Shareholders Show Majority Support, 61%, at McDonald's for UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust's Proxy Access Proposal
May 21, 2015, 02:55 ET
DETROIT, May 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust (the "Trust") announced today that 61 percent of investors voted in favor of the Trust's proposal calling on the McDonald's Corporation to give shareholders access to the director nomination process, also known as access to the proxy. Shareholders voted today, May 21, at McDonald's annual meeting.
"Today, investors, at 61%, registered strong majority support for proxy access as a fundamental shareholder right and a right we believe is necessary to ensure board accountability," said Meredith Miller, Chief Corporate Governance Officer for the Trust.
The Trust's proposal, if implemented, would allow investors collectively holding 3% of outstanding stock continuously for 3 years to nominate up to 25% of the board. This so-called "3-and-3" formula was adopted as a rule by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010 but later vacated on technical grounds before it went into effect.
Influential proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis supported the Trust's proposal.
"The 3-and-3 proposal is a winning formula because it's practical and ensures investors with a long-term interest in McDonald's gain access to the proxy," said Miller. "It's our hope that the board will listen to its investors and adopt proxy access. This provision will ensure that McDonald's has the strongest board possible to provide the oversight and strategic guidance necessary to ensure the company's future profitability."
The UAW Trust has filed proxy access proposals at several companies, receiving one of the highest votes (72%) this proxy season at St. Jude's Medical on May 7. Kindred Healthcare and Abercrombie & Fitch voluntarily adopted proxy access in response to proposals filed by the Trust. Large institutional investors including the New York City Pension Funds, CalPERS, BlackRock, T. Rowe Price and TIAA-CREF are supporting proxy access proposals.
The UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, with assets of $54 billion, is the largest non-governmental purchaser of retiree health care benefits in the United States, providing health care benefits to nearly 750,000 eligible UAW retirees and dependents. Visit www.uawtrust.org for further information.
SOURCE UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust