United Parcel Service (UPS)
Corprate Bias Ratings
Risk Level:
Summary:
United Parcel Service (UPS) vets vendors according to LGBTQ policies and does not provide its employees with protections against viewpoint discrimination, but has not publicly terminated business relationships based on views or beliefs. UPS once fired an employee due to their hair length and eventually settled the lawsuit for alleged religious discrimination and has since amended this policy. The company is a Platinum Corporate Sponsor of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the UPS Foundation gave $250,000 to the HRC. UPS pledged over $10 million to BLM and related causes, supports the Equality Act, and is a corporate partner of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. The company is a signatory of the Business Roundtable's 2019 Statement on the Purpose of Corporation, which promotes stakeholder capitalism. However, the company does not discriminate against religious organizations in its charitable giving and has not used it PAC contributions for ideological purposes. For these reasons, UPS receives a "Medium Risk" rating.
Has denied service to customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.
UPS has a written policy requiring suppliers not to discriminate on the basis of LGBTQ identity and received a score of 100 on the Corporate Equality Index from the HRC (1). In 2019, UPS reached a settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over a 2015 incident where UPS was accused of firing or not hiring employees who would not cut their hair due to religious beliefs (2). The company has since amended this policy and is under the guidance of new leadership.
Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.
UPS does not appear to discriminate against religious groups regarding its charitable giving (1).
Employment policies fail to protect against discrimination based on political affiliation/views and/or religion.
UPS does not protect its employees from viewpoint discrimination in its nondiscrimination policy (1).
Uses corporate reputation to support ideological causes and/or organizations hostile to freedom of expression.
UPS has come out in support of the Equality Act and has regularly used press releases to support ideological agendas (1)(2)(3). Former CEO David Abney signed its 2019 Statement on the Purpose of Corporation, which promotes stakeholder capitalism over traditional obligations to shareholders and customers (4).
Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.
UPS is a Platinum Sponsor of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC); the UPS Foundation, which is entirely funded by UPS, donated $250,000 to HRC (1)(2). UPS has pledged over $10 million to the Black Lives Matter movement and related causes (3)(4)(5). The company is a corporate partner of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (6).
Uses corporate political contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.
The UPS corporate PAC does not use its funds for ideological purposes (1).
All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
May 24, 2023
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Voting History
| Date | ESG Category | Proponent | Summary of Resolution | Mgmt Rec | Total Vote % in Favor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/4/23 | Social | As You Sow on behalf of Myra K. Young | Shareholder Proposal Requesting Annual Diversity and Inclusion Efforts Report | Against | 25.00% |
| 5/5/22 | Social | Mercy Investment Services | Report on Lobbying Alignment with Paris Climate Agreement | Against | 32.66% |
| 5/5/22 | Governance | John Chevedden | Give Each Share an Equal Vote | Against | 32.49% |
| 5/5/22 | Social | Boston Trust Walden Co. | Report on Lobbying Payments and Policy | Against | 29.21% |
| 5/5/22 | Environmental | Green Century Capital Management | Adopt Verified Science-Based GhG Emissions Reduction Targets | Against | 27.52% |
| 5/5/22 | Environmental | Myra K. Young | Report on Balancing Climate Measures and Financial Returns | Against | 9.73% |
| 5/5/22 | Social | As You Sow | Report on Effectivness of Diversity Equity and Inclusion Efforts and Metrics | Against | 36.21% |