Reported by Sandy Anderson, Interim President, BenefitsRestoration@IBM
As you undoubtedly know, April 27th was the annual IBM Shareholders Meeting and represented an opportunity to voice concerns regarding any issues that those in attendance may have.
This was a first for many of us; a first opportunity to attend a meeting since they have traditionally been held in faraway places, a first to see Mr. Palmisano in person and a first to hear others voice their concerns along with ourselves. Last year, the format of the meeting included a goodly amount of time at the end of the meeting for those in attendance to voice their concerns….a Q & A session. This year, the Q & A session was cut short. Mr. Palmisano announced that IBM had scheduled a separate “Town Meeting” for retirees and employees in the next room to provide an opportunity for people to discuss their issues with Nick Donafrio (VP for Technology) and Randy MacDonald (VP for Human Resources). This was a move that was very well done on IBM’s part. Since it was not announced in advance, it conflicted with a rally that was already scheduled for the media and others. In effect, you could attend the rally or meet with IBM. The other benefit to IBM of course was the Mr. Palmisano was not faced with answering “difficult” questions in front of the shareholders. Since the press and any other non-IBM or retiree people were not allowed to attend the Town Meeting, this really became a closed session.
Despite this tactic, which was really very well planned, two of the Benefits Restoration team were able to be recognized to ask questions of Mr. Palmisano before the Q & A was cut off. Pat Jocelyn from Vermont cited an example of a gentleman from CA whose pension income is $1125/month and his medical contributions are $928/month. In net he has $177 for disposable income such as heat, light, food and other non-essentials. Pat asked for “Sam’s” help in improving retirees plights. Sam was sympathetic. Art Richter from Kingston, NY who has just joined the Board of Benefits Restoration spoke eloquently of the history if IBM, respect for the individual and closed with “have you no shame?” Amazingly, I sat there with a microphone in my hand meaning that I would be among the next to speak when the Q & A was abruptly stopped….while I think this was coincidence, as they say, it do make you wonder! Others who were in a position to speak were Linda Guyer from the Alliance@IBM , each of the people who had proposals to be voted such as Jimmy Leas(VT), Don Parry(FL), Janet Krueger (MN) to name a few. Mr Parry’s proposal on executive compensation gained 37% of the vote in favor…a significant increase and I predict success for this proposal next year. Proposal #8 on Expensing Stock Options garnered a 53% For vote. This must be one of the very few times that a proposal was voted in over the objections of IBM and is a significant event in my opinion.
Since I chose to join the Town Meeting after the shareholders meeting, I missed my chance at meeting the media at the rally outside….probably missed my 15 minutes of fame but I felt it more important to discuss with IBM executives the plight of retirees.
At a guess, I would say that there were about 100 people in the Town Meeting; most were retirees with a some current employees sprinkled throughout. I would say that the majority of the questions asked were related to retiree pensions and benefits. One current employee voiced her concern that, as a young employee, she did not want to think that her future included sitting in a meeting like this at some time asking the same kinds of questions about her pension. Others voiced concerns about COLA’s (Cost of Living increases), cost of medical contributions, prescription drug plans and one current employee voiced the concern that every time he sits down to look at whether he can afford to retire, he learns that the cost of medical premiums prevents him from doing so.
In general, Mr. MacDonald was sympathetic but, to be honest, I did not hear anything concrete that indicated action to improve retirees problems. Since we were each restricted to basically one question each, I shelved my own 92 questions and simply requested that IBM provide a contact to work with NRLN and Benefits Restoration on affordable health care. Rather than continual complaining, I would prefer to see this once great company participating in solving the problem. My phrasing may have been less than tactful as Mr. MacDonald took exception to my choice of words. None the less, when asked how we might start a dialog on this subject, he said, “I don’t know, I’ve got to think about it.” I certainly hope he does indeed think about it and finds a way to begin making progress toward a solution. Sympathy does not provide groceries.