Bank of America Shareholders Unable to Advance Proposal to Stop BoA’s Woke Practices

Charlotte, NC (April 26, 2022) — Today, Bank of America (BoA) shareholders were unable to advance a proposal to stop BoA’s “woke” employee practices. The shareholder proposal was supported by The Boardroom Initiative, a coalition of conservative advocacy groups that launched this month to defend shareholders from “woke” corporate policies.  

Ed Rensi, Executive Chairman of The Boardroom Initiative and former president and CEO of McDonald’s USA, released the following statement:  

“While the shareholder proposal didn’t pass, this is still a victory for Americans because we’ve drawn a tremendous amount of attention to this issue. CEOs have a responsibility to deliver value to shareholders. This includes individual shareholders who depend on their income from their 401Ks.  There are millions of Americans, including many retirees living on fixed incomes, who depend on their 401k income and are facing record inflation. These Americans are depending on CEOs to deliver value, not cater to left-wing activists. The Boardroom Initiative will continue fighting back against ‘woke capitalism’ and we will be launching new campaigns to empower shareholders and employees in this important cause.”    

Scott Shepard, Director of the Free Enterprise Project, released the following statement:  

“Bank of America’s CEO and board owe their first duty to the shareholders who invest their nest eggs and their futures with the company. The Bank and its leaders can do their best for those investors, and also for all of their employees, by recognizing the equal civil rights of all of those employees. We’re eager to continue to work with the bank to make it the best possible investment for all shareholders.” 

Andy Puzder, Executive Chairman at 2nd Vote Advisers, released the following statement:  

“The Boardroom Initiative’s first campaign is a win in my books. We are spearheading a new front in the defense of free market capitalism – the economic system that is the foundation of American prosperity.  Every day, capitalism is under attack, and in too many instances, the source of those attacks is the corporate boardroom.  By demanding corporate transparency and accountability, The Boardroom Initiative is playing a crucial and growing role in this policy debate.”

Job Creators Network Foundation (JCNF), Free Enterprise Project, and Second Vote launched The Boardroom Initiative on April 20. 

The shareholder proposal voted on today called for a civil rights audit of the diversity policies at BoA to ensure no race or gender groups are being discriminated against in the name of equity or anti-racism. The proposal was unable to pass today as part of BoA’s annual meeting. The Boardroom Initiative coalition partner, Free Enterprise Project of the National Center for Public Policy Research, submitted the proposal. To see the original letter sent to Bank of America click here, to read the shareholder proposal, click here.   

Last week, FoxBusiness.com published Mr. Rensi’s op-ed, Time for Disney and corporate America to stay out of culture wars: Shareholders are the real losers of this controversy. To read it, click here.  

This week, Carolina Journal published Mr. Shepard’s op-ed, Working together to save corporate America from itself. To read it, click here.