Ford shareholders voted by an overwhelming 95% to suport the continuation of protections and benefits for LGBT employees. The motion was forced onto the ballot by shareholders sympathetic to the groups that are currently boycotting Ford. The primary organizer has been The American Family Association.
From 365Gay.com:
(Dearborn, Michigan) An attempt by a Ford shareholder to force the automaker to drop protections for LGBT workers from its human resources regulations was swiftly defeated on Thursday.
Shareholders at the company's annual meeting in Dearborn voted 95 percent to reject the proposal.
The motion had been submitted by shareholder Robert Hurley of Alton, Ill. Ford attempted to keep the issue off the agenda for today's meeting but Alton went to the Securities and Exchange Commission which ordered Ford to put it to a vote.
The motion called for Ford to change its policy to exclude any reference to sexual interests, activities or orientation. Ford argued to the SEC that the proposal would hurt the company's ability to recruit and could hurt sales to gays and lesbians. The SEC rejected the argument.
Ford then issued a recommendation to shareholders to vote against the measure.
The boycott of the company by conservative Christian groups did not come up at the meeting. The American Family Association and 18 other conservative groups in March reinstated a boycott of Ford (story) saying that the company had "reneged on an agreement to stop funding groups that promote same-sex marriage."
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