(November 15, 2006)
Proudly
representing retirees from the new AT&T Midwest Region, SBC Midwest
Region,
Ameritech, as well as the five Bell Companies in Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin
The Association of Ameritech/SBC Retirees,
Inc. has filed a Shareholder Proposal with ATT to be presented at the
Annual Shareholders Meeting to be held in April, 2007.
The proposal is as follows:
“RESOLVED,
the shareholders of AT&T Inc. hereby request that the Board adopt a
policy that includes, as a voting item in the proxy statement for each
annual meeting, an advisory resolution, proposed by AT&T’s management,
to approve the compensation of the named executive officers (“NEOs”),
as set forth in the proxy statement’s Summary Compensation Table (the
“SCT”), and the accompanying narrative disclosure of material factors
provided to understand the SCT. The policy should ensure that
shareholders fully understand the vote is advisory and will not
abrogate any employment agreement.”
It is our belief that the shareholders have
a right to understand the compensation packages of our senior
executives and be provided a means to demonstrate to the Board of
Directors their preferences. At a time when companies are reducing
benefits and dramatically increasing their health plan charges to
management retirees, companies such as ATT are building special plans
for their senior executives to guard them from the very restraints
they place on management retirees. As an example, Mr. Whitacre will be
paid over $5 million dollars a year when he retirees next year plus
receive a bonus of $15 million along with a special health plan
package that will permit him to have essentially free lifetime medical
coverage
This filing marks a major step up in our
seeking the attention of ATT senior management on those items that
affect retirees most dramatically. Once the final version of the Proxy
is negotiated with ATT, we plan to acknowledge the support of ATT’s
largest activist shareholders such as CALPERS. Thank you for your
support through the years. We will be asking for your proxy vote on
this item once more details become available.
Bruce Beckman
President, AASBCR, Inc.
AASBCR, a non-profit organization, was formed in 2002 to represent
Ameritech retiree issues to SBC, renamed AT&T as part of the recent
merger of SBC and AT&T. For more information on the organization
please check the web site at
www.aasbcr.org.
Please share this newsletter by e-mail with your Retiree and
Near-Retiree friends. Send
them to
www.aasbcr.org
to join. We need volunteers to help carry out our work