Citigroup shareholders made history last week when they voted to reject the proposed pay package for the company's top executives. Financial services institutions must now hold non-binding "say on pay" votes—which give shareholders the chance to disapprove of excessive executive compensation—at least every three years. In 2006, the AFSCME Employees Pension Plan was the first U.S. investor group to file a "say on pay" proposal. Six years later, thanks to Dodd-Frank, it is the law of the land.

The proposed pay package included executive pay of more than $54 million—including a $15 million paycheck for CEO Vikram S. Pandit. As part of the deal, Pandit was also given a $10 million retention bonus, totally unconnected to the company's financial performance. Shareholders rejected the total pay package with 55 percent of the vote. The Citigroup board of directors has the option to ignore the shareholders' vote, but could face major public fallout by pushing ahead with the payouts.

"It was encouraging to see shareholders vote to reject this excessive pay package. I don’t know what the Citigroup board members were thinking when they offered such a huge payout to a CEO who has let down his employees and shareholders alike," said Barb Phillips, President of OAPSE Local 233. "In these challenging times, we must all be mindful of corporate greed gone wild."

AFSCME has also been working to rein in excessive executive pay by fighting the practice of one person holding dual position of CEO and Chair of the Board. A company's top executive is responsible to the board of directors—which is often complicated when the CEO is the head of that board. AFSCME was ahead of the curve on "say on pay" rules and will continue to fight for working families and the 99 percent on every battlefront—including in corporate boardroom