Business Pants – 2022-05-12

Live. Hello from ESG snark, headquarters. It's a stakeholder friendly edition of business. Plan joined as always by Emma, demma lurking caution Matt, super spreader mascardi. I'm on day number two of this stupid t-shirt. Okay. In today's pretzel coated bag of pistachio dip nuggets called May 12th 2022. I tell companies what they should be doing at their boring, annual meetings, Matt plays HR games, and Emma joins the anti-work movement. Is that where you're doing? I don't know what you're up to, absolutely, that is 100% what I'm up to. All right. Do we want a timer for these? Yeah, we need one. All right, you talked the longest mine has a lot but I did a lot of good research so I think mine the only one that's important. You guys know it's not it's not even so fast and important and not at all. Let's do it go. I'm talking over my timer. All right, I looked into some shareholder vote. Here's what I did. I went to the SEC website, I searched for 8 KS, and I looked for item 507. That's how you find shareholder, vote. That's it. Call me. If you want to know more and I'll charge you 4000 dollars for that information. Here, I randomly picked three companies and I'm going to analyze them. The first one is Help me. If someone's looking at this script, where, where we Capital Corp? Mmm? I don't know if you worry, this is part of the problem. What happened at the meeting, nothing, everyone was loved. Everything passed boring, were there any Cheryl proposals? And he's really proposals know, I said nothing happened. What should have happened? What should have happened? I'll tell you that. How about a shareholder proposal to get rid of at least 12 directors? Because you're damn company, has 165 employees in 2020. if Apple uses the same logic, they would have 18,667 directors, which is probably 18,659, too many Wow. How does anything get decided that you're dumb Bank? Every board discussion quickly gets bogged down to 400 side conversations about Sour vs. Dill pickles and whether hacky sack is ready for a comeback or not. So, who were some directors to get to Target and get rid of the? First one is Vernon a Russell. Not only has this been there since W's first Administration, but he's so automatic that he named his company Vernon a Russell, turning it off. And before that he was a part, he was a partner at plumber Russell and Plummer, nobody likes a Russell sandwich with plumber bread, believe, me. And why don't we also get rid of w Chester louder? Dude, has been there since the first wait, for it Clinton administration. When this dude started, Zendaya wasn't even a thing yet. Hey. Oh, and what kind of a name is Chester louder? Wouldn't chowder. Lester make more sense. Come on. Anyone? No. No, it would not. It was like, yeah. It was like, give me that look like. What the hell is he talking about? What are you doing? Yeah, I Am Number Two. Mercury General Corporation. What happened at their meeting? Nothing. Were there any shareholder? Proposals know? I said. Nothing happened. What should have happened? Well let me tell you. First of all, 52% of this company is owned by George, Joseph and Gloria Joseph. So I don't does anything really matter anymore this matter and okay the Joseph's first of all and this is no joke, I was very excited to learn this. The chair of mercury generals board George. Joseph is a hundred years old. Yes, I saw in the proxy, it had a hundred under the age. Three digits. I was so excited. I know that's rare. I've never seen this before. Dude has been chair since wait for it. The Kennedy administration when this dude started then die. It wasn't even a thing yet. Or Tom Cruise twice or Tom Cruise. As much as I want to say. What the hell are you doing? It's time to move on. It's just too damn. Cool. 100 years old, he's older than frozen food. Spiral notebooks parking meters. Ballpoint pens even LSD. Which is probably what the shareholders are taking if to keep voting. This guy in 100 years old, 100 years old, one hundo, but I will say for this guy's benefit this dude, is the anti Zuck George Joseph graduated from Harvard with a degree in physics and Mathematics in just three years. No MBA graduated That's weird. Also, his birthday is September 11th, which means all of his birthdays from the age of 80 on have kind of sucks. So, let's just keep George on the board. But who can we get rid of how about his wife Vicky way Joseph? We don't need family. Member's on boards ever. Even if you were a cowboy hat living, Brooklyn, it's just not a good look, both ESG and ESG Cube professionals heartily agree. Hey, oh George Joseph's wife started last year. She won't even remember being a director, so get rid of her. Also, she's 30 years younger than her husband, that's like Zendaya marrying. Someone who was mine is five years old, that just makes no sense. Finally, a lot of Zendaya, Joe can we get rid of the old man's driving perk? Yes. This dude, George Joseph. 100 years old. He gets 26,000 dollars a year for a company car in parking in the companies on Wilshire Boulevard. In Los Angeles, you do the math. None of this sounds kosher to me. How is this guy driving in La? What is this? I don't know. Ask Vanguard a black rock the two largest shareholders. Finally, Precision biosciences. What happened? Well, it looks like shareholders. Don't like board chair. Kevin Bueller. A full 37% won. I'm gone. Which is impressive, considering the voting block of 36% including black rock and a bunch of other boring stuff. That means that basically everybody else seems to hate Kevin. The question is why they hate Kevin Bueller. I have two extremely signed a professional theories one. They think he's Ferris, Bueller from the movie, and think it's weird that a movie character is on the board or the incipit. Teenager is not really qualified or both, I don't know. Or maybe they're just embarrassed. That. Mr. Beulah went to a university that not many people have heard of Carroll University in Wisconsin. Sorry Carol. You know. And he's not even listed on a Wikipedia is one of his 56 Little Bull, alumni not to mention that one girl University's notable. One is Donald gerky, the inventor of SpaghettiOs, which are so, this is why people hate the chair position. Bioscience is Kevin Bueller? Were there any shareholder proposals know what should have happened? I don't know. Leave me alone. I'm tired. That's it. That's, that's your Roundup. Wow. And you will meetings at public corporations, you're not going to hear this anywhere else, because no one else As idiotic as good. Nobody else reads this. All right, I have real news today. That was not news. That was all that was real. I hate that was real. I don't like the inference. It wasn't real. It's all that was real. I I take it back. It was not news, is really well was I think that Precision biosciences, Mercury General and worry Capital corporate probably excited, just to be talked about. Nobody ever talks about these companies. We did it. Here, it's true. They were they've been sad for many, many years for 100 years. And one case, All right, in CNBC today. McDonald's is reportedly rolling out a grading system for employees at franchise locations. The grading system uses a scorecard and is 60 page methodology to determine. That's right. They see Pages it determines whether the pimple ridden teenager scalding themselves with hot, french fry oil are actually customer-centric enough. The franchises are worried now that this new system will alienate employees and an already tight labor market and the middle of the great burnout. So they, but I can tell them, they don't have to worry, we're gonna play a little game. Here, we have business hands, have what we think? Yes. Is it copy of the grading system, which I can share some details on in order to do it. I'm actually going to grade, Damian and Emma. Yes. Finally, they're gonna take the gonna take a grading quiz to see if you'd make the cut for current McDonald's employment. There are seven questions and you will get Plus two to minus two points, depending on your response. Is meaningless, so you don't have to worry about it. Just answer the questions. I will tell you, whether or not you fall in top employee range, average, employee range or terrible, and you should get fired. Are you ready to play? I'm gonna kick Damien's ass. I haven't played a game like this since I work at msci. I'm excited. I like being great. The first question is, did you sleep with your secretary? Have a secretary? You start? Yes. Well, no, this is the first question. Oh, okay, I was excited. Who's first? Damien answer first, I don't I think I'll make this simple, man. I don't have a secretary Do the math. Do the following logic. Okay? That is Damian's answer. Emma, what is your answer? Yes. Oh, Emma is correct. She gets plus two points for yes, and Damien gets zero points. Zero four, I don't have a secretary. It's actually one of the answers coming for blood. It's one of the answers is, I do not have a secretary. Okay, question number two, did you blame any parents for a shooting death at your store? Yes, I've never even held a gun before, do the math. I actually the answer Emma gave his yes, that is plus two points. That is a correct answer. Damien gave. What is a gun? Which is minus 2. That's a minus 2. Yes, these are real answers. I'm not kidding you. These are real answers on the scorecard that I think is from McDonald's. Number three, did you spit in the food of our metaverse store do that? I would want to do that. Do you like, do you like a meta? Louie, a meta recoil. What is that? You just answer the question. This is you're being graded here. I didn't know. I would never spit in the food because I'd be worried that like, CNN would get the footage. And I'd be like, shame just the world's most horrible person ever. So no, I'm gonna go with minus one for both of you. Where's the metaverse? Was the answer for minus one? I'm gonna give that to you the black hole. All right? The next question is, did you put any pigs in a gestation crate? Yes. Oh no, the gun here yesing it. I've said many times on the show, the pigs are my friends. I love those pigs. So that the answers a big fat, no, I'm going Damien basically said I'm a vegan which is -2 and Emma said yes which is plus one we the correct answer is I put both pigs and insubordinate co-workers increase. Oh shoot. So am I if you want full next time you gotta go deeper. All right, next the question. Did you serve any Russians? Well they look remember. This is grading you for your McDonald's? Employment did you serve a Russian? Could it be a Russian American tricky question? Yeah, it's a tricky question. Be a good. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna, yes. Because I, because this big McDonald's I work at is in Brighton, Beach in Brooklyn. So there's a lot of Russians around so I can say yes. Okay, I'm gonna say, um, yes, I'm gonna say yes on Russian soil and afar, because we're trying to be very consistent with our no Russian serving policy here at McDonald's, I'm giving Emma 2 points because the correct answer is I chained myself to the store to keep it open in Russia, but Emma is close enough. Damian just gets 1 point for a straight. Yes, if you had answered, no, but I like the band. Pussy Riot. You would have gotten minus one point. Sorry, we were looking for, yes, we're looking for, yes. Next question. What do you think about Carl ican's board? Slate. I don't think a lot, right? I feel negatively about Carl ican's Sports late. He's just a meddling activist investor and he needs to let us do our jobs here at McDonald's. Like meddling activists. Okay, I'm not. Okay pressed overall. I like that. He's I like the symbolism of it. How about that? You like the symbolism? Okay, Damien I'm giving you 0 points. She was watching this for actually, the answer that I have on the scorecard here. It says, Enrique Hernandez. The chair is my dad, which feels wishy-washy. So I'm giving you zero points and I'm giving you one, which the answer was the I can slate does not come from Chicago, and our board hasn't had cocktails with them. They must be unqualified. They must close the right answer though for the full. Plus two was pigs can suck it. And finally, our last question to see how you grade as a McDonald's employee with their new grading system is. Did you wash your hands this year? I mean, me and McDonald's. I'll be washed. My hands non-stop. I would never stop. I would be, I would be everything would be gross to me, so yes. All day. Yeah, because yes I've slept with my secretary so I obviously had to wash my hands. Oh no, you're gonna lose points for that. You're both losing points, the answer the correct, answer, the maximum answer is, I think so, what shaming your secretary Emma, what is the deal? I'm not, I'm just cleaning up the wash your hands because you suffer the secretary. What is wrong with you? I'm just look. Emma is first of all, you can't be upset because Emma, just rocked your world in this game and almost a consummate McDonald's employee with six points. She falls amongst the average employees actually, but with let's see, Damien got zero, minus 2, minus 1, minus 1, minus 2, plus 1, plus 0, minus one demon, got negative 6 points. That's what I got my review and his fired, Emma, you can work the fry station. Thank you McDonald's for making this all possible. I love how the Oil burns, my skin when it pops out of the. Oh, that's what happened. Yeah, Matt and I were wondering am sick of being depressed. So I am going to focus. On what is basically the only non-depressing thing in the news as of recently which is the blossoming American labor movement. We're very excited about that here. So this is how this is going to work. I have had the Wedding March stuck in my head. Basically, since the moment, I woke up this morning, is that true? Yes. Yes. Okay, that is absolutely. Are you gonna play it now? Did you know? Absolutely. No. Load up the music. I'm trying to get it out. Some cement it but so weddings are on the brain. Is there, do you just The Wedding? March, it is just oh, yeah. You going to a wedding this weekend? Like, what's the deal? No, I just woke up crazy. Yeah. Well, I mean that's nothing new but you know, particularly crazy wedding themed apparently today. Yeah, so terrible. I given my wedding theme to my day. I'm going to run through Labor stories, under the categories of Something. Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and something blue. Sure, why not, don't ask me any questions about it, please. This is just how things made sense to me today. All right, here we go. So for something, old we have, here's your headline. Yeah. Uber Lyft face shareholder. Push to disclose how much they are spending in fight for new labor laws. So here's why it's old. This is the second year in a row that the chair holders have asked Uber and Lyft to disclose their lobbying Activities. The Proposal got 31% of the vote at Uber and 40 percent at lift, which I don't know about you, but at felt kind of high to me on. Those are basically yeses. We have said so many times that if you, I think even according to msci, if you own 30% of the company, if you control 30% of the voting power that is considered that you control the company, which is 30% of the power that you completely control the company. So, how was that? These votes are massive. They're huge. Yeah, come on, lift. Yeah, so there are obviously recommending we're talking about. Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about, ownership rules. So Uber and Lyft are obviously recommending that their shareholders know vote. No, once again, and here is lifts ridiculous statement. Additional disclosure might put lift at a competitive disadvantage by revealing it, new business, strategies, and priorities, to competitors, or others, working on the other side of our issues or against the interests of our community. First of all, their competitor is who it's a, it's just Uber, right? It is basically, just Uber, who is lifts competitor right about those crusty. Old cab? Drivers. Oh, yeah. Well, even they like New York City cabs are on Uber now it's what? Yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It's very bizarre. There's some hybrid situation going on. Maybe I'll delve into still hail a cab, right? Yeah, you can. Yes, but there's some ride shares. How old is that? I missed that. I love doing that. I love the power of 300 years old. You need to be the next board. Chair Mercury Corps, I'm ready? Yeah. So that statement is also old, they have 100% said that before everything about this is Both I think encouraging but also boring because it's happened already but I'm holding out. Hope that it passes anyway, even though I'm sure Matt is about to tell me to not hold out. Hope for that Matt, I don't hold out for anything. Fine. Come on, moving on, what else? Something new. Yeah. Target employees at a Virginia store. For file for Union election amid. A broader labor push at big companies. So this is obviously knew this will be if this vote goes and passes this will be Target's first ever Union. The there is a slight caveat to that statement, which is the fact that nine pharmacists formed a micro Union in 2015, right before? Yeah. Yeah. It might really get an artisan, you just like, oh, overall. It doesn't count. I think we should look into my career unions at some point though because they are recognized by the National Labor over rule. So nine people are you, nine people a micro Union and it was right before Target sold their Pharmacy side of the business to CVS. So they were not even at Target for very long while they were unionized because they got sold basically immediately after which is funny, you get weeds, I think. Yeah, and particular store is looking to unionize. It has about 100 employees and has Actually been battling with Target since at least 2017 when the National Labor Relations Board found Target, guilty of discrimination censorship intimidation threat, surveillance of workers for exercising their right to store yes at this specific store. This one in Virginia they found them guilty of all of this which is great. However, Target isn't excellent, Union Buster and at the end of January they asked store managers to watch out for unionization efforts and to work with corporate HR to mitigate them. If possible the documentation of this got leaked and it is in violation of their settlement from this 2018 suit. Okay, so that's Target in Virginia. Come on this. Yeah, I want to see it from Target. All right. Number three, Something Borrowed. Amazon fires, two employees tied to his historic win at a New York Warehouse. So you can argue with me about this if you want. But I think that this is definitely borrowed because even though Amazon has already done some firing themselves, I think that Starbucks is the true original at firing organizers with impunity. So Amazon Fire, two people from an entire Warehouse. Well, Starbucks will raise you firing seven people from a store with like 20 employees. So this is obviously illegal and the national relationships board are starting now. Relationships are boring from Starbucks play. Oh yeah, they're just stealing each other's. You know busting you got it now. Yeah. All right. And finally number four, something blue. Yeah Star. Come on you worker. Who met with President Biden called moment? Her employer was deeply concerned. No company. Rep was invited. Here's why blue Starbucks is butthurt. It's obviously just sad that it got left out from their little Meeting at the White House so then they can prove it. She didn't say ginger because, Hey, listen to this quote from the letter, that Starbucks sent to the White House after their meeting with the various labor organizers from Amazon, Starbucks Etc. We are deeply concerned that Workers United, which is actively engaged, in collective bargaining with us and trying to organize all of our stores in our 240,000 plus Partners in parentheses. Employees was invited to the meeting while not inviting official Starbucks representatives to discuss our view on the matter. Well, okay problem. Yeah. No. The bigger problem is that when you say partners and have to write employees and you write that no that was in there. That is direct quote. It means that nobody knows what you're talking about because they're not your partner or they're your employees, stop calling them that I bet you, they wouldn't be in this situation if they just call them employees. I think, when again, we talked about this when you call them Partners they're gonna start to act like Partners. Correct. Yeah. So you blew it Schulte? Yeah. And then at the end of this letter Starbucks, requested, the opportunity to meet you and bring a diverse representative group of Starbucks Partners from across the country, to the White House so that they can share points of view and experience that are vastly different from those presented by workers United. So, Starbucks wants to bring scabs to the White House which is cool, I guess. Can I just say Starbucks, this is not how it works. The White House Biden, whoever, even Trump, anyone they invite people, that's just how it works. I like it themselves get to do this. This is not how you like. They're like a neighbor who shows up like, like right at happy hour and then stays somehow until 9:00 at night and won't. Oh, I was gonna say it's like inviting yourself to a dinner party at someone else's house. That they don't know that they're throwing for you yet. Who would do that? That sounds terrible. I would not do that. That's it. That's your news. I am going to give you to wrap us up with some quick anti-woke news. Here's your headline. There's one more Wall Street faces, new threat, from Louisiana, bill on gun policies. Louisiana's taking a page from the Texas, Playbook of confusing and ridiculous legislation by preparing a law to ban. This is real, the discrimination against gun manufacturers, they feel gun manufacturers are being discriminated against not black people. Yes, gun manufacturers. The law would require the state to create an enemies list of big banks that have anti-gun policies or products and avoid working with them. They're they're actually I looked into this. I did some research this morning, they're protecting big gun Manufacturing in Louisiana ostensibly which consists of approximately zero companies. Really there are zero publicly traded or large-scale gun manufacturers and headquartered or based in Louisiana. There are a bunch of small ones but it's usually like a guy in his garage who's who will make your gun for you. The law is a bun though, for woke data providers. Why? Because someone needs to pull the data about the banks that have anti-gun policies that Louisiana can use to create their enemies lists, Thank you, anti-woke industry for making the woke industry possible that is the end of the news today. Why don't they all the all the anti-walker? Reach out to us, we'll do your research for you totally, we'll do it for you. They are, they're a bunch of Communists. And if you like, you people are, that is all we have no more. Today, we'll be back tomorrow with some stuff. Goodbye.