LAT: (Shareholder) Activists Target (Corporate) Political Gifts

[DeepModem Mom]

Activists Target Political Gifts
Dozens of companies face shareholder resolutions calling for more-detailed accounts of donations.

By Jonathan Peterson, Times Staff Writer


WASHINGTON — In an election-year burst of activism, shareholders have targeted dozens of companies with resolutions urging that they provide enhanced, easily accessible details of all their political donations.

The appeals, aimed at a broad cross-section of corporate America, have hit a responsive chord with some investors and may be gaining momentum. At its annual meeting last week, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. said it would post a detailed report of its political activities on its website annually in response to the shareholders' call.

"The fact that it got Pfizer to change its policy and announce that at the annual meeting — that was a major victory," said Caroline Williams, chief financial and investment officer at the Nathan Cummings Foundation, a nonprofit that describes itself as promoting social and economic justice. The foundation sponsored the Pfizer resolution, and Williams said she looked forward to using Pfizer's announcement as leverage this week when a similar proposal is made at the Merck & Co. annual meeting....

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The effort is being spearheaded by union pension funds, socially conscious investment funds and other groups typically associated with left-leaning causes. The corporate donors they target often are conservative and are actively involved in political finance....


http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-activists26apr26,1,6428402.story?coll=la-home-business

[DeepModem Mom]

1. posted very early -- this could be an important trend

[SoCalDem]

2. Good news.. OUR money should not go towards the support of

rightwingers who do NOT have our best interests in mind..

[denverbill]

3. Indeed, it's very good news.

We can't get bought-and-paid-for Congress to pass legislation to prohibit corporate meddling in politics, but maybe we can target the corporations directly.