Hello my name is Gary Guralny and I am the President of the DuPont Union Council, part of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical, and Energy Workers International Union (PACE).  I am also the president of PACE local 1-6992 in Buffalo New York and have been a DuPont employee for 20 years.  I am speaking on behalf of PACE’s shareholder proposal regarding human rights in the workplace.

Our proposal urges the DuPont board of directors to adopt and implement an enforceable company wide human rights policy based on the International Labor Organizations (the ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.  The ILO is a United Nations specialized agency which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labor rights. The proposal’s aim is to limit monetary and long term damage from Dupont’s labor practices that can harm shareholder value.

Adopting the ILO principles is essential to maintaining shareholder value since DuPont is currently subject to potentially huge costs for labor law violations.  Many international corporations have stated their support for the principles of the ILO Declaration and have taken steps to implement their commitment to uphold workplace human rights. Just recently, ExxonMobil agreed to incorporate the ILO Declaration into its Corporate Citizenship Report.

 DuPont has been cited for several workplace human rights violations in the United States.  In December 2003 a federal judge of the National Labor Relations Board ruled DuPont committed “serious unfair labor practices” in Buffalo, N.Y. The NLRB recently issued another major complaint against DuPont in Louisville, Ky.  The NLRB is expected to rule soon in Niagara Falls, N.Y., regarding DuPont’s failure to bargain in good faith with union representatives.  The potential cost to the company and shareholders could easily exceed $20 to $30 million based on the company’s conviction and DuPont’s decision to engage in lengthy appeals. 

 In December 2003, CEO Chad Holliday announced he was moving DuPont’s “center of gravity” to overseas markets "like China, India, and Central Europe."  DuPont faces potentially high risks that it could be associated with workplace human rights violations because of its operations in countries where, according to the U.S. Department of State and Amnesty International, labor and human rights are not adequately protected in law and/or practice.  Adherence to the ILO policy could prevent similar labor violations wherever DuPont operates world wide.

 For these reasons I urge you to vote FOR our shareholders resolution. 

For more information please e-mail Gary Guralny & Shawn Gilchrist
Last updated 11/20/2006