New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has written to the CEO's of a number of major U.S. corporations asking them what their companies have done to "eliminate ethnic or religious discrimination" in their operations in Northern Ireland.
Such elimination would be based on the application in the various workplaces of the MacBride Principles on Fair Employment.
The letters, all identical, were sent to the CEO's of sixteen U.S. companies doing business in Northern Ireland.
The recipients of the letter are Amazon, Sysco Corp., PPG Industries, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Crawford & Company, 3M Company, Xerox Holdings Corp., Stericycle Inc., News Corp., FedEx Corp., Crane NXT Co., The Estee Lauder Companies Inc., RTX Corp., McDonald's Corp., Ecolab Inc., and Caterpillar Inc.
Stated Di Napoli in his letter: "I write as Trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund (CRF), one of the largest public pension funds in the United States, which holds and invests the assets of the New York State and Local Retirement on behalf of its 1.2 million members, retirees, and beneficiaries. As a shareholder of Amazon, I am writing in accordance with New York State Law, to determine the existence of actions being taken by Amazon to eliminate ethnic or religious discrimination in Northern Ireland.
"Employment discrimination negatively impacts workforce recruitment and retention, stifles growth, and threatens long-term value. Companies operating in Northern Ireland can take proactive measures to address underrepresentation and promote equality of opportunity for individuals from all religious backgrounds in order to avoid these negative effects.
"I am requesting that Amazon provide a response confirming adherence to the MacBride Principles, including company policies and specific efforts to: 1) increase the representation of individuals from underrepresented religious groups in your workforce including managerial, supervisory, and technical positions: and 2) provide a safe, inclusive workplace free from discrimination and the display of provocative religious or political emblems."
DiNapoli concluded by thanking each CEO for paying attention to his letter and stating that he was looking forward to a response.
