NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer announced the launch of a shareholder initiative aimed at CBS and Alphabet to end certain allegedly exploitative employment practices via the submittal by the NYC Funds of proposals that call for the companies' adoption of a policy prohibiting engagement in "Inequitable Employment Practices" consisting of mandatory arbitration, non-competes, NDAs and no-poaching agreements.
Stringer commented:
When big corporations force their workers to sign away basic rights, investors have to fight back. These fine print agreements have damaging consequences for workers, investors, and the public. Mandatory arbitration and forced non-disclosure silence workers and keep misconduct in the shadows. No-poaching agreements and non-competes can suppress pay and keep employees from leaving hostile workplaces. As investors, these exploitative practices aren't just wrong on a human level, they have a wide impact on our broader economy.
Over the last two years, on issues from sexual assault to shameless exploitation that endangers workers, brave whistleblowers have sounded the alarm on how the deck is stacked against working people. Corporations and boards of directors that continue to rely on the forced silencing of their employees are creating long-term reputational and regulatory risks for their companies and their investors. We're committed to using our power as shareowners to unstack the deck, improve accountability, and position these companies for sustained growth.
As previously reported, earlier this year, CtW Investment Group launched an initiative seeking to engage approximately 30 portfolio companies - including CBS and Alphabet - to address its concerns about these employment practices.
This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!