A Bad Rap
Beverly Hills, California; 1992 “Cop Killer,” a song by Ice-T’s band Body Count, hit a sour note with police, shareholders, and even Charlton Heston, who all called for Time Warner to drop the rapper from its Warner Bros. label. But the company stood firm while protesters marched outside the Regent Beverly Wilshire. Inside, Heston recited the songs lyrics to “Cop Killer” while staring down co-C.E.O. Gerald Levin.
Unfriendly Skies
Arlington, Virginia; 1992 Unprofitable at the time, the USAir (now U.S. Airways) couldn’t afford a nice hotel or convention center, so it rented out a mini movie theater in the Fashion Centre mall in Arlington. The 100 or so shareholders who came were offered no food and were ushered out of the theater just before the matinee screening of Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers.
A Load of Manure
Vancouver, British Columbia; 1995 Earth First and other groups had been regular fixtures at MacMillan Bloedel’s (now Weyerhaeuser) annual gatherings, but protestors outdid themselves in 1995 when they dumped a truckload of manure at the entrance to the Hyatt Regency, where the logging company was holding its meeting.
The Naked Truth
Edinburgh, Scotland; 1996 Angry about Lloyds TSB's refusal to forgive debt from third world nations, protestors set off sirens and then stripped naked to reveal slogans painted on their bodies, including “Expose the naked truth” and “This is my ethical streak—what is yours?” After running nude through a group of about 500 shareholders, they were thrown out.
Warren's Starring Role
Omaha, Nebraska; 2000 The Woodstock of Capitalism went a little Hollywood in 2000 when Warren Buffett and Bill Gates played opposite each other in short films screened for shareholders. The first featured the duo facing off against Judge Judy, and a later clip spoofed The Wizard of Oz, with Buffett as Dorothy and Gates as the Scarecrow.
Mickey Mouse Management
Philadelphia, 2004 Thousands of supporters of Roy Disney, Walt’s nephew and a former board member, showed up to protest Walt Disney chairman Michael Eisner’s management and compensation, which at that point totaled $278 million. Hundreds of the protesters were children, many of whom spent their time admiring the Mickey Mouse statues and videos of Disney princesses in an atrium outside the meeting.
Fashion Faux Pas
Cincinnati, 2005 Evelyn “Queen of the Corporate Jungle” Davis, a fixture at Federated Department Store’s shareholder meetings, stood up in a vibrant floral-print blazer before 125 investors and challenged C.E.O. Terry Lundgren to name the company’s fashion designer. She wanted to find out whether Lundgren was as interested in his products as in the bottom line. “David Meister,” Lundgren replied, correctly.
Retail Rage
Fayetteville, Arkansas; June 2007 In addition to the Wal-Mart shareholders who come to town for the company’s annual meetings, there are regular protests organized by the Teamsters union and others. Fed up, Wal-Mart infiltrated a labor-rights group called Against the Wal last year to see if it planned protests at the company’s annual gathering. The group found out and is planning a massive protest in June.
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