Walmart, Inc | Workplace Safety Policy Assessment - Gun Violence at Walmart, Inc

Status
23.89% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
12
Resolution details
Company ticker
WMT
Lead filer
Individual
Co-filers
CommonSpirit Health
Resolution ask
Conduct due diligence, audit or risk/impact assessment
ESG theme
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Conflict and/or violence
  • Decent work
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Consumer Discretionary
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
RESOLVED: Shareholders urge Walmart Inc. (“Walmart” or the “Company”) to conduct a third-party, independent review of the impact of Company policies and practices on workplace safety and violence, including gun violence. A report on the review, prepared at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, should be published on Walmart’s website. At company discretion, the proponents recommend the audit and report include: (1) Evaluation of management and business practices that contribute to an unsafe or violent work environment, including staffing capacity and the introduction of new technologies; and (2) Recommendations that will help Walmart create safer work environments and prevent workplace violence.
Supporting statement
Supporting Statement: Incidents of workplace violence, particularly gun violence, have become too common at Walmart. Between July 1, 2020 and November 22, 2022 there were at least 363 gun incidents and 112 gun deaths at Walmart.1 The recent mass shooting in Chesapeake, Va., perpetrated by a Walmart Associate, garnered significant press coverage. 2 The 2019 El Paso shooting killed 22 people and injured another 24 making it the deadliest in United States history.3 An Associate who survived the Chesapeake shooting is suing Walmart for failing to “enact any preventative measures to keep Walmart customers and Associates safe.”4
Gun violence is an unprecedented public health crisis with substantial human and financial costs. Harvard researchers estimate that gun violence costs the United States $557 billion annually and that “employers and their health insurers sustain a substantial financial burden from firearm injuries and have a financial incentive to prevent them.”5
The COVID-19 pandemic made worker safety a focus of policy makers, labor advocates, and the public. Walmart Associates criticized the Company’s pandemic response and its disregard for employee well-being. Newly released OSHA data indicates that COVID-19infection rates at Walmart stores increased in 2021 while the average private sector rate decreased and that Associates working in supercenters are 75% more likely to experience work related injuries and illnesses than other retail workers.6 Workplace injuries cost U.S. businesses billions of dollars every year.7
Failure to effectively address workplace safety and violence exposes stakeholders, including employees, to unacceptable harms and exposes Walmart to financial, reputational, and legal risks.
As a 22-year Walmart Associate, I am personally invested in keeping myself and my fellow Associates safe at work. I am asking Walmart to evaluate how its practices may be contributing to an unsafe or violent work environment and to review existing workplace safety and violence prevention plans to ensure they adequately protect the health, safety, and lives of Walmart Associates.
I ask my fellow shareholders to vote yes for this proposal.
1 https://www.gunsdownamerica.org/new-research-shows-gun-violence-is-serious-threat-at-grocery-stores/2 https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/22/us/chesapeake-virginia-walmart-shooting/index.html3 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-shootings-2019-more-than-days-365/4 https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/29/us/virginia-walmart-shooting-lawsuit/index.html5 https://time.com/6217348/gun-violence-economic-costs-us/6 NELP analysis of OSHA Injury Tracking Application and https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/osh.pdf7 https://www.helmsmantpa.com/2022/06/17/2022-workplace-safety-index-top-10-causes-of-disabling-injuries/ and https://www.statista.com/statistics/711311/direct-costs-of-top-disabling-workplace-injuries-in-the-us/

How other organisations have declared their voting intentions

Organisation name Declared voting intentions Rationale
Anima Sgr For As allegations associated with workplace health and safety could harm the company’s reputation and make it difficult to retain employees. An independent audit would help shareholders evaluate the effectiveness of the company’s safety policies and practices, and its management of related risks.
EFG Asset Management For
VidaCaixa For
Rothschild & co Asset Management For

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