UPS shareholders yesterday confirmed the company’s new management boardat an annual meeting that reportedly lasted just 30 minutes. All ten nominees for the Board ofDirectors were “overwhelmingly” elected, UPS announced.
The UPS board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share onall outstanding Class A and Class B shares, payable on June 5, 2007, to shareholders of record onMay 21, 2007. UPS said that it has maintained or increased its dividend every year since 1969 andhas increased the quarterly payout five times in the past four years.
Prior to the meeting, the Platinum Shield Association (PSA), anorganisation claiming to represent Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE) and UPS Store franchisees in the USA, saidit planned to protest outside the event over long-standing complaints about the re-branding ofindependent MBE stores to The UPS Store.
“All of us in the franchisee organizations believe UPS shareholdersshould hear our concerns and understand UPS’ total failure to live up to promises and projectionsmade to us – and to UPS shareholders,” said PSA official Joe Wightman, who operates a UPS (MailBoxes Etc.) store in New York City. The PSA, with 131 members, claims UPS has failed to meet plansto expand the UPS Store network in the USA, and says that many UPS franchisees are operating at aloss.
Moreover, according to the PSA, some 350 UPS franchisees across the USAhave started three separate legal actions against UPS, alleging intentional misrepresentation,breach of contract, and failure to disclose performance and financial data.
