investor statement · 2023
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility at U.S. companies collectively, with the emphasis on low-wage retail, restaurant, hospitality and gig sectors
Take steps toward paying a living wage to direct and contract workers: adopt, disclose and implement a living wage policy commitment covering pay practices and lobbying alignment; end the payment of subminimum wages, such as to tipped restaurant workers; disclose wage-setting strategies and compensation metrics; perform and disclose cost-benefit analyses of wage increases; and give the compensation committee responsibility for overseeing pay practices at all levels. Investors ask companies to work with all workers, with labour unions and with franchisee and subcontracted operations.
What happened
Result: The statement, 'Investor Support for a Living Wage for U.S. Workers', was released on 14 November 2023 and has over 125 signatories representing over 4 trillion US dollars in assets. It remains open, with the coalition accepting new signatories on a rolling basis.
The coalition's own record of what followed, under the same banner: on 3 June 2024, investors called on Walmart ahead of its shareholder meeting to address worker safety and racial inequity; on 24 September 2025, shareholders commended McDonald's for committing to end subminimum wages, calling it a model for the restaurant industry; and on 11 March 2026 investors called for a strong global worker convention to protect gig and platform workers. We found no figure for how many companies adopted a living wage policy commitment in response to the statement itself.
Who is involved
What this campaign is about
- End extreme poverty everywhere Helpful · UN Sustainable Development Goals