GGP: Our People and Our Vendors Matter

General Growth Properties has spent half a century building one of the nation's greatest companies, in large part by understanding the value of our people and those employed by our vendors. We know that how we treat our employees and how our vendors provide for their employees touches the lives of hardworking families and impacts the communities where we do business.

Our properties generate millions of dollars in property tax revenue, which builds schools, pays salaries for teachers, firefighters, police officers, and many other initiatives in the communities where we operate. We attract retailers to our properties who generate hundreds of millions in additional tax revenue for these and other vital services for the community. The people we employ give back to their communities by supporting charities and community programs; many serve on school boards and other civic organizations. Our employees donate money and time, the latter often utilizing the 32 hours of paid time per year that we encourage our employees to use for volunteering. And we do much more for our communities (click here to find out what we do for our communities).

We are proud to be an Employer of Choice. GGP has won elite awards, including its selection as one of Chicago's Best and Brightest 101 Companies to Work for the past three years. This recognition identifies GGP as an Employer of Choice based on our practices in areas including compensation and benefits, recruitment and retention, selection, recognition, communication, and respect. In 2005 and 2007, GGP earned recognition for employee education and development, and in 2006 for employee engagement and commitment. In 2005, we received the Forbes Most Admired recognition for our reputation as a strong financial company, ranking #5 in our industry. For the fourth year in a row, including 2008, we won the "Companies That Care" award, which honors companies who exemplify the following characteristics:

• Sustain a work environment founded on dignity and respect for all employees
• Make employees understand their jobs are important
• Cultivate the full potential of all employees
• Encourage work/life balance
• Enable the well-being of individuals and their families through fair and competitive compensation, benefits, policies, and practices
• Develop great leaders, at all levels, who excel at managing people as well as results
• Appreciate and recognize the contributions of employees
• Establish and communicate standards for ethical behavior and integrity
• Support the communities where our properties are located
• Consider the human toll when making business decisions

We endorse employment practices that set a higher standard for our industry. For example, in 2007 we implemented a Code of Conduct for vendors who employ the janitors who make our malls clean and inviting places. Under the Code, vendors who wish to do business with us will be required to provide market-competitive wages, affordable health care insurance, and a meaningful way to receive and address their employees' concerns.

Only a handful of GGP employees have chosen to be represented by a union. We are proud that the vast majority of our employees have confidence in us and our systems to deal directly with us. Our employment policies and programs are designed to meet their legitimate needs, providing a positive work environment where each employee enjoys an opportunity for open communication, conflict resolution, and job satisfaction. That does not make us "anti-union." Indeed, we have positive working relationships with organized labor, particularly many building trade unions representing the skilled workers whose workmanship we are proud to bring to many of our new projects and redevelopments.