Well done. Prudy
Please send as far and wide as possible. Thanks, Robert Sterling Editor, The Konformist http://www.konformist.com If you are interested in a free subscription to The Konformist Newswire, please visit http://www.eGroups.com/list/konformist/ and sign up. Or, e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject: "I NEED 2 KONFORM!!!" (Okay, you can use something else, but it's a kool catch phrase.) Visit the Klub Konformist at Yahoo!: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/klubkonformist From: Headwaters Update <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> H E A D W A T E R S . F O R E S T . U P D A T E Weekly Update 05-24-99 ------------------------------------------------------------ STUNNED MAXXAM MANAGEMENT GETS WAKEUP CALL FROM SHAREHOLDERS Hundreds descend on shareholders meeting to push alternate slate Although Maxxam is no stranger to controversial board meetings, this year's was by far the rowdiest. Environmentalists were joined by 230 United Steelworkers, most of them holding a single share of Maxxam stock apiece, who travelled from Spokane and other cities to attempt to change the Maxxam board that controls Kaiser Aluminum. Word is that when Houston hotels heard about the planned rally, they blackballed the shareholders. Maxxam was forced to move the meeting two hours north to a country club in a Texas town aptly known as Point Blank. Although none of the dissidents were able to secure a room at the exclusive resort, hundreds showed up for the shareholders meeting, including prominent members of the Democratic Party, environmentalists, attorneys, national labor leaders, noted environmentalist David Brower, and the mother of fallen Earth First! activist David "Gypsy" Chain. The coalition backed a slate of two independent directors who pledged to stand up to Maxxam Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles Hurwitz and change how the company treats the environment, labor, and its shareholders. The two well-known Democrats, former Ohio Senator Howard Metzenbaum and former federal judge and White House attorney Abner Mikva received a stunning one million votes, for an estimated 15 percent of the total tally. The vote far surpassed the three percent that independent candidates received in 1997, and represents 25 percent of the shares outside of Hurwitz' control. Speaker after speaker said the board had "better start listening to shareholders." Investment specialist Nell Minow of Lens Investment Management remarked that this vote is a wake-up call for Maxxam to reform its way of doing business. "Maxxam's management cannot ignore this important vote for Judge Mikva and Senator Metzenbaum. The board will have to address shareholder concerns ranging from questionable leadership and poor performance to the company's conflict-ridden history." Over the past three years, two California-based environmental foundations, the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment and As You Sow Foundation, have waged shareholder campaigns resulting in increasing support. As You Sow's Conrad MacKerron summed up their three year campaign: "We have always maintained that Maxxam can be more profitable by saving old-growth redwoods than by cutting them down. The voting results show that a lot of shareholders agree with us." ------------------------------------------------------------ T H E S E . U P D A T E S . are prepared by Headwaters Sanctuary Project and distributed by Bay Area Action <www.baaction.org>. Others may repost in entirety at will; please include all contact info. <http://www.HeadwatersForest.org> | info: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> T O . S U B S C R I B E . send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] S U B J E C T <blank> B O D Y subscribe Headwaters Yourfirstname Lastname Affiliation * You must send the subscription request from the account at which you wish to receive the Weekly Update & Alert, since the ListProcessor program reads your incoming email address to create your subscription. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Explore the Web for sites in News & Publications from Looksmart! http://clickhere.egroups.com/click/300 eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/konformist http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
