Push for Wal-Mart to accept non-discrimintation proposal for equity plans

Thousands of people from around the globe have started arriving in Northwest Arkansas this week for the annual Wal-Mart shareholders meeting held at the Bud Walton Arena on the University of Arkansas campus.

Chartered buses began arriving Tuesday at the Bentonville square where flags from every country that Wal-Mart
does business with were flying. Inside the visitors center they could
see Sam Walton's truck and see displays from each country. Activities
are scheduled each day such as free concerts from big name celebrities.
Shareholders will then get down to business on Friday and vote on a
number of resolutions which can be found here.

Along with shareholders, protesters will also be a part of the crowded landscape. One such group called Against The Wal
Coalition has stated that they will picket outside the Arena. Martha
Burk, chairwoman for the National Council of Women's Organizations will
also make an appearance to promote proposal No.6 which requests that
the company's board design a report that outlines how stock options and
restricted stock awards are distributed among gender and race. Proposal
No. 6 would allow persons to see that Wal-Mart is creating good jobs for women and all races. Wal-Mart's
board of directors have asked the shareholders to vote against proposal
No. 6 as they rely on performance based criteria in granting equity
compensation awards.