For Immediate Release
Thursday, October 16, 1997
Statement by AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee on SEC Proposal to Destroy Shareholder Rights
Washington, DC —The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering placing severe limitations on the rights of shareholders to control the companies they own. Gerald W. McEntee, President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, had this to say:
"AFSCME is unilaterally opposed to recent proposals of the SEC that would severely limit the rights of Americans. By placing limits on the principal forum in which shareholders speak and act, the SEC essentially washes its hands of complicated issues, and allows corporate managers to ignore the important issues that shareholders are raising.
"These proposals let multi-million dollar corporations off the hook and allow companies to operate without being accountable to any but the largest shareholders. The result is that shareholders who have led the fight to end complacent boards of directors, golden parachutes and takeovers designed soley to entrench management will be silenced.
"In the last ten years, shareholders have shaken off their complancency and begun demanding accountability and performance from top corporate managers. However, the new proposals will shut off debate and put an end to reforms that today command the support of a majority of shareholders at many companies.
"Under these proposals, CEOs will be alowed to silence the true owners of America’s corporations, and return the boardroom to the cozy club it has too frequently been in the past."
