FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Joe Drexler, PACE
Special Projects Director, (cell) 615/ 594?2074, (o) 303/282?9521
Jim Pannell, PACE
Administrative Vice President, (o) 615/831?6719
PACE
International Union Announces Support for Shareholder
Resolution
To Split Power of ExxonMobil Chief
Nashville, Tenn., May 8,
2003?The Paper, Allied?Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International
Union (PACE), which represents over 30,000 oil workers nationwide, today
announced its support of the shareholder resolution submitted by Robert
Monks of Ram Trust Services to be voted on at this year's ExxonMobil (NYSE:
XOM) shareholders meeting. The resolution asks shareholders to approve
the establishment of separate CEO and chairman positions concurrently held
by one person.
"ExxonMobil
already epitomizes concentrated power in the world, and allowing one person
to hold both CEO and chairman positions lacks accountability and is bad
for shareholders, bad for employees and bad for the public," said PACE
Director of Special Projects Joe Drexler. "Current Chairman and CEO Lee
Raymond offers a showcase of how too much power under one person can inflict
enormous reputational damage on a corporation that could harm shareholder
value in the long?run. "
Under
Raymond, ExxonMobil has become the target of numerous shareholder, environmental,
human rights, gay/lesbian and labor groups for its practices. A
major boycott of ExxonMobil is in place in the United Kingdom, France and
other European countries. According to PACE, statements made by Raymond
have further incited hostilities against ExxonMobil, and it appears that
no one inside the company has challenged him.
"Perhaps
one step toward ExxonMobil becoming a more humane company is to provide
a check and balance on power at the top, and that's what a splitting of
Raymond's position and having an independent chairman will do," said Administrative
Vice President Jim Pannell.
PACE
recently criticized ExxonMobil for its growing anti?union behavior. The
union identified Raymond as being behind the hostilities, particularly
in Baytown, Tex., and Baton Rouge, La., where 2,500 PACE members work in
refineries, chemical plants and laboratories.
"Raymond
is creating allies among groups that don't always work together to confront
ExxonMobil's power, instead of trying to correct the company's practices,"
said Gary Beevers, PACE region six representative and coordinator of the
ExxonMobil union council.
PACE
represents approximately 5,000 ExxonMobil workers throughout the country.
Most of these workers have significant stock holdings in ExxonMobil. PACE
is encouraging union members to support all of the I I resolutions submitted
by shareholders, even though the union has placed its major emphasis on
its support for separate CEO and chairman positions. The union also asked
members to vote against the two shareholder proposals submitted by ExxonMobil's
board of directors.
Monk's
shareholder resolution to split power at the top is included in this year's
"Key Votes Survey" conducted annually by the AFL?CIO Office of Investment.
The survey is used to monitor how investment managers vote on resolutions
of concern to labor unions. Union?sponsored pension funds make up $400
billion of assets and are significantly invested in the U.S. stock market.
PACE
International Union represents over 320,000 workers in the paper, oil,
chemical, automotive parts, atomic energy, industrial minerals, grain processing,
and cement industries. For further information on PACE and ExxonMobil,
see www.paceunion.org. ###
