On Wednesday, Bank of America did exactly that, distancing itself from a sector that has triggered protests over its links to the Trump administration's immigration policy and concerns about detention center conditions. Hector Vaca, one of the activists at the April annual meeting, declared victory.Next, he hopes to get SunTrust Banks Inc to cut ties with private prisons. SunTrust did not respond to a request for comment.
Also this week, several hundred people, including employees of Wayfair Inc , rallied in Boston to protest the online retailer's alleged sale of furniture to a Texas detention facility housing migrant children. The spat was fueled when a letter to Wayfair leaders from employees about the sale spread on Twitter.Wayfair declined to comment on the alleged sale. But it promptly made a US$100,000 donation to the American Red Cross to aid humanitarian relief at the border.
Last year, a deadly shooting spree at a Parkland, Florida, high school brought long-running arguments about gun control in the United States to the fore once again. This time, some companies that had sold guns for years changed tack.Dick's Sporting Goods Inc stopped selling assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, opting to make it a fully transparent move. The retailer's chief executive, Edward Stack, spoke about the decision on ABC's"Good Morning America.
Others change course more quietly. Rather than going to the press, Wells Fargo & Co disclosed its decision to reduce its exposure to private prison companies without fanfare on the 43rd page of a 104 page-long document in January.