A pension fund that owns 4,735 of Google's 297 million shares yesterday filed a proposal urging the Mountain View, Ca. search giant to take apart its two-class stock structure; the fund claims the
structure gives second-class shareholders little say in company voting. Under its two-class stock structure, Google's class B shares, held by founders Sergey Brin, Larry Page and company CEO Eric
Schmidt, count for 10 votes each compared with one vote for every share of class A stock. The "revolt," as it can barely be called, is certainly not going to lead to any kind of change, because the
bricklayer's pension fund doesn't have near enough influence to overturn company policy. They know this, too, but maintain that it's an issue worth raising--especially for the future, to protect
against "ne'er-do-well" heirs that could muck things up long after the company's three biggest shareholders are gone. Together, Brin, Page and Schmidt hold nearly 70 percent of Google's voting
control. The fund's proposal will be voted on and roundly rejected on May 11, since the company said its board of directors will oppose the shareholder initiative.
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