Do Stockholders Really Have Rights?

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In a recent article by James Stewart, it was noted that 41 directors of public companies lost their elections last year, but remained at their posts. How can this be, if this is a right of the stockholders? Stewart even found that directors who resign after losing votes don’t necessarily leave the board.

Questions:
1. According to the article, which company has directors who resigned but remain on the board?
2. What is the name for these directors who are rejected by shareholders, yet remain on the board?
3. Discuss the efficacy of corporate governance at Cablevision according to this article. Based on what you found out, would you want to be a shareholder of this company? Why or why not?

Source:
Stewart, J.B. (2013). When Shareholder Democracy is Sham Democracy. The New York Times, April 12 (Retrievable online at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/13/business/sham-shareholder-democracy.html?hp&_r=0)