1/11/2009

Will the media pick up on this?: Look at the Apple board decisions made with Al Gore on the board

First let me say that all four of these decisions are quite reasonable decisions, but who would have guessed that Al Gore would be on a board of directors that made these decisions? From AppleInsider:

The first proposal was advanced by the Teamsters union, which holds 2,569 shares of the company. It asks Apple to report all of the company's direct and indirect political contributions and expenditures, twice annually. Apple's directors say the proposal is "unnecessary and unproductive" and would reveal information on its private negotiations with trade associations to its competitors.

The second shareholder proposal was advanced by the AFL-CIO union, which holds 500 shares of Apple. It asks the board to adopt heath care reform principles outlined by the Institute of Medicine. Apple's directors say the measure will not benefit the company, its employees, or its shareholders, and that health care reform is a matter for the new US President and Congress to address.

A third proposal has been made by individual with less than 100 shares in Apple, but is cosponsored by the New York City Office of the Comptroller (with over two million shares) and Green Century Equity Fund (with another nearly 8,000 shares). It asks the company to deliver a report on sustainability including all corporate strategies related to climate change, the environmental impacts of toxics and recycling programs, and all employee and product safety issues. Apple's directors say the company already reports much of this information on social and environmental issues on its website, and that additional reporting obligations are unnecessary.

The last shareholder proposal is from the AFSCME Employees Pension Plan, a public health union which holds over 21,000 shares in Apple. It request the company issue a shareholders' advisory vote on executive compensation. Apple's directors say that setting executive compensation is the job of the board itself, and that limitations imposed by shareholder voting could have an adverse impact on the company's ability to recruit and retain top talent. . . .

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1 Comments:

Blogger The Right Guy said...

Can you imagine Al Gore telling Steve Jobs he invented the internet? :) Apple has a fairly liberal benefits package. I am surprised someone would suggest they change t, but then again it was an organization outside of the company. I wonder if Al flies commercial when he goes to board meetings? Cupertino is a long way from Tennessee.

1/12/2009 7:33 AM  

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