Brace yourself—the punches are starting to fly in the fight for shareholder access to the proxy statement.
Since the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made a pivotal ruling last September that shareholder groups can submit proposals for the proxy concerning director nominations, shareholder activists and companies alike have been preparing for a wave of resolutions this proxy season along those lines. Sure enough, the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees—which has fought for proxy access for years, and was the plaintiff in the 2nd Circuit decision—is leading the charge again, with computer giant Hewlett-Packard in its crosshairs.
