For the first time in its history, the multinational delivery and courier services company, FedEx, has had a shareholder resolution presented at its annual meeting regarding the company’s fair employment in Israel/Palestine.

On Monday, September 26 at FedEx Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in its national headquarters, Memphis, TN., the company was asked to sign and implement the Holy Land Principles.

The Holy Land Principles — an 8-point corporate code of conduct for American companies doing business in Palestine/Israel— are pro-Jewish, pro-Palestinian and pro-company. The Principles do not call for quotas, reverse discrimination, disinvestment/divestment or boycotts—only for fair employment by American companies. The Principles are based on the very effective Mac Bride Principles, which have powerfully advanced fair employment for Catholics in Northern Ireland. Please visit HolyLandPrinciples.org for more information. In particular, view the Animated Internet Video, which presents the issue in a very compelling way. It is the big existential question for American companies in the Holy Land that no longer can be ignored.

Fr. Sean Mc Manus— President of the Capitol Hill-based Holy Land Principles. Inc. and Irish National Caucus— said: “Shareholder resolutions, as we’ve come to know them, sprouted in 1972 and, since then, they have become almost compulsory for the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) community, for faith-based justice and peace communities and for all those concerned with Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) issues. We say our only modest claim is that Holy Land Principles are filling a vacuum that was crying out to be filled. FedEx proves our claim. It was founded in 1971, yet September 26 was the very first time a resolution was presented regarding their fair employment in Palestine/Israel. How extraordinary is that. Talk about the elephant in the (board) room!”

Fr. Manus continued: “But FedEx is not the only case. Indeed, that was par for the course with all the American companies doing business in the Israel/Palestine. Until we launched the Holy Land Principles on International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2012, none of the 545 American companies doing business there had ever been confronted with the issue of their fair employment. (Oxygen Biotherapeutics, now called Tenax Therapeutics has signed the Holy Land Principles on February 1, 2013).

The Resolution on FedEx received over 4 Million votes, 4,423,358 (2.63%) with 41,937,491 abstentions. At close of business on September 27th, the value of FedEx shares was $177.30. So the value of the share votes for Holy Land Principles represents $784,261,373.40. The value of abstentions was $7,435,517,154.30. Therefore, the combined total of money not supporting FedEx was over $8 Billon ($8,219,778,527.70) and, therefore, a total of 46,360,849 votes not supporting FedEx.

Fr. Mc Manus concluded: “Of course, the vote for the Holy Land Principles would have been much larger had this issue not been so flagrantly and disgracefully ignored by the American media over all these years, and neglected, too, by the American public— consumers, stakeholders and shareholders, especially the faith-based and SRI communities.”

Next year Holy Land Principles, Inc. will file a Resolution calling on FedEx to disclose the breakdown of its workforce, using the nine job categories which are utilized in the U.S. Department of Labor's EEO -1 Report (Equal Employment Opportunity): 1. Officials and managers; 2. Professionals; 3. Technicians; 4. Sales; 5. Office and clerical; 6. Craft Workers (skilled); 7. Operatives (semiskilled); 8. Laborers (unskilled); 9. Service workers."

Holy Land Principles, Inc

Holy Land Principles, Inc

HOLY LAND PRINCIPLES,Inc., dedicated to getting the 545 American companies doing business in Palestine-Israel to sign the Holy Land Principles.

The Holy Land Principles are pro-Jewish, pro-Palestinian and pro-company.

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