AFSCME's 1.4 million members want better returns on the $1 trillion they invest (shareholder rights)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.directorship.com/publications/1106_ferlauto.aspx

A Conversation With Richard Ferlauto
The Voice of a Powerful Union
AFSCME's 1.4 million members want better returns on the $1 trillion they invest.
BY WILLIAM J. HOLSTEIN

RICHARD FERLAUTO, DIRECTOR OF PENSION and benefit policy at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, is one of the architects of organized labor's effort to persuade corporate boards to alter the way they grant compensation to chief executive officers. This year, he targeted Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli. And he has been at the center of AFSCME's case against AIG, arguing that shareholders have the right to nominate directors whose names appear on a company's proxy. Here are highlights from an interview:

Are you the most active union in terms of pressing for change in the corporate boardroom?
I would say we're among the most active, and some people would say we probably are the most active.

This past proxy season, how many resolutions did you bring before shareholder meetings?
We began with 25 resolutions, and 16 went to a vote. We're focused very tightly on board composition and board accountability issues and the processes that are involved in the creation of an effective corporate board. As an indication of all that, we look very closely at executive compensation to see that it is aligned with performance and with shareholder interests.

Did you withdraw the other 14?
We came to some type of understanding with the board.

What were your most visible wins?
We had agreements with a number of boards where we filed resolutions to hold annual elections for directors, rather than staggered elections. Five of the six companies we had filed resolutions with ultimately agreed that they would hold annual elections. They included 3M, Wachovia and JPMorgan Chase.

FULL article at link above.

[oasis]

1. It's past time for working families to get their fair share of America's prosperity.

:patriot: