IBM 2001 Stockholder Meeting

IBM's 2001 Stockholder Meeting

April 24, 2001

The 2001 IBM Stockholder meeting was held at 10:00 AM Eastern time in Savannah, Georgia, USA. Prior to the meeting, members of IEBAC and the Alliance@IBM distributed information on Stockholder Resolution #4. After the meeting members of IEBAC and the Alliance@IBM held a rally in support of employees of IBM and other companies who have been hurt by benefits changes.

Pre-meeting:
Prior to the stockholder meeting IEBAC and Alliance@IBM members met outside the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center. Our intention was to peacefully distribute information on stockholder proposal #4, as well as information about the Alliance@IBM. We were initially told that we could not distribute this information immediately in front of the entrance being used by stockholders. We told the local sheriff that we would stay on county property, but he asked us to move to the other side of the building (out of view of the entrance). We informed the sheriff that the law allowed us to be on county property. The sheriff at that point said we could begin to distribute the information, but that he was going to check on the law and, if the law was not in our favor, order us to move to the other side of the building. He never returned, and the information was distributed until the beginning of the meeting.

The meeting:

AGENDA

ANNUAL MEETING
of STOCKHOLDERS
APRIL 24, 2001
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

CALL TO ORDER and INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

NOTICE OF MEETING and REPORT on a QUORUM

ITEMS OF BUSINESS SPECIFIED in the NOTICE of MEETING:

Election of directors for a term of one year
Ratification of appointment of independent accountants
Stockholder proposal on board service
Stockholder proposal on pension and retirement medical

VOTING
(BALLOTS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO STOCKHOLDERS
WHO REQUEST THEM. STOCKHOLDERS WHO HAVE
ALREADY VOTED SHOULD NOT REQUEST A BALLOT UNLESS
THEY WISH TO CHANGE THEIR VOTE.)

REPORT on THE COMPANY

ADJOURNMENT

QUESTION PERIOD

NOTE:
Stockholders are asked to hold questions until the question period.
In order to give as many people as possible a chance to be heard, each stockholder will be limited to
on or two questions until other stockholders have had the opportunity to ask questions.

The REPORT on The COMPANY is the only part of the meeting that you will be able to read the transcript for, or to see the replay of. Only the 390 shareholders who were in attendance were able to see and hear the question and answer period of the meeting. Many have questioned why the QUESTION Period came after the voting.

During the Q&A period, many questions were raised concerning retirement and medical benefits. Many attendees were not surprised by the questions, but rather by Mr. Gerstner's arrogance in answering them. At one point, Mr. Gerstner declared the issue of retirement and medical benefits to be closed and said we should move on. Mr. Gerstner, we agree that someone should move on... you!

The Rally!

Lee Conrad	Earl Mungeon	Janet Krueger
Click on the images above to view a larger image.

After the stockholder meeting, a rally was held outside of the convention center. More than 60 employee rights supporters listened as speakers, including Lee Conrad, Earl Mungeon, Janet Krueger, Reverend Smalls, and Jesse Jackson, discussed how employees have been abused by companies that have taken away promised benefits while a few executives have reaped millions in bonuses.

On attitudes of IBM's managers...

After the rally, I and another Alliance@IBM member took the water taxi from the convention center back to Savannah's historic district. At the dock, three IBM managers (Thomas Martin and two other men) boarded the water taxi and sat in the rear. Also on board was an elderly woman, who said she was a stockholder, who asked the managers what the rally was about. The managers told this woman that it was "just a bunch of disgruntled workers" who wanted a union, and if they had a union, "I wouldn't be allowed to carry" my own boxes. We could not tell if these comments were made by Mr. Martin, or one of the other two gentlemen (gentlemen is a term we use loosely here).

Mr. Martin and his associates are either ignorant of the type of union the Alliance@IBM is trying to form, or they purposely lied to sway the feelings of a stockholder. The type of union the managers were thinking of was a craft union, in which only certain people can do certain types of work. The Alliance@IBM is organizing to create an industrial union, which will cover an entire industry, not just specific jobs. This will allow workers to easily move between jobs, encourage cross-training between jobs, and ensure that workers can continually add to and enhance their skills. As for Mr. Martin and his cohorts... we are sure that Alliance members will be happy for them to carry their own weight, and a contract will ensure that they do.

Jim Mangi