Call to Action: Boycott Western Union! (II)
Just in case you haven’t checked out the Boycott Western Union website, there are a few facts that I’d like to share with you.
First, let’s take a look at their facts regarding immigrants:
- Due to increasing instability and the effects of globalization around the world, the number of people being displaced and migrating to support their families has increased to 200 million.
- Last year alone, migrants around the world sent $260 billion dollars to their families and communities. Typically, a low-wage immigrant worker in the United States sends $250-$300 a month, constituting up to 50% of her monthly savings after paying bills.
- Sending-country governments are preparing to send more of their people abroad so they can receive more remittances for development, while receiving-country governments are militarizing their borders and deporting undocumented immigrants.
- Immigrants risk their lives and work under terrible conditions to support their families while governments persecute and take away their rights, and money transfer companies get wealthy from their expression of love to their families.
Now I want to highlight the facts they have on Western Union:
- They are everywhere: Western Union, the largest company, has close to 350,000 agents worldwide: More than ALL banks combined and 10X more than ALL MACDONALD’S in the world.
- They don’t care about the communities they do business in: in 2005, they made $4 billion and made 118 million transactions worldwide. Western Union charges 3x what it costs to send the money, and only invests 41 cents for every $100 they make back to communities. Even Wal-Mart donates more money.
- Government does very little to make sure they give back to communities: they are the banks in our neighborhoods, but they don’t have the same responsibilities as banks do. For example, the Community Reinvestment Act doesn’t apply to Western Union.
- The company was founded during the lawless “wild, wild west period” when might was right: Founded in 1871 in New York, Western Union expanded rapidly westward, displacing Native American communities to lay the wires for the telegraph.
- They profit from the work of immigrants: Christina Gold, the CEO, received a $16 million dollar bonus last year, while it takes a full week of work to pay off the fees Western Union charges during a year of sending money. Western Union takes advantage of our need to support our families.
So are you convinced? Here’s what you can do to help:
Fax, email, and call Christina Gold, CEO of Western Union, with this simple message:
“We support TIGRA’s (Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action) demands for Western Union to be a good corporate citizen and meet with TIGRA representatives to negotiate in good faith”.
Phone: 1+720-332-1000 (type “0″ for operator, then ask for Christina Gold)
Email: christina.gold@westernunion.com
Fax: 1+720-332-4761
