Shareholder Primacy Precatory proposal at BJ, activism at SNAP
Apr 8, 2026
They discuss Trillium’s greenhouse gas precatory proposal at BJ and the procedural fight over ballot inclusion. They examine tactics like proxy threats, settlement choices, and universal proxy’s role. They explore activism at Snap, its three-class share structure, how limited voting affects engagement, and whether public pressure can move controlling founders.
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Precatory Proposals Work As Leverage
- Precatory shareholder proposals can be wielded as leverage rather than just votes.
- Trillium used a credible threat to run its own proxy solicitation to get BJ's to agree to include its greenhouse gas proposal on the ballot.
Union Used Cheap Proxy Drive To Force Inclusion
- United Mine Workers ran a proposal-only proxy drive at Warrior Met and forced the company to include the proposals on its own ballot.
- The union's alternative circulation cost was low (around $15,000) and pressed the company to concede to avoid losing voting insight and quorum visibility.
Push For Implementation Not Just A Vote
- Negotiators should push beyond ballot inclusion toward implementation when a company concedes.
- Mike Levin argues Trillium 'let BJ's off easy' by accepting only inclusion rather than securing company adoption after 30% prior shareholder support.