Shareholder challenge to Thomson Reuters over ICE contracts wins only slim support

By Ross Kerber

June 10 (Reuters) – A shareholder resolution calling on content and technology company Thomson Reuters to review the human rights implications of its work with U.S. immigration authorities won only about 3% support at the firm’s annual meeting on Wednesday.

The vote on the resolution, proposed by a British Columbia government workers union, centered on products and services sold to law enforcement by the Toronto-based company that some investors and employees say may help power the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

Thomson Reuters had opposed the proposal, and at the meeting its chairman, David Thomson, said “over 95%” had voted against the shareholder measure, while “over 3%” supported it.

“We welcome the outcome of today’s vote, which reflects shareholders’ confidence in the board’s recommendation to vote against the proposal,” a Thomson Reuters spokesperson said.

An example of government work cited by supporters of the failed resolution was a $22.8 million contract set to have ended in May with the Department of Homeland Security that in part provided the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency with license plate reader data.

According to federal spending records, that and other contracts were awarded to Thomson Reuters Special Services (TRSS), a unit of Thomson Reuters based in McLean, Virginia. The unit says its products help prevent financial crimes, identify foreign influence and help law enforcement and national security officials analyze data.

The company’s Reuters news organization is independent, operating separately from the other parts of Thomson Reuters’ business.

One corporate governance expert said the vote showed that Thomson Reuters’ biggest investors either felt the measure was unnecessary, or had no appetite for confrontation with the Trump administration over its immigration policies.

“With this vote you have investors not interested in signaling anything” about the company’s work with immigration authorities, said Douglas Chia, president of independent corporate governance firm Soundboard Governance.

One major investor, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, said it voted against the measure because it could not support a proposal “where the company does not appear to have significant gaps in their management or reporting of the relevant sustainability risk.”

After the vote, resolution proponent Emma Pullman, head of shareholder engagement for the British Columbia General Employees’ Union, commended Thomson Reuters for certain existing disclosures but said a specialized audit of products for law and immigration enforcement could help investors.

The company’s “disclosure still falls short of our expectations. Thomson Reuters can further demonstrate its commitment to upholding human rights through additional disclosure,” Pullman said in an email.

(Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by Daniel Wallis)