WASHINGTON, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of the decision of the board of directors of Washington Mutual today to separate its CEO and board chair positions after the April 2008 vote on a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Master Trust shareholder resolution calling for such action, the following statement was released by SEIU Master Trust Executive Director Steve Abrecht:
"We are pleased the Board of Directors of Washington Mutual separated the roles of Chairman and CEO in response to our shareholder proposal which received majority vote on April 15th.
We also note the significant changes in leadership among several key committees. We believe this is a clear acknowledgement of important failings by Mr. Killinger and the Board in managing risk to shareholders.
We expect more independent and effective Board oversight moving forward, especially in light of the significant threat to shareholder value posed by the recent capital infusion from private equity firm TPG."
ABOUT THE SEIU MASTER TRUST
At the time of the April 2008 shareholder resolution filing, the SEIU Master Trust held 13,800 shares of Washington Mutual stock.
The SEIU Master Trust, with total assets of more than $1.9 billion, is an active proponent of sound corporate governance as a vital means to protect and enhance shareholder value.
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