DELTA AIR LINES, INC. | Third party political contributions at DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

Status
3.67% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
4
Resolution details
Company ticker
DAL:US
Lead filer
Individual
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Governance
ESG sub-theme
  • Lobbying / political engagement
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Industrials
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
RESOLVED: The shareholders of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta” or “Company”) ask the Company to adopt a policy requiring that, prior to making a donation or expenditure that supports the political activities of any trade association, social welfare organization, or entity organized and operated primarily to engage in political activities, Delta will require that the organization report, at least annually, the organization’s expenditures for political activities, including the amount spent and the recipient, and that each such report be posted on Delta’s website.
For purposes of this proposal, “political activities” are (i) influencing or attempting to influence the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of any individual to a public office; or (ii) supporting a party, committee, association, fund, or other organization organized and operated primarily for the purpose of directly or indirectly accepting contributions or making expenditures to engage in the activities described in (i). This proposal does not encompass lobbying spending.
Supporting statement
SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Our company must act on its fiduciary responsibility to more closely monitor its political spending and the accompanying risks. Too often corporate leaders fail to fully assess and scrutinize the ultimate beneficiaries of political contributions from corporate treasury funds. This oversight constitutes a lapse in corporate officers’ duty of care to protect and advance the interests of a company and its shareholders.
This duty is ever more crucial as corporate political engagement is increasingly scrutinized by the media, employees, investors, regulators, and consumers. This new reality has exponentially increased the financial risks companies face when their political spending directly or indirectly associates their brand with controversial political issues and outcomes and claims of corruption. Further, when companies donate to third-party groups, they typically lose the ability to control or to know how their money is eventually spent.
Companies can no longer give to politically active groups without paying close attention to the consequences or to what their political spending might enable.
Public records show Delta has contributed at least $1.85 million in corporate funds to third-party groups dating to the 2010 election cycle. Beneficiaries of this spending have been tied to attacks on voting rights, efforts to deny climate change, efforts to impose extreme restrictions on abortion, and even the attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol – associations many companies wish to avoid.
It is unclear whether Delta and its board received sufficient information from these groups to assess (a) the potential risks for the Company and stockholders, and (b) whether the groups’ expenditures aligned with Delta’s core values, business objectives, and policy positions.
Our company must look behind the curtain and demand to know how our money is spent and what risks our company is assuming. Mandating reports from third-party groups receiving Delta political money would demonstrate the Company’s commitment to robust risk management and responsible civic engagement.
We urge a vote FOR the commonsense risk management measures in this proposal.

Filed by John Chevedden

How other organisations have declared their voting intentions

Organisation nameDeclared voting intentionsRationale
Anima SgrAgainstManagement and the board should have the discretion to decide on the company's trade association memberships and their related risks. Furthermore, the company would have no guarantee that the organization is providing accurate data, which could create additional risks. It should be the ultimate decision of the board to justify and decide on the company's third-party affiliations, having regard to the best interests of the company and its shareholders in the knowledge of all facts available regarding the activities of the industry associations and benefits to the company.

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