Verizon Retirees Achieve New Governance Reform
12 January 2022 - 02:30AM
Leaders of the non-profit Association of BellTel Retirees, Inc.
have quietly and successfully achieved another important reform at
Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and its corporate governance
policies, the 12th change won through shareholder activism by the
retiree organization, that aims to bring about greater workforce
equity and inclusion practices.
The change, which Verizon’s Board adopted in response to a
retiree shareholder proposal, expands the roll of the Board’s Human
Resources Committee from its narrow focus on executive compensation
to include the responsibility to oversee broader workforce equity
issues, including: “employee diversity, equity and inclusion,
talent acquisition, retention and development, employee engagement,
pay equity and corporate culture.”
In November 2021, BellTel co-founder Robert
Rehm filed a shareholder resolution asking Verizon to give
the board direct responsibility for workforce equity issues.
"Verizon should have done this a long time ago, and it shouldn't
have taken a shareholder resolution to get them to act,"
said Mr. Rehm.
He continued, "For too long the Human Resources
Committee focused solely on how much to pay top company executives
without taking responsibility for seeing that management is doing
all it can to promote workplace equity on a range of issues,
especially following events in recent years that have focused
public attention on the importance of diversity, equity and
inclusion in the workplace.”
Prior to the Association filing this proposal, the Verizon
board's Human Resources Committee operated under a charter that
focused solely on the compensation, retention, and succession of
Verizon executives. Retirees believed this was a glaring blind spot
as to the board's oversight of human capital management
practices.
In response to the Association proposal, less than a month
later, Verizon's board of directors responded by amending the
Committee's charter to make the Human Resources
Committee responsible for overseeing Verizon's "strategies,
initiatives and programs related to human capital management,
including with respect to employee diversity, equity and inclusion,
talent acquisition, retention and development, employee engagement,
pay equity and corporate culture." The company revealed this change
in a filing with the Securities & Exchange
Commission and advising that the Association proposal
would now be moot.
"Verizon's board may have been late to recognize the importance
of these issues, but better late than never,” said Mr.
Rehm. “We look forward to see what steps the board will
take to implement this new policy."
BellTel Retiree Chairman Tommy Steed, who is
proposing another 2022 Verizon proxy added, “Human capital drives
the corporation’s success, not vice versa, and the work output of
its employees is the most valuable asset any corporation can
possess and benefit from. For the company to finally consider all
its employees under the Board’s HR oversight function, and not just
the elite few in the senior executive compensation pool, is not
only equitable but is the morally right conclusion. This is now the
12th time BellTel Retirees have achieved enhancements to Verizon’s
corporate governance and executive compensation policies.”
Founded in 1996, the Association of BellTel Retirees Inc., have
long championed Verizon retiree shareholder rights, now including
12 proxy measures that have led to changes in corporate governance,
three of those by outpolling the company in the shareowner
vote.
Media Contact: Butler Associates, LLC. Strategic
CommunicationsTom Butler 646.213.1802 TButler@ButlerPR.comChristian
Agredo 646.213.0286 CAgredo@ButlerPR.com
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024