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Headquarters:
900 Alice St., #320, Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: 510-653-3415
Fax: 510-986-1062
tigra@transnationalaction.org, www.transnationalaction.org
Regional Coordinators:
San Francisco:
Jessie Fernandez, 415-832-0386, fernandez.jessie@gmail.com
Oakland:
Alex Gutierrez, 510-653-3415
tigra@transnationalaction.org
Los Angeles:
David Silva Villalobos, 559-303-0221, dsilvavillalobos@yahoo.com.mx
Minneapolis:
Amina Dualle, 952-994-8712, aminadualle@hotmail.com
Gerardo Cajamarca, 612-623-8003, gentelatinauswa@yahoo.com
Chicago:
Carlos Arango, 312-666-5508, carango957@aol.com
North Carolina:
Anna Lee, 910-465-9215, aleebeach@yahoo.com
Boston:
Carlos Rosales, 617-522-0582, iseduc@aol.com
Providence:
Pahola Roca, 401-365-8695, cheparoca@hotmail.com
Shannah Kurland, 401-228-8996, shannah_k@hotmail.com
New York:
Jessica Violetta, 954-591-9201,
jess.tigra@gmail.com
Texas:
Che López, 210-299-2666,
chelopez@swunion.org
Search the website:
Boycott Campaign - Los Angeles
Contact:
David Silva Villalobos, 559-303-0221, dsilvavillalobos@yahoo.com.mx
Local Actions:
Recent Local News:
Maywood City Council Resolution Supports Western Union Boycott
Article and coverage about the action on Dia de los Muertos in Los Angeles
November, 2007
Hoy
Uprising Radio interview with Martha Ugarte and David Villalobos
September 14, 2007
Immigrant groups launch Western Union boycott, by Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times
September 11, 2007
Maywood City Council Resolution Supports Western Union Boycott
Western Union Continues to Ignore Community Demands
Maywood, CA – As immigrant and migrant organizations around the world escalate the Western Union boycott, another city council passes a resolution in support of it. Last September, the Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action (TIGRA), a network of over 200 immigrant organizations, launched an international boycott to pressure Western Union to change its corporate behavior.
Last October the City Council of Providence, RI unanimously passed a resolution in support of the local and national efforts to pressure Western Union to “become a genuine partner of sustainable development of the communities they serve.” On March 11, the City Council of Maywood unanimously passed a similar resolution “supporting efforts to encourage Western Union and other check cashing and money remittance businesses to increase the amount of community reinvestment and adopt written policies to implement such reinvestment efforts.”
Working in partnership with Western Union shareholders, the Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action (TIGRA) crafted a shareholder resolution that asks Western Union to develop and implement a written policy for community reinvestment that would prioritize building social capital in immigrant communities. The resolution, submitted in late November, 2007, states that existing corporate practices "increase the risk our Company faces in the competitive consumer market" and requests that the company clarify its community reinvestment strategy to its consumers.
Unfortunately, Western Union challenged the resolution with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), claiming that their charitable giving constitutes “ordinary business.” The SEC has since ruled in Western Union’s favor due to a technicality, omitting the resolution from the next shareholders’ meeting.
“We are disappointed in the SEC ruling, but pleased to see more communities around the country stand up to Western Union’s poor business practices,” says Francis Calpotura, Executive Director of TIGRA. “If Western Union adhered to genuine community reinvestment, it would listen to the communities it profits from.”
“The Maywood City Council understands the significant amount of money that leaves our community through remittances,” explains Felipe Aguirre, Maywood City Council member. “It is our hope that this resolution is a step forward to ensure that Western Union adopts a written policy to reinvest in the communities it profits from.”
Groups are boycotting Western Union until it adopts a Transnational Community Benefits Agreement (TCBA) that would require the company to partner in genuine community reinvestment, lower its fees, and establish fairer exchange rates. Immigrants depend on money transfers – totaling $300 billion last year – to send money home for food, medicine, and other basic necessities. The TIGRA network has entered negotiations with other money transfer companies who are interested in signing a TCBA with TIGRA.
For more information, see www.boycottwesternunion.net.
Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action (TIGRA) is a national network of more than 200 immigrant organizations in the United States and migrant networks around the world working together to clean up the practices of the money transfer industry to ensure community reinvestment.
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