Corporate Investors Target Labor, Political Spending in 2024

By Clara Hudson, December 22, 2023

• Activists push for labor rights in next proxy season

• Pressure on corporate donations coincides with presidential election

Labor rights, pay equity and political contributions are poised to take center stage at corporate annual meetings in 2024.

Shareholder proposals on workers’ rights are building on the momentum of a burgeoning labor movement, while proposals on political spending will see renewed attention as the presidential race gathers speed. The drive is especially notable considering that support for environmental, social and governance proposals took a hit overall this year, with an average of about 22% support down from 33% in 2021, according to a post-proxy season analysis from the Sustainable Investments Institute.

Following a labor-related win at Starbucks’ annual meeting in March, proposals voicing concerns about companies’ commitments to workers’ rights to organize are gearing up for their second year on the corporate ballot at annual investor meetings. And after Kroger investors passed a pay equity proposal in June, expect more companies to be urged to disclose additional details about how they pay women and minorities.

The shareholder momentum concerning how companies treat their employees coincides with highly publicized allegations of labor violations at companies including Starbucks, as well as worker pushback on pay transparency alongside a wave of state salary transparency laws.

“I think it’s undeniable at this exact moment that the labor rights issues are salient to almost every company,” said Kyle Seeley, head of stewardship at the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

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