Stop The Secrecy! Working Family Activists to Target Fidelity Retail Outlets
Nationwide December 4

Working family activists across the country will leaflet outside Fidelity retail outlets in more than 20 cities Wednesday December 4 as part of nationwide actions against Fidelity Investments. Activists are demanding that Fidelity drop its opposition to a proposed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule that will require mutual funds to disclose their proxy votes. The SEC agreed with the AFL-CIO that mutual fund companies be required to disclose how they vote their clients' shares in corporate proxy issues.

Grassroots events are scheduled to take place in Scottsdale, AZ; Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Denver, CO; Seattle, WA; Tampa, FL; Houston, TX, San Antonio, TX; Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; New York City; Washington, DC; Portland, ME; Pittsburgh, PA; Stamford, CT; West Hartford, CT; Chicago, IL; Indianapolis, IN, St. Louis, MO; Minneapolis, MN; Cincinnati, OH.

Consumers and working family activists want to know "What is Fidelity Hiding?" Fidelity is the world's largest mutual fund company and has been a top shareholder of many scandal-ridden companies including Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, Qwest, Halliburton and Kmart. Fidelity continues to oppose the rule change despite a national public outcry. Fidelity manages a total of $1.5 trillion in assets.

"It is ludicrous for the nation's largest mutual fund to hide shareholder votes from their own investors," said John J. Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO. "Consumers will no longer tolerate companies that use their voting power to support outrageous CEO pay packages and conflicts of interest on board of directors and audit committees."

The AFL-CIO is calling for swift adoption and implementation of the rule change. Investors are being urged to contact their Fidelity fund representative to demand voting disclosure or e-mail the SEC at www.aflcio.org/fidelitydisclose. The SEC comment period for the proposed rule change ends Friday December 6, 2002.

For the past two years the AFL-CIO has called for mutual fund companies to disclose proxy votes. In July, the AFL-CIO and allies led a demonstration in Boston, Fidelity's national headquarters, and demanded that Fidelity reveal its record on shareholder votes. Too often mutual funds companies have rubber-stamped management actions with their votes to avoid jeopardizing lucrative contracts with the firms in which they invest, creating a conflict of interest that has outraged investors.

The AFL-CIO represents 13 million working men and women and manages $400 billion of pension money for its members.

For Information Contact: Suzanne Ffolkes (202) 637-5279