Holy Land Principles to Face Cisco Again

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The shareholder campaign forges ahead to hold American companies doing business in Israel/Palestine accountable for their fair employment.

The campaign launched in 2012 is the first time ever that the companies were faced with this issue, even though larges numbers of Shareholder Resolutions have been filed since 1972 on all sorts of other SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) issues. These issues and concerns are commonly summed up as Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).

The Holy Land Principles — an 8-point corporate code of conduct for American companies doing business in Palestine/Israel— are pro-Jewish, pro-Palestinian and pro-company. The Principles do not call for quotas, reverse discrimination, disinvestment/divestment or boycotts—only for fair employment by American companies. The Principles are based on the very effective Mac Bride Principles, which have powerfully advanced fair employment for Catholics in Northern Ireland. Please visit HolyLandPrinciples.org for more information. In particular, view the Animated Internet Video, which presents the issue in a very compelling way. It is the big existential question for American companies in the Holy Land that no longer can be ignored.

Fr. Sean McManus— President of the Capitol Hill-based Holy Land Principles, Inc. and Irish National Caucus— said: "The FedEx annual meeting is on Monday, September 26 at 8 AM (Central time) in Memphis, TN. Our Resolution will call on FedEx to sign the Holy Land Principles.

Cisco Resolution — the heart of the matter

Fr. McManus continued: "However, our Cisco Resolution for the Annual Meeting sometime in November 2016, calls on Cisco —at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information—to disclose the breakdown of its workforce in Palestine/Israel using the nine job categories which are utilized in the U.S. Department of Labor's EEO -1 Report (Equal Employment Opportunity): 1.Officials and managers; 2. Professionals; 3. Technicians; 4. Sales; 5. Office and clerical; 6. Craft Workers (skilled); 7. Operatives (semiskilled); 8. Laborers (unskilled); 9. Service workers." (See text of Resolution: http://www.holylandprinciples.org/cisco-shareholder-resolution-for-2016/).

Fr. McManus explained: "Cisco proclaims that it is proud of its fair employment in Israel/Palestine. Now we are providing them with a way to verify, following the adage of President Reagan, 'Trust but verify.' Surely, this is an eminently reasonable request to make of Cisco? How could Cisco reasonably refuse? This Resolution is also entirely consistent with the Ruggie Principles, which Cisco says it endorses."

Barbara Flaherty— Executive Vice President of Holy Land Principles, Inc. said: "The following eight Resolutions were filed in July for 2017: Coca-Cola, Corning, General Electric, General Motors, Intel, McDonald's, Pepsi, and UPS. And after September 15, the following 16 will be filed for 2017: 3M, Alphabet (Google), Apple, AT&T, Boeing, Caterpillar, Crawford &Co, ECM, Estee Lauder, FedEx, Lockheed Martin, Marriott, Marsh and McLennan, Pfizer, Proctor & Gamble, and Xerox. Additionally, after the Cisco meeting in November 2016, we will file yet again with Cisco for 2017."

Nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come

Fr. Mc Manus concluded: "We set out to fill a vacuum that was crying out to be filled. It is unconscionable that fair employment by American companies in Israel/Palestine was studiously ignored ever since Shareholder Resolutions became popular and, indeed, almost de rigueur—  especially by the faith-based and SRI community. Now our 25 Resolutions for 2017 help to redeem that sad negligence. We look forward to gaining the support of all shareholders, consumers and stakeholders. The Holy Land Principles can promote fair employment in American companies in Palestine/ Israel just as our Mac Bride Principles promote fair employment in the American companies doing business in Northern Ireland. The Holy Land Principles will continue to grow and flourish, because nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come."

NOTE OF INTEREST: Fr. McManus appears in the critically acclaimed documentary film, "Bobby Sands:66 DAYS", now showing in Ireland and soon to be shown in the USA. Fr. Mc Manus' role is to explain the American reaction to the 1981 Hunger Strike in which Bobby Sands and his nine colleagues died. Bobby Sands survived for 66 Days, dying on May 5. Fr. Mc Manus himself did a 12-day hunger strike outside the British Embassy in Washington, coming off his hunger strike when Sands died. For more information visit 66daysthefilm.com

Fr. Sean Mc Manus
President
Holy Land Principles. Inc.
Irish National Caucus, Inc.
P.O. BOX 15128
Capitol Hill
Washington, DC 20003-0849
Tel. 202-488-0107
Fax. 202-488-7537
[email protected]

SOURCE Holy Land Principles

Related Links

http://www.HolyLandPrinciples.org