Top Proxy Voting Advisors Recommend Teamsters' Country Selection Criteria Proposal at Chevron
RiskMetrics Group, PROXY Governance Support Transparency on Chevron's Country Risks Assessments
WASHINGTON, May 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In recent reports, two leading independent proxy advisory firms -- RiskMetrics Group and PROXY Governance, Inc. -- recommended shareholders vote for the Teamsters' shareholder proposal calling on Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) to disclose the criteria under which it starts and ends investments in high-risk countries such as Burma. The proposal, listed as item No. 8 on the proxy card, goes to a vote at Chevron's May 27, 2009 annual meeting of shareholders.
"We're very pleased that both RiskMetrics Group and PROXY Governance, Inc. are supporting our call for Chevron to be transparent about the standards it uses to assess high-risk countries for potential or continued investment," said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer C. Thomas Keegel. "Chevron's decisions related to Burma -- whose ruling military regime is notorious for brutal human rights violations -- expose the company to staggering risks and raise questions about the adequacy of Chevron's current country selection criteria."
Chevron, in partnership with Total of France, the Petroleum Authority of Thailand, and Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise, holds equity in the largest investment project in Burma: the Yadana gas-field and pipeline, which is reportedly the single largest source of income for the Burmese military regime.
Through its stake in the Yadana project, Chevron has exposed the company to extraordinary legal and financial risks arising from litigation for human rights abuses, the risk of expropriation or impairment of assets by the Burmese military regime, and substantial reputation and political risks that could affect Chevron's bottom line. Chevron also does business in other high-risk countries, including Angola, Kazakhstan, and Nigeria.
Chevron's current country selection criteria are opaque, and investors lack the information they need to evaluate Chevron's in-country risk oversight procedures and make informed choices regarding Chevron's governance.
Co-filers joining the Teamsters' demand for disclosure include the AFL-CIO, Ms. Adelaide Gomer, The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, Mercy Investment Program, Newground Social Investment, the Unitarian Universalist Association, and the Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters
CONTACT: Galen Munroe of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters,
+1-202-624-6904, gmunroe@teamster.org
Web Site: http://www.teamster.org/
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18 May 2009
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Top Proxy Voting Advisors Recommend Teamsters' Country Selection Criteria Proposal at Chevron
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