By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Teamsters Union on Monday urged shareholders of oil refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) to vote against an approval on executive compensation, arguing that the company provides outsized and unnecessary exit packages for top leaders.
The union said in a letter released on Monday that shareholders should at an April 28 meeting instead vote in favor of a proposal that attempts to rein in the vesting of unearned equity following a change in control.
The vote is advisory and is nonbinding.
The letter added that recent pay decisions at Findlay, Ohio-based Marathon reflect a "lack of self-awareness, given the $411 million benefit the company took under the CARES Act," referring to the stimulus bill passed by Congress in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
"With locked-out Marathon refinery workers raising the alarm over the impact cost-cutting is having on operational safety, these compensation arrangements suggest a very unbalanced approach to human capital management," the letter said. At present, 200 union members are being locked out of work at a Minnesota-based Marathon refinery.