Change urged at Google

SAN FRANCISCO - A union pension fund has proposed that Google eliminate a two-tier voting structure, which would dilute control of the company's top three executives, who hold a privileged class of stock, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The one share, one vote proposal by the Bricklayers & Trowel Trades International Pension Fund will be put to Google shareholders at the company's annual meeting on May 11.

Google's triumvirate - co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and chief executive Eric Schmidt - hold overwhelming voting power through a two-tier voting structure. Page and Brin hold around 28.8 per cent and 28.7 per cent, respectively, of Class B voting shares, giving them majority control of Google.

Schmidt holds 11.3 per cent of votes. Collectively, the three retain two-thirds of all votes, the filing said.

Under the current structure, each Class B Google share has 10 votes, while Class A shares carry only one vote per share, giving insiders absolute control.

"Most institutions frown on dual-class stocks," said Charles Elson, director of the Weinberg Centre for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware.

- REUTERS