Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 19, 1990 TAG: 9004190353
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
But some shareholders on the winning side viewed their victory as hollow because of AT&T's recent decision to withdraw a $50,000 annual contribution to Planned Parenthood, which in recent years has become a vocal supporter of abortion rights.
At its 105th annual shareholders meeting, AT&T reported its first-quarter earnings increased 12.5 percent to $668 million - on a 2.7 percent increase in revenue, to $8.89 billion. It also said initial customer response to its newly unveiled "Universal" credit card far exceeded expectations.
Just 5.5 percent of the 654.8 million shares voted were in support of the abortion resolution, offered by shareholder Shirley Leschin of Iowans for Life, an anti-abortion group. The resolution sought to forbid AT&T to contribute funds to any groups "that endorse, counsel or perform abortions."
In presenting her resolution, Leschin said AT&T's break with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America had reduced the need for her proposal.
Some major groups of shareholders called for defeat of Leschin's resolution while urging AT&T directors to restore the $50,000 contribution, which supports educational programs to reduce teen-age pregnancies. Among these was New York City Comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman, who represented the 4.4 million shares owned by the city's pension fund.
"Your action has been interpreted as strongly on the side of the anti-choice movement," Holtzman said, referring to opponents of abortion. "We believe that this hurts your image as a corporate philanthropist."
But AT&T Chairman Robert E. Allen insisted that the action was taken to maintain corporate neutrality on an issue that is "a matter of personal conscience." He said Planned Parenthood's high visibility in support of abortion rights had "tainted" the company's reputation "among some of our constituents."
He also said the company continues to finance educational programs on teen-age pregnancy conducted by other groups in communities where there are large concentrations of AT&T employees.
Planned Parenthood, in full-page advertisements published by the Los Angeles Times Wednesday and earlier in the month by the New York Times, accused AT&T of corporate cowardice and charged that it was "caving in to extremists."
In remarks to reporters before the meeting in the Los Angeles Convention Center, Allen tartly responded to the ad by saying that, after 25 years of contributions, "I'd probably have said thank you for your support."
Shareholders also defeated a resolution to end AT&T's affirmative action program. The proposal, advanced by a group called National Alliance on behalf of "white workers and their families," received 8.8 percent of the vote.
While the abortion issue dominated discussion before the 1,021 shareholders present at the convention center, others were concerned with the "downsizing" that has eliminated 90,000 AT&T jobs since 1984, when local phone operations were shifted to seven new regional companies. Allen attributed much of AT&T's increase in quarterly earnings to reducing payroll and redeploying remaining workers.
by CNB