Thursday, August 23, 2007

Teamsters Call Iran a Bad Bet

Teamster boss James Hoffa is jumping into the Iran-divestment movement, urging the union’s pensions funds to shed all shares they own in companies doing business in Iran.

In a letter set to go out on Thursday to more than 170 fund managers, Hoffa cites the recent crackdown in Iran on top labor leaders and widespread allegations that Iran is arming and training insurgents in Iraq as reasons why fund managers should “give consideration to divesting” in Iran-related shares. The Teamsters’ pension funds amount to about $110 billion.

A number of states, including Florida, Missouri and California, have passed legislation to rid their public pension funds of shares in companies active in Iran. The Senate next month is expected to take up a bill, already passed by the House, to protect fund managers from shareholder lawsuits after they divest, and to force the government to provide a list of companies with investments over $20 million in Iran’s energy sector.

Some local unions, such as the AFL-CIO in Florida, have backed state divestment movements recently, but the Teamsters — with about 1.4 million members and 400,000 pensioners — are the first to take a stance at the national level. “I believe divesting investments in companies linked to Iran is not only the patriotic thing to do, but a wise investment strategy,” Hoffa writes.

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