Pension Board Votes To Sell Texaco Stock

The city’s pensions board voted Thursday to sell its $5.8 million in Texaco stock, protesting what members called continuing racial discrimination in the nation’s corporations.

“I’m an African-American and I think a message needs to be sent to corporate America,” said member Charles Johnson, a city printer.

The board is one of the first institutional investors to divest since Texaco agreed to pay $176.1 million to settle discrimination claims after a recording of executives belittling black employees was made public earlier this month.

The nine-member board, which oversees the pension funds of 60,000 retired and active city workers, voted unanimously to boycott the firm and divest for one year - or until Texaco shows genuine improvement in its work climate for woman and minority employees.

The board’s 58,700 Texaco shares are a fraction of its $2.7 billion in holdings. Its managers expect to see about a 20-percent capital gain on the sale.

Texaco said in a statement that it believes divestment is inappropriate since the company already has settled the discrimination lawsuit. It also questioned the move, saying Texaco stock has provided a good return to investors.