ISS backs Teamsters union over motion 22 at National Express AGM 5 May 2015

Check out  Tom at "Labour & Capital" about some rare and sensible support about encouraging a company to do the right thing for workers, customers (school children in this case) and shareholders.

"Big news tonight (29.4.15) - the FT has reported that the major proxy voting adviser ISS has recommended that shareholders vote FOR Resolution 22 at the National Express AGM next week. PIRC has also recommended a vote in favour.

Resolution 22 calls on the board to commission an independent review of practice in Durham School Services, its US business. This follows repeated complaints from employees about management interference with workplace rights.

To my knowledge, there have been six shareholder resolutions at UK companies in the past ten years that focused on labour rights in one way or another. I don't think ISS has previously recommended a vote for any of them, so this marks a significant shift.

Many large shareholders may share the ISS view that the review proposed in the resolution is not an onerous demand. They may also feel that the board has allowed this issue to drag on for long enough, and action needs to be taken to address it and then move on.

Anyway, it set things up nicely for next Wednesday's AGM."

"Broken Commitments, Vulnerable Workers" - Human rights violations by National Express PLC

Find out below what happened when two British MPs were invited by low paid and exploited workers to find out how they were treated by their British owned employers. 

On May 6 it will the National Express AGM. If you have a funded pension or insurance policy contact your administrators and urge them to make sure that their fund manager supports resolution 22. 

"Ian Lavery and Jim Sheridan went on a fact-finding mission to to investigate labour rights violations at National Express Group operations in the United States.

We embarked on our trip to the United States to learn first-hand about UK based National Express Group’s North American school bus subsidiary – Durham School Services. We endeavoured to hear from Durham school bus workers and management, parents, school board of education members, elected officials, community organizations, labour relations experts and trade union representatives. 

While we went to Charleston, South Carolina and Memphis, Tennessee we also spoke with Durham workers from Jacksonville and Santa Rosa County, Florida; Grey’s Lake, Illinois; and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Based on our investigation we produced a report and also set forth recommendations to address the deep concerns we have with Durham School Services.

Click here to download a copy of the full report."

See previous post here

National Express - Union busters and Blacklisters?

On 14 May it is the Annual General Meeting of British PLC National Express.

US transport trade union, the Teamsters, are calling for share owners to vote for Resolution 22 which calls for "improved oversight and reporting of human capital policies and practices". 

This relates to an ongoing dispute with the US School bus business owned by National Express called Durham School Services. 

While in the UK National Express has on the whole a positive relationship with British trade unions,  in the US it has allowed local managers to be trade union busters and blacklisters. This has a reputational risk to the brand and value of National Express. Especially when trade union members have been victimised for exposing health and safety concerns. 

In the UK there has been a campaign to "Blacklist the Blacklisters"  and to boycott companies in the UK who blacklisted workers for their trade union activism. 

I note in the US that National Express has been accused of "disparate treatment, discipline and discharge of employees engaged in union organizing; alleged illegal surveillance of workers engaged in union activity; and allegedly threatening workers with reduction in benefits, working conditions and the loss of employment for supporting unionization".

I think this is also Blacklisting and National Express runs the risk that they will be added to British list to be boycotted by responsible public and local authorities.

Check out this post I did last year on the risk to our pension investments from investing in National Express. Didn't the huge losses we took from investing in BP teach us anything? 

Picture above is of US School bus driver, Diane Bence, explaining to a meeting last month of Pension trustees and journalists, how awful it is to be employed by a bullying, disrespectful employer who takes risks with children's safety. 

On the left was Louis Malizia from the Teamsters who pointed out that if National Express wanted to expand in the US then they will have to compete for contracts in areas which have strong trade union membership. If they are seen as "anti-trade union" then it will make it much harder for them to win contracts from local School boards.  By being so anti-union they are cutting their nose to spite their face.

This meeting was chaired by Cllr Kieran Quinn (middle) who chairs the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum. He pointed out that he had asked National Express to publish their safety data if they have nothing to hide? But they keep ignoring his questions. 

I said at this meeting that this failure indicates a wider governance concern about the Board of National Express. Surely after the BP Gulf disaster investors need to wake up to the risk from investing in such companies?

UPDATE: sign the ShareAction petition here

National Express & the pension fund risk of it killing American children?

This morning I went to a breakfast seminar in London run by the North American transport trade union the Teamsters. This was before the start of the annual Pension Governance conference run by PIRC

The collection and return home of school children by the iconic yellow buses is a huge business in the USA.  There are 500,000 such buses transporting 24 million students per day.

What the Teamsters are concerned about is the USA arm of the British listed transport Company National Express (Durham School Services).

Which is accused of not only treating its school bus drivers very poorly as employees but also consistently breaks health and safety rules for its staff and student passengers. Who often have to endure overcrowded, badly maintained and potentially unsafe buses.

The Teamsters had brought two of their actual yellow school bus drivers to the UK to speak to us about the awful, bullying, nasty and unsafe work practices they have to endure. They told us first hand of their unacceptable experiences while working for National Express in the United States.

Not only were they treated with contempt and disrespect by their management, it is also clear that the safety of drivers and the children is at risk due to overcrowding, defective and poorly maintained equipment, worn tyres and drivers forced to work despite being ill.

The National Express model is to win school bus contracts by the lowest price tender and then make profits by cutting wages and maintenance to the bone and beyond.

This is a disaster waiting to happen. Apart from the absolute morale argument that we do not want   companies we invest in on behalf of our pension scheme members to act in such a way, nor do we want them to face the risk of legal or even criminal action.  There is also ongoing financial reputational risk to the company for being such a poor and irresponsible employer.

The USA has a reputation as a litigious Country. If there was to be a mass tragedy on a yellow school bus which had been previously reported to be unsafe or if the driver was sick but had been forced to work to save his job you will expect at the least a massive law suit.

The experience of the disaster in the Gulf with BP tells us that safety should be a key issue for UK pension trustees. As asset owners it is in our own long term interests to contact our fund managers and make sure that they investigate these complaints.  Then they need to take action against National Express to make it act in a responsible and safe way.