Compiled by GayToday

Washington, D.C.--The Human Rights Campaign called yesterday for a nationwide boycott of ExxonMobil because of the company's continued refusal to reinstate a written non-discrimination policy covering sexual orientation and to open its domestic partner benefits program to all gay and lesbian employees.

"ExxonMobil has stubbornly refused to treat its gay and lesbian employees fairly and has exhibited unusually antagonistic behavior toward those who have asked the corporation to make reasonable changes," said HRC Executive Director Elizabeth Birch. "A boycott may be a drastic action, but it is commensurate with the company's actions, which are unique in U.S. business.

Our efforts to work this out with company officials have been met with resistance. As the largest corporation in the world, ExxonMobil should be a leader in fairness. Instead, it has become the leading proponent of stonewalling gay and lesbian employees, consumers and shareholders." HRC is asking all fair-minded Americans to:

* Stop patronizing Exxon or Mobil gas stations and their On the Run convenience stores;

* Cut up their ExxonMobil gasoline credit cards and Mobil "Speedpasses" and send half to ExxonMobil and half to the Human Rights Campaign;

* Write or e-mail ExxonMobil, with a copy to HRC, expressing their displeasure with the company's treatment of gay and lesbian employees, customers and shareholders;

In December 1999 when Exxon merged with Mobil, it became the first U.S. employer ever to rescind a non-discrimination policy covering sexual orientation. At the same time, executives closed Mobil's domestic partner benefits program to any additional employees.

Since then, HRC and its coalition partners have worked to reverse these actions, to no avail.

In 2001, HRC co-filed a shareholder resolution with the New York City Employees Retirement System, The Equality Project and several others asking ExxonMobil to reinstate a written policy barring discrimination based on sexual orientation. HRC Education Director Kim I. Mills attended the meeting May 30 and spoke in support of the resolution. The measure garnered 13 percent of the vote, a 75 percent increase over 2000 and the highest percentage of any shareholder resolution on the ballot.

At a news conference after a recent ExxonMobil shareholder meeting, Chief Executive Officer Lee R. Raymond was asked by a Dallas Voice reporter why the company doesn't actively reach out to gays and lesbians as it does to other minorities. "We don't want to know [who they are]," he replied. "That's the whole point of the policy."

"ExxonMobil is out of step with most other corporations, including many of its competitors,," said Birch. "We are at a loss to explain why this company wants to risk losing valuable employees who want only access to equal benefits and a written assurance that they are valued and protected from unfair treatment."

ExxonMobil competitors Chevron, Sunoco, Atlantic Richfield, BP Amoco, Shell and Texaco explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation; BP Amoco, Chevron and Shell also offer domestic partner benefits.

A total of 76 of the Fortune 100 have written non-discrimination policies covering sexual orientation; more than 50 percent of the Fortune 500 - 258 as of today - already have such policies. More than 3,700 U.S. employers offer domestic partner benefits, including 127 of the Fortune 500.