Tell International Rescue Committee: Demand more of BlackRock and Larry Fink
Board of Directors and executive staff of International Rescue Committee
Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, has worked hard to cultivate the idea that he and BlackRock can be relied upon as crusaders for corporate social responsibility.
They certainly have that power given BlackRock’s position as the world’s largest asset manager, with major ownership stakes in a huge range of corporations. They’re uniquely positioned to confront bad corporate actors and reign in their behavior.
So it might seem fitting that the International Rescue Committee, a global non-profit fighting for the rights and interests of refugees, is planning to give Mr. Fink a distinguished humanitarian award this week.
But here’s the problem: BlackRock’s actions are far out of line from Mr. Fink’s rhetoric, and specifically regarding the cause of refugees.
Even though Mr. Fink proclaimed in January that corporations “must serve a social purpose,” BlackRock has repeatedly failed to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for exacerbating climate change—a growing cause of forced migration. The company has also failed to hold private prison companies accountable for preying upon, and raking in profits on the backs of, asylum-seeking refugees.
If the International Rescue Committee is going to proceed with its award to Larry Fink, it should use the occasion to call on him to explain publicly how he and BlackRock will use the company’s voting power to actually create climate accountability and protect refugees.
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To:
Board of Directors and executive staff of International Rescue Committee
From:
[Your Name]
We were disappointed to learn that the International Rescue Committee plans to recognize Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, with the John C. Whitehead Humanitarian Award at its 2018 Rescue Dinner, on November 1. IRC provides humanitarian services to refugees and others “whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster.” While BlackRock and Mr. Fink are clearly in a position to help those that IRC seeks to protect, their actions tell a very different story.
BlackRock clearly has the ability to confront the behavior of bad corporate actors given its position as a major shareholder in most public companies. Yet it has repeatedly failed to hold accountable those in the fossil fuel and private prison industries that are harming the lives and welfare of refugees.
Climate change is expected to drive staggering migrations throughout the 21st century—estimates range from 25 million to one billion people by 2050. But despite a professed commitment to address climate change, BlackRock routinely torpedoes shareholder resolutions calling for action on climate change at large cap fossil fuel companies.
BlackRock has also voted to re-elect US fossil-fuel company directors 99% of the time this year, despite the failure of those companies to commit to meaningful climate mitigation and enact reasonable reforms. In doing so, BlackRock is sending a clear message to energy and utility companies undermining effective climate action—you can do whatever you want, and we won’t get in your way.
BlackRock is also a major investor in private prison companies that exacerbate and profit off the misery of detained asylum-seekers, like GEO Group and CoreCivic. Both companies have a history of humanitarian problems at their facilities, and just this month, the Los Angeles Times reported widespread abusive practices and refugee suicide attempts at a GEO-operated immigration detention facility.
Mr. Fink has not said a word publicly about the longstanding abuses of this industry, and in 2018 BlackRock voted to re-elect every single director at both GEO and CoreCivic. BlackRock even helped block a resolution that would have given GEO shareholders more power to hold the company accountable.
With this in mind, we are calling on you to use the awards ceremony to call on Larry Fink to commit to using BlackRock’s immense voting power and influence to support transparency and accountability in companies whose activities make the migrant crisis worse.