Dr. James Peter Warbasse opined in the journal Co-operation, “Once the people of New York City lived in their own houses, but those days have gone. ... The houses are owned by landlords who conduct them, not for the purpose of domiciling the people in health and comfort, but for the single purpose of making money out of tenants.” That was in 1919. A century later, things have gone from bad to worse. A quarter of U.S. households pay more than half their income in rent. In New York City, homelessness has hit record levels. Most activists can reel off a list of demands to address the housing crisis: rent control, community land trusts, affordable housing development. But one of the most effecti
It was the morning after the 2018 midterm elections and Keith Mestrich, chief executive of Amalgamated Bank, was placing congratulatory calls to the bank's clients. His first three calls were to Antonio Delgado, Max Rose and Anthony Brindisi, Democrats who ousted Republicans in New York districts as part of a statewide blue sweep. Also on his list were national Democratic leaders such as Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, ranking member of the Senate banking committee. "We do a nice national business banking the Democratic Party," Mestrich said, sitting on a couch in his office above an Amalgamated branch in the Garment District. That might be an understatement. Amalgamat
The Board of Trustees of the AFL-CIO HIT has selected Chang Suh, HIT’s Senior Executive Vice President/Chief Portfolio Manager to succeed Steve Coyle as Chief Executive Officer, after a thoughtful succession process which included retaining a national search firm. Mr. Suh, 47, brings both continuity and a fresh approach to the HIT. He joined the HIT in 1998 as a member of the portfolio management team and has served as Chief Portfolio Manager for the last 15 years. During his tenure, the HIT outperformed its benchmark, the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index, 14 calendar years on a gross basis and 8 years on a net basis. Mr. Suh also oversaw $2.4 billion of growth for the fund and str
In this issue of the Expresso, we are humbled to share our "good works" with a copy of the 2018 Heartland Impact Report. We're thankful for the support of our Governing Board, friends and sponsors who have helped drive the responsible investment movement. We hope to multiply these efforts in 2019 with a renewed fervor. Responsible investing is not a new concept in the U.S. Dating back to the 1920's, labor banks (Amalgamated) and worker-friendly insurance programs (Ullico) were fighting to ensure human rights and financial security for existing workers and new immigrants. The 2006 launch of the UN Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI), backed by unions, standardized non-financial environ