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Interfaith Center For Corporate Responsibility: Celebrating A Legacy And Renewing A Promise! October 12th, 2011

Seamus Finn’s latest blog on Huffington Post looks at the 40 year legacy of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR):

“In 1971 a small group of believers decided to establish the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility to facilitate and coordinate their efforts to engage and challenge US corporations who had a presence in South Africa. The apartheid system of government was already well entrenched and they were searching for tools and opportunities that could join the chorus of advocates that were working to dismantle the apartheid system. Their objective was very simple; ask and advocate that US companies withdraw from South Africa and therefore deprive the government of any of the products or tax revenues that enabled their system of government to continue.”

Read the blog…

Oblates Celebrate ICCR’s 40th Anniversary! September 29th, 2011

The group representing the Oblates at the ICCR 40th Anniversary event held in New York on September 22, 2011 from left to right are: Anne Van Dyke; Andrew Small, OMI; George Ngolwe; Seamus Finn, OMI; Christina Herman; Mary O'Herron; Daniel LeBlanc, OMI.

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility celebrates its 40th Anniversary this year. The Oblate JPIC staff, which is deeply engaged in the work of faith-based shareholder advocacy, joined in the celebration which followed a week of strategizing on issues as diverse as human trafficking, immigration, mining, responsible finance, water and access to medicines.

ICCR and IAF Community Organizers Join Forces Against Foreclosures September 16th, 2011

Interfaith Center on Corporate responsibility (ICCR) members, including the Missionary Oblates, have been working with Metro Industrial Areas Foundation affiliates to get Bank of America & Wells Fargo to take action on foreclosure issues in Prince William County, VA and Milwaukee, WI. This collaboration has produced results:

In Milwaukee, CommonGround, Metro IAF’s affiliate has organized successfully, forcing banks including Wells Fargo and Bank of America to commit $15.2 million to finance blight removal, a 100+ new Nehemiah homes development, and jobs in the Sherman Park neighborhood hard hit by foreclosure.
In Prince William County, VA, Metro IAF’s affiliate, VOICE, organized and directly confronted Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan at the 2011 annual shareholders meeting. This resulted in Bank of America senior leadership requiring reform of loan modification practices that has resulted in 250 backlogged modifications being resolved. Bank executives also committed to negotiate on VOICE’s demands that Bank of America fund housing counselors and reinvest hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild Prince William County neighborhoods devastated by foreclosures.

VOICE is organizing a 1,000 person public action on Sunday, October 30th with Senator Mark Warner (Senate Banking Committee) and bank officials.

Watch this moving video of an anti-foreclosure rally organized by VOICE in Northern Virginia last April:

Help Celebrate ICCR’s 40th Anniversary! August 12th, 2011

Please join us in New York on September 22nd for ICCR’s Special Anniversary event!

ICCR Members call for Corporate Governance Reform at News Corp August 9th, 2011

In the wake of the Newscorp scandal, faith-based investors – led by Christian Brothers Investment Services – are calling for corporate governance reform at the media giant. In a letter sent on Friday to Sir Roderick I. Eddington, News Corp.’s lead independent director, expressing concern about Mr. Murdoch remaining chairman and CEO as well as other governance issues. The signers “will support the ‘floor’ resolution” to split the roles, said Father Seamus Finn, a board member of the association of faith-based institutional investors.