AFSCME Employees Pension Plan, Washington, targeted 11 companies in a campaign to withhold votes for specific directors, officials of the $700 million pension fund announced today. The companies are: Honeywell International Inc, Cendant Corp., VF Corp., General Electric Co., Kohl's Corp., Colgate-Palmolive Co., Union Pacific Corp., Qwest Communications International Inc., Hilton Hotels Corp., Home Depot Inc. and Lowe's Cos.
The fund is withholding votes "from directors who have supported excessive executive pay that did not match company performance, directors who have significant conflicts of interest or serve on too many boards, and directors of companies that continue to ignore majority shareholder votes," according to a statement.
"It's good practice for institutional investors to disclose their no votes when directors are failing shareholders," Gerald W. McEntee, plan chairman and president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said in the statement. "And going forward, we are putting company directors on notice that they will be the focus of our corporate governance efforts. "
