February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
“The New York City Pension Funds have once again used the leverage of their share ownership to successfully spur change in how companies conduct business in Northern Ireland,” Liu said.
“There is no place for discrimination of any sort in the workplace. By adopting the MacBride Principles, Art Technology has affirmed its commitment to promoting fair work practices. I look forward to working closely with the trustees of the (pension) systems in advocating for more companies to adopt these very important principles,” Liu added.
The resolution was filed in December, 2009 by Liu’s predecessor, Comptroller William Thompson, on behalf of the pension funds, and was officially withdrawn by Comptroller Liu after he was notified that Art Technology had agreed to adopt MacBride. Collectively, the New York City Pension Funds hold 721,464 shares of Art Technology Group common stock, valued at $3,123,939 (as of March 9, 2010).
The resolution called on Art Technology to adopt the anti-discrimination guidelines named in 1984 after the late Irish statesman, Nobel laureate, and founder of Amnesty International, Sean MacBride, to serve as benchmarks for U.S. corporations operating in Northern Ireland.
Over the past 18 years, the New York City Pension Funds have successfully reached MacBride-based agreements with 93 companies with facilities in the North.
The New York City Pension Funds are comprised of the New York Employees’ Retirement System, New York City Teachers’ Retirement System, New York City Police Pension Fund, New York City Fire Department Pension Fund, and the New York City Board of Education Retirement System.