pai-partners-un-pri-letter-2-2320b03b1a62d4f5.pdf

The Private Equity Stakeholder Project and the UE union argue that PAI Partners' commitment to ESG is contradicted by Refresco's labor abuses, safety violations, and environmental non-compliance.

• The authors request the delisting of PAI Partners from the PRI, arguing that the firm's actions constitute a "serious violation" of the PRI's integrity, specifically citing that PAI Partners' public ESG commitments are contradicted by the actions of its portfolio company, Refresco.
• Refresco is accused of aggressive anti-union activity at its New Jersey bottling plant. Despite a majority of workers voting to join the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) in June 2021 and subsequent certification by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in December 2021, the company has refused to bargain and has filed multiple appeals to delay the process.
• Since PAI Partners acquired Refresco in January 2018, the company has been cited by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for 19 serious violations across five states. Specific safety issues at the New Jersey plant include extreme noise leading to hearing loss for three workers in 2021, as well as reports of fires where management allegedly failed to call the fire department or trigger alarms.
• The Refresco bottling plant in Walla Walla, Washington, has repeatedly failed to comply with wastewater regulations, resulting in 40 violations and $440,000 in fines between 2019 and 2021. The plant discharged wastewater containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at levels up to 43 times the regulatory limit.
• The document alleges a pattern of labor disputes involving other PAI Partners portfolio companies, specifically citing the airport concession company Areas, which faced disputes with the UNITE HERE union in 2019 and 2020.

APA

Private Equity Stakeholder Project (2022). pai-partners-un-pri-letter-2-2320b03b1a62d4f5.pdf. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/PAI-Partners-UN-PRI-Letter-2.pdf

Chicago

Private Equity Stakeholder Project. pai-partners-un-pri-letter-2-2320b03b1a62d4f5.pdf. 2022. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/PAI-Partners-UN-PRI-Letter-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |title=pai-partners-un-pri-letter-2-2320b03b1a62d4f5.pdf |date=2 February 2022 |url=https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/PAI-Partners-UN-PRI-Letter-2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{privateequitystakeholderproject2022paipartnersunpriletter22320b03b1a62d4f5pdf, author = {{Private Equity Stakeholder Project}}, title = {{pai-partners-un-pri-letter-2-2320b03b1a62d4f5.pdf}}, publisher = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/PAI-Partners-UN-PRI-Letter-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }