Pension Fund Files Shareholder Proposals on Corporate Governance

(January 22, 2010) — The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) has submitted proxy proposals to foster greater director accountability and more reasonable executive compensation among 33 firms. 

“Wall Street executives have destroyed trillions of dollars in shareholder value while lining their own pockets,” said AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee in a news release. “Our proposals are designed to make directors accountable and better focused on long-term value creation.”

The AFSCME Employees Pension Plan, an institutional shareholder with more than $850 million in assets, submitted proposals on a range of issues, including executive compensation, chairman and chief executive roles, and “golden coffin” awards. The news release stated that the plan’s proposals urge the interests of management to be more closely aligned with those of shareowners. While a majority of shareholder proposals fail, dozens have been successful at major companies in recent years.

AFSCME’s targets include Aetna Inc, American Express Co, Bank of America Corp, CVS Caremark Corp, Capital One Financial, Charles Schwab, Dow Chemical Co, Fifth Third Bancorp, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Hartford Financial Services Group, Raytheon Co, Wells Fargo & Co, and XTO Energy Inc.