More will come over the long haul.
--> We are in the early stages of planning/recruiting for visits to TIAA-CREF trustees around the country.
--> And we are now solidly into making calls to media--as part of TC coalition work, so we stress concerns of our various member groups. From past experience, we expect this will lead to coverage.
All this will happen in the months leading up to our presence at the TIAA-CREF annual meeting--back in NYC in November-- and beyond. We are in for the long haul, as with two other multi-year efforts. It is a shame for all concerned that so much effort and resistance went into those earlier efforts when eventually what was pursued was enacted by TC and looked upon with favor. So it goes in the world of inertia. (But it's fun plotting; we meet great people, we get encouraging comments, and we know we're doing right--what else can we ask!)
2. PICK UP THE PHONE!!
--> You, along with others, received the below message recently. We are especially counting upon our loyal "inside group" to come through with calls to TC and hope you will seriously consider making a call monthly, bi-weekly, or even weekly. It takes but three minutes to voice your opinion (apparently $17 million has not been enough to show interest!).
--> Importantly, PLEASE send the below message to friends/colleagues nationwide and encourage them to call and to pass along the message further. IF YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT TIME FOR OTHER INVOLVEMENT, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT WAY TO HELP OUT FOR JUST A FEW MINUTES ON A REGULAR BASIS.
Bye for now,
Abby and Neil
Neil Wollman and Abigail Fuller, Co-Chairs
MC Box 135, Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
(260) 982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu
=========================================================
IF YOU ARE IN THE TIAA-CREF RETIREMENT SYSTEM, SPEND FIVE MINUTES TO SUPPORT A PROPOSED NEW TIAA-CREF FUND THAT MAKES SOCIAL CHANGE. (Others, please forward this message to educators.)
Make a call to TIAA-CREF (TC) even if you did earlier or make a pledge of future investment into the proposed fund.
In the 1980s, participants lobbied TC for five years to set up a socially responsible fund. Now we're pushing for that fund to invest in particularly responsible companies and in low-income area housing and business, as well as engage in shareholder advocacy. These are becoming more standard in socially responsible investing and are quite viable financially. Besides many academic and activist group endorsements (such as the National Women's Studies Association and United for a Fair Economy), we're supported by Benjamin Barber, Dennis Brutus, Noam Chomsky, Sandi Cooper, Ursula Goodenough, and Howard Zinn. College presidents and faculty/staff unions have sent supportive letters to TC. Help in encouraging such endorsements and letters is appreciated. We can provide details.
Last year, TC's then-CEO John Biggs stated in a New York Times article that he would support setting up a new fund that moves in this direction if there was sufficient financial interest. We have now gathered over $16 million in pledges from over 600 individuals who have committed to transfer some of their current TC retirement assets should the fund materialize! At TC's last annual meeting, we announced the pledges received and TC officials said they would consider our proposal. HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
(1) CONTACT TC to voice support for the proposed fund, even if you have called before; note one or more of these components (1) community development investment; (2) social venture capital; (3) stock in particularly responsible small companies; and (4) socially responsible shareholder advocacy (the web page has details). Let them know about your TC membership, money pledge (if you did), and affiliation,. Call CEO Herbert Allison at 800-842-2733; 212-490-9000 (ask for him and leave a message with his assistant). Also, a petition is available at the first web site below.
(2) VISIT http://www.manchester.edu/academic/programs/departments/peace_studies/fund/ <<~~DLNK0.URL>> to learn more about the proposed fund and to make a pledge. For campaign background/history visit http://www.manchester.edu/academic/programs/departments/peace_studies/njw/
(3) FORWARD THIS MESSAGE with a short personal endorsement to listserves, organizations, and your colleagues nationally.
Contact us to receive campaign updates about every two weeks. And let us know of any actions you take and TC's response. Thanks so much,
Neil Wollman and Abby Fuller
P.S. You may have read in TC's August 2002 Participant magazine that they finally made certain changes, for which we lobbied, in their current socially responsible fund. But much is still lacking and unfortunately TC seems to be stonewalling again. They recently urged us to file a shareholder resolution--a disingenuous suggestion, we believe, as they know the great difficulty of gaining a majority vote on company-opposed resolutions. Interest has already been expressed via money pledges, calls, and a survey TC previously conducted.

Addendum
Looking towards the next TC annual meeting in November, you might want to consider filing a shareholder resolution. Beyond social responsibility concerns, there has been of course, a large outcry for better corporate governance in the aftermath of corporate scandals (CEO salaries, independence of trustees/auditors, transparency, etc.). Neil is associated with a small group that had a hand in several resolutions filed last year. Here are the details:
- It only requires 500 words and gives a chance for your cause to potentially be read by 2 million participants, as well as discussed at the annual meeting.
- The deadline for submitting is June 7 (email is fine and we have details for doing so).
- You or a representative, which we could likely provide if necessary, needs to be at the meeting in NYC November 13 to present the resolution.
SOCIAL CHOICE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE:
Campaign for a New TIAA-CREF
A call to invest Social Choice Account assets
in companies and community development institutions
that are models of social and environmental responsibility
Dear TC Colleagues,
As previously noted, we have restarted campaign efforts.
--> By the next update, there will likely be an event or two we can report on.
--> By then you will also have received a separate message about contacting TC and the strategy, again, of pledging money for our proposed new fund.
--> We have also begun, along with a couple of TC coalition allies, to make calls to media. Much of our efforts here involve work with the entire TC coalition. That seems fine with our coordinating committee because of the important goals of coalition groups. It is inspiring to work with, be appreciated by, and help some of these prominent national activist groups. We will, of course, be doing some things alone for our positive investing effort.
--> Let us know if you are interested in contacting/visiting with TC trustees, especially those on relevant investment committees. Several supporters have already volunteered to do so. We intend to start with dialogue and only adopt more confrontational tactics if we continue to be stonewalled. Thus, if you are in or have colleagues in Atlanta, Lansing (Michigan State Univ.), Boston, DC , Chicago, or NYC and might help along these lines, please let us know. (Of course, you need only do what you feel comfortable with and have time for.)
Thanks,
Abby and Neil
Neil Wollman and Abigail Fuller, Co-Chairs
MC Box 135, Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
(260) 982-5346
nwollman@bentley.edu