(The International Brotherhood of Teamsters issued the following news release on June 8.)
WASHINGTON — Last week, representatives from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters General Fund introduced a corporate governance proposal at Wal-Mart’s annual shareholders meeting, urging the company to publicly disclose its political donations. The meeting was held in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
“Shareholders of Wal-Mart deserve to know how shareholder money is being spent. The company’s financial statements should be transparent and the board of directors should be accountable as to how corporate money is spent on politics,” said C. Thomas Keegel, Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer and Trustee of the Teamsters General Fund. “Investors depend on the transparency of corporate spending to assess the value of their holdings.”
Wal-Mart has donated $1.3 million to federal and state political campaigns since the 2000 election cycle.