Despite opposition, Apple CEO Steve Jobs re-elected to Disney's board
Investors in the Walt Disney Co. voted to re-elect Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs to the company's board of directors on Wednesday, going against the advisement of a prominent federation of labor unions.
A preliminary count of shareholder votes found that 74 percent of investors supported keeping the 12-member board -- including Jobs -- the same, according to Bloomberg. The vote was closely watched as continued health issues surrounding Jobs had led some to question whether he was fit to retain his status as board member.
This week, the AFL-CIO labor union made waves when it announced it had voted against the re-election of Jobs. The organization collectively holds 3.8 million shares of Disney stock.
Institutional Shareholder Services didn't advise its clients to vote against Jobs, but did note that he showed "poor attendance" in recent years, attending less than three-quarters of Disney's board meetings since 2008. The ISS also said that Jobs' recent health issues also raise questions about his ability to fulfill responsibilities on the Disney board.
Jobs has been a director at Disney since 2006, when the entertainment giant acquired Pixar in an all-stock transaction worth $7.4 billion. The deal made Jobs the single largest shareholder of Disney.
Apple's co-founder took another medical leave of absence from his company starting in January. Though he has been absent from day-to-day operations, Jobs remains CEO of Apple, and even made a surprising return to the stage at the iPad 2 media event earlier this month.
A preliminary count of shareholder votes found that 74 percent of investors supported keeping the 12-member board -- including Jobs -- the same, according to Bloomberg. The vote was closely watched as continued health issues surrounding Jobs had led some to question whether he was fit to retain his status as board member.
This week, the AFL-CIO labor union made waves when it announced it had voted against the re-election of Jobs. The organization collectively holds 3.8 million shares of Disney stock.
Institutional Shareholder Services didn't advise its clients to vote against Jobs, but did note that he showed "poor attendance" in recent years, attending less than three-quarters of Disney's board meetings since 2008. The ISS also said that Jobs' recent health issues also raise questions about his ability to fulfill responsibilities on the Disney board.
Jobs has been a director at Disney since 2006, when the entertainment giant acquired Pixar in an all-stock transaction worth $7.4 billion. The deal made Jobs the single largest shareholder of Disney.
Apple's co-founder took another medical leave of absence from his company starting in January. Though he has been absent from day-to-day operations, Jobs remains CEO of Apple, and even made a surprising return to the stage at the iPad 2 media event earlier this month.
Comments
Another sign of the waning influence of labor unions in America. Good riddance!
That or a sign of it being good business sense to tell your investors that Steve Jobs sits on your board of directors.
Why would anyone want to vote Steve Jobs out?
They were concerned that he couldn't fulfill his duties due to his health issues.
Another sign of the waning influence of labor unions in America. Good riddance!
Another sign of the waning influence of labor unions in America. Good riddance!
RIGHT ON!!!
We can't get rid of child labor laws, workplace safety, 40 hour week, health insurance, vacations and discriminatory hiring practices quick enough for me!
POWER TO THE CORPORATIONS!!!
The rebels have been crushed!
Hurray
Really. So, I guess you are against 40 hour work weeks with mandatory overtime pay, anti-child labor laws, the right for women to work, health benefits, and the list goes on? Jeez. You'd love China.
I would point put that health insurance in the u.s really gained in popularity during WWII. Due to strict wage controls employers needed a way to attract the best and since they could not offer more cash they started pushing benefits and other unique perks to get around those controls.
The argument that unions have pushed for more and better benefits for its members is certainly true.
Really. So, I guess you are against 40 hour work weeks with mandatory overtime pay, anti-child labor laws, the right for women to work, health benefits, and the list goes on? Jeez. You'd love China.
In case you didn't know, labor unions do not pass laws, the government does. The government makes sure ( at least is supposed to) that people are treated fairly in all aspects of life.
Labor unions by definition are parasites. They suck money out of companies in order to survive. They do not contribute to progress within the company, on the contrary. They only have their interests at heart. They are a monopoly that force the company to pay higher wages in order to make more money from dues and to get more members to join. They have absolutely no interest in making a better workplace if it doesn't mean more money in their coffers. They are total capitalists.
In NYC the unions are basically mafias who use threats, intimidation, bribes to public officials and worse to force people to use them and pay their outrageous salaries. Believe me I know...
Anyone who has to deal with these thugs becomes anti-union in a matter of minutes. They should be in prison.
Really. So, I guess you are against 40 hour work weeks with mandatory overtime pay, anti-child labor laws, the right for women to work, health benefits, and the list goes on? Jeez. You'd love China.
Careful, this is a double-edged sword. One could also argue that labor unions and some of the aforementioned laws are the very same reason the work ethic in the US is abysmal, and the entitlement mentality has driven up wages and compensation so high we are becoming unable to compete in a global market. And that's exactly why American manufacturing businesses DO love China.
Also, regardless of how they came about, aren't many of the laws you mentioned mandated at the state and federal level, and not by unions? The bleeding-hearts in Washington address "fairness", "equality", and "compensation" these days. Unions are a relic from America's past and a ball and chain on the ankle of national progress.
Really. So, I guess you are against 40 hour work weeks with mandatory overtime pay, anti-child labor laws, the right for women to work, health benefits, and the list goes on? Jeez. You'd love China.
No, I'm against a bunch of lazy bums sitting on their lazy asses all day collecting the same wage and benefits as hard working people. Unions are for bums. Speaking of China, they're a socialist country - the exact same philosophy by which labor unions operate...
Go out in the real world their buddy, pretty obvious you need a union to protect you since you're obviously a lazy, unskilled worker....
In case you didn't know, labor unions do not pass laws, the government does. The government makes sure ( at least is supposed to) that people are treated fairly in all aspects of life.
Which it only does when the people protest. Unions allow people to protest using one voice instead of many, just as the government does by having a single leader. So unions level the playing field there.
Labor unions by definition are parasites. They suck money out of companies in order to survive. They do not contribute to progress within the company, on the contrary. They only have their interests at heart.
Way to take a completely blind eye to the fact that companies do not have their employees' interests at heart either. Their job is to make money, and if that means screwing the workers (including killing them) there are countless examples throughout history that they will do so. Again, unions level the playing field; if workers don't look out for their own interests, who will?!?
They are total capitalists.
Pot calling the kettle black. EVERYONE in society is a capitalist. Funny how when business owners are called capitalists it's a compliment but then you turn around and use it as an insult when applying it to unions. Nice double standard.
They should be in prison.
As soon as business owners go to prison for having workers work in deathtraps (coal mines), maiming environments (assembly lines, factories, etc.), sweatshops (garment district), the unions will follow along. Until then all they're doing is evening things up. If you don't like workers having a say, then how about you volunteer to go work 12 hour days, 7 days a week, with no bathroom breaks or lunch breaks. 'Cos all those things you enjoy were brought to you by unions. Hypocrite.
I would point put that health insurance in the u.s really gained in popularity during WWII. Due to strict wage controls employers needed a way to attract the best and since they could not offer more cash they started pushing benefits and other unique perks to get around those controls.
The argument that unions have pushed for more and better benefits for its members is certainly true.
Who do you think negotiated the postwar contracts? Labor unions, and the others were forced to compete. Did the capitalists do it out of the goodness of their hearts? No. Well, maybe some enlightened, clever businessman like Kaiser, but the rest were being pumped tens of billions of dollars in war contracts, or they had a union that nagged them, maybe even striking.
I'm not for this vote by the AFL-CIO. But one of the reasons we're in trouble is that we only have single-digit unionization. Left to themselves, the capitalists keep way more of the surplus value created by the workers than they actually have a right to. Or that's good for the nation or the economy, in the long run.
There's only two parties in the U.S., the high-wage party and the low-wage party. I'm for the high-wage party, whichever that is.
The government makes sure ( at least is supposed to) that people are treated fairly in all aspects of life.
(Rip-Roaring Laughter)
Labor unions by definition are parasites. They suck money out of companies in order to survive. They do not contribute to progress within the company, on the contrary. They only have their interests at heart.
In NYC the unions are basically mafias who use threats, intimidation, bribes to public officials and worse to force people to use them and pay their outrageous salaries. Believe me I know...
Anyone who has to deal with these thugs becomes anti-union in a matter of minutes. They should be in prison.
WOAH! I don't know about NY Unions but the 'principle' behind labour unions is good. I am not saying there isn't thuggery but the idea of an organization standing up for the 'worker', you know, the 'common man' is a good thing in principle, right?. Unless, of course, you really believe that the government ensures that people are treated fairly in all walks of life.
Careful, this is a double-edged sword. One could also argue that labor unions and some of the aforementioned laws are the very same reason the work ethic in the US is abysmal, and the entitlement mentality has driven up wages and compensation so high we are becoming unable to compete in a global market. And that's exactly why American manufacturing businesses DO love China.
And mistreatment of workers in China and other 3rd world nations is why they are starting to rise up and protest too. Mistreatment being profitable does not make it right, regardless of where it is on the planet.
As for the work ethic being "abysmal" in the U.S., how about we avoid blanket statements? It's well-documented that most U.S. corporations are getting by with a lot less these days; workers are toiling their butts off for ever-increasing corporate profits but are only being rewarded with tiny raises and no bonuses even though they are doing 2x the work they used to. "Bad work ethic" indeed. Americans work MORE hours than their European counterparts, not less. How about you give us some kudos instead of being negative?
Also, regardless of how they came about, aren't many of the laws you mentioned mandated at the state and federal level, and not by unions?
No, I'm not going to let you disregard how the laws came about. They came about because of unions. It's blatantly unfair for you to give government the credit for union-induced worker protection laws and claim the unions are unnecessary because they succeeded. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it: If we forget the working conditions that existed before unions and we discard the unions, those conditions will return. As business defenders are all too proud to say, companies are in business to make a profit. They WILL screw workers if we are not vigilant. GUARANTEED.
In case you didn't know, labor unions do not pass laws, the government does. The government makes sure ( at least is supposed to) that people are treated fairly in all aspects of life.
Labor unions by definition are parasites. They suck money out of companies in order to survive. They do not contribute to progress within the company, on the contrary. They only have their interests at heart. They are a monopoly that force the company to pay higher wages in order to make more money from dues and to get more members to join. They have absolutely no interest in making a better workplace if it doesn't mean more money in their coffers. They are total capitalists.
In NYC the unions are basically mafias who use threats, intimidation, bribes to public officials and worse to force people to use them and pay their outrageous salaries. Believe me I know...
Anyone who has to deal with these thugs becomes anti-union in a matter of minutes. They should be in prison.
Agreed One Hundred percent! Union members are parasites who contribute nothing to the companies that employ them, driving up costs that make companies uncompetitive. Just look at GM for goodness sakes.