Just got my WalMart annual report - wonderful shareholder proposals!

[Rabrrrrrr]

The Christians - the good ones - are going after the company, as well an index fund.

Trowel Trades S&P Index Fund, holder of ~135,000 shares, offered a proposal that WalMart have an Independant Chairman (and I've seen this proposal so far in every annual report I've received), claiming that with all the scandals (and they're all naming Enron, Worldcom, and Tyco) the company should have an independant chairman.

The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church, holders of 1,000,000+ shares, and the Libra Fund, LLP, holders of ~31,000 shares, offer a proposal for WalMart to offer a "sustainability" report, reporting o the company's definituion of sustainability, a review of current policies and practices related to social, environmental, and economic sustainability; a summary of long-term plans to integrate sustainability objectives throughout company operations.

NorthStar Asset Management, holding 6,455 shares, offers a proposal that WalMart publish a report documenting the distribution of 2003 equity compensation by race and gender of the recipient and the stock options and restricted stock awards; and shall also provide context explaining the recent trends in equity compensation granted to women and employees of color. (they based this on the fact that the five highest compensated are white males, and they represent 0.0004% of the employees, but received 9.4% of options; and also that the number of male managers as a percentage is far higher than the number of female employees as a percentage)

The Sinsinawa Dominicans, of Sinisnawa, WI (didn't know we had a Sinsinawa in WI), holding 45 shares, requests that WalMart publish a report letting people know it's policy on selling and using Genetically Engineered products, claiming the dangers and untested nature of such GE foodstuffs, and that 55% of Americans are against GE modified food.

The Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth of New Jersey, holders of 1,000 shares, offer proposal that WalMart publish an equal employment opportunity report, claiming that while minorites and women are 57% of the population, they represent only 3% of the executive level of WalMart. They also claim that the significant amount of litigation that WalMart has gone through for discrimination cases is too expensive and reduces shareholder value, and they want it to stop (that's my paraphrase, not quite how they worded it).

And of coruse, WalMart is against all these proposals. And their responses to them, and reasons for being against them, are outlandish. "WalMart has always been concerned for the individual" and crap like that.

See, this is why it's important that people own shares of the bad companies - SO WE HAVE A VOICE IN HOW THEY ARE RUN. Anyone who says owning stock in an evil company is itself evil is to be no different than the protestants in Nazi Germany who stood silent, until they were the only ones left.

[girl gone mad]

1. I can't help but feel...

the day shareholder activism results in any serious reform is the day corporations lobby the government for regulations to outlaw shareholder activism.

Or maybe they'll jjust buy some Diebold machines to scan the proxies.