Money Talks For LGBT Rights

At a press conference at the NYC LGBT Community Center, today New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. announced that he will use the power of the NYC Pension Funds to pressure two dozen Fortune 1000 companies to offer sexual orientation and gender identity protections to their employees.

Thompson oversees the New York City Employees' Retirement System, New York City Police Pension Fund, New York City Fire Department Pension Fund, New York City Teachers' Retirement System and New York City Board of Education Retirement System.

Currently, the five Pension Funds have more than $110 billion in holdings. The Funds hold nearly 30 million shares worth nearly $2.2 billion in the companies announced Tuesday.

Thompson's announcement continues several years of pressure on companies in which the funds own shares. This year's targets are double the number of companies singled out last year Thompson said.

The list of companies targeted include ExxonMobil, EchoStar, and Fidelity National.