“I’ve never been interrupted while making a shareholder presentation. I’ve never had my mic cut, and I’ve never been removed from a meeting room. And I’ve certainly never been arrested,” Flaherty said, “Those things were unprecedented for me.”
The issue last year was that Flaherty questioned the character of one of Buffett's best friends and a former Berkshire board member,
Buffett has donated billions to Gates’ foundation over the years and plans to give him the bulk of his fortune to distribute.
Berkshire didn't immediately respond to the federal lawsuit that was filed Friday, and it wasn't mentioned during Saturday's meeting. Berkshire officials didn't even address any of the proposals during the meeting — instead they relied on their statements of opposition that were filed in the official meeting proxy.
Buffett stayed silent during the business meeting after spending all day Saturday answering shareholder questions at the main part of the shareholder meeting. He let his eventual successor Vice Chairman
Flaherty’s proposal was one of six rejected at Berkshire’s meeting this year. They were all opposed by the board, and Buffett still controls roughly one-third of the vote so anything he opposes is almost certain to fail. None of the proposals received more than 85,000 votes. Flaherty’s proposal only drew 6,150 votes while getting 443,544 votes against it.
Some of the other proposals rejected Saturday included ones to require Berkshire to create reports on climate change risks and diversity and inclusion efforts at the massive conglomerate. Another proposal would have required Berkshire to create a board committee focused on railroad safety.
The safety chief for the SMART-TD rail union that represents conductors and other rail workers,
“Railroad safety requires effective board oversight,” Cassity said.
Berkshire argued that BNSF is already focused on improving safety and doesn't need more oversight.
With regard to the other proposals, Berkshire officials argued that such reports would be cumbersome because of the decentralized way the company is run and unnecessary. Plus, some of its subsidiaries like its massive utility unit already produce reports on greenhouse gas emissions, Berkshire said.
This year, Flaherty was allowed to make his case that Berkshire should produce a report on the risks of doing business in
“China poses unique risks for Berkshire Hathaway,” Flaherty said, arguing that the company's existing disclosures about subsidiaries like Fruit of the Loom that have factories in
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