Hello, and welcome to the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Please note that today's meeting is being recorded. At the conclusion of the business of the meeting, we'll have a discussion period. If you accessed the meeting by entering the control number provided to you in your proxy materials, you can submit questions or comments at any time by clicking the Q&A icon near the top right of your screen. Type in your questions into the rectangular box near the bottom of your screen, and then click and send. It is now my pleasure to turn today's meeting over to Jim Taiclet, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Lockheed Martin. Mr. Taiclet, the floor is yours.
Thank you, and good morning, everyone. I am Jim Taiclet, Chairman, President, and CEO of Lockheed Martin. Welcome to Lockheed Martin's 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. As described in our proxy materials, this annual meeting is being conducted exclusively online. We have continued this virtual format to facilitate stockholder attendance and to enable stockholders to participate fully and equally, regardless of size of holdings, resources, or physical location. Before I turn to the official business of this meeting, I wanna take a moment to personally thank our 114,000 team members, many of whom are stockholders, for their continued dedication and resilience in the face of a challenging environment. We also acknowledge all stockholders who have taken the time to join our meeting today, and we appreciate your continued investment in Lockheed Martin. Now turning to the meeting.
To be deemed present and to have the ability to vote during the meeting or to ask questions during the discussion period, you must have accessed the meeting by entering the control number previously provided to you in your proxy materials. Holders of our common stock as of the close of business on February 25, 2022, the annual meeting record date, will be able to vote and submit questions during the meeting if they access the meeting by entering the control number provided in their proxy materials. However, the voting deadline for participants in Lockheed Martin savings plans was April 18, 2022. Those who have logged in as guests will not be able to submit questions. We have two stockholder proponents who will present Proposals four and five. This meeting is now called to order, and the polls are open.
Let me first advise everyone that some of our remarks today may be considered forward-looking statements which cover future events. Please be aware that the corporation's actual results may vary materially from what we believe or anticipate. Please refer to our SEC filings, including our 2021 Form 10-K and first quarter 2022 Form 10-Q, for information on factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. These filings are available on Lockheed Martin's website and on the SEC's website. Joining us for this meeting are Maryanne Lavan, our Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, who will act as Secretary of the meeting. Representatives of Computershare Trust Company, who've been appointed to serve as the inspectors of election at the meeting. Members of our management team include Jay Malave, our Chief Financial Officer, Frank St. John.
John, our Chief Operating Officer, Greg Karol, our Chief Human Resources Officer, Leo Mackay, our Senior Vice President of Ethics and Enterprise Assurance, Greg Gardner, our Vice President of Investor Relations, and all of our directors, who are also director nominees, including Dan Akerson, our independent lead director. I want to thank each of our board members for joining the meeting and for their dedication and willingness to serve on the board. Lastly, representatives from Ernst & Young LLP, our independent auditors, are also present at the meeting. During the discussion period that follows the meeting, they will be available to answer appropriate questions. Before proceeding to the official business of the meeting, I'd like to advise you that the agenda and the rules and procedures that we will be following today are posted on the virtual meeting site for your review.
If you accessed the meeting by entering the control number provided to you in your proxy materials, and you wish to submit a question for consideration at the discussion period at the conclusion of the meeting, you may do so by clicking the Q&A icon near the top right of your screen, typing your question into the rectangular box near the bottom of your screen, and then clicking Send. Please limit yourself to one question so that we can answer as many pertinent stockholder questions as time permits. If you're logged in as a guest, you will not be able to submit a question.
Maryanne Lavan has advised me that the notice of this meeting, the proxy statement, and the annual report were duly and properly distributed to all stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 25, 2022, and that the affidavits to that effect will be filed with the records of this meeting. The inspector's preliminary report shows that more than 233 million shares, or more than 87% of the shares outstanding and entitled to vote, are represented here today. This meets the quorum requirement of our bylaws, and we may proceed with today's meeting. Today's meeting will focus on five proposals described in the proxy statement.
The proposals are the election of 13 directors, the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the corporation's independent auditors. An advisory vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers in the proxy statement and two stockholder proposals. Three members of our management team, Marya nne Lavan, Frank St. John, and myself, have been appointed proxies by holders of at least 233 million shares, and we have voted these shares in accordance with the instructions of those stockholders. Stockholders who wish to vote during the meeting may do so throughout the meeting until I announce the polls have been closed. If you've already voted by proxy, there is no need to vote during the meeting unless you wish to change your vote. We'll turn now to the official business of this meeting.
Proposal one, the nomination of 13 directors to serve on the board of directors. The detailed biographies of all of our director nominees are presented on Pages nine through 15 of the proxy statement. Proposal two is the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditors for 2022. Proposal three is the advisory vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers. Proposal four is a stockholder proposal offered by John Chevedden. The proposal requests that the corporation reduce the threshold for calling a special stockholder meeting. Stockholder Proposal four and the board's opposition statement are presented on Pages 74 and 75 of the proxy statement. Proposal five is a stockholder proposal offered by the Sisters of Charity of Elizabeth, NJ, the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, and the School Sisters of Notre Dame Cooperative Investment Fund.
Proposal five requests that the corporation issue a human rights impact assessment report. Stockholder Proposal five and the board's opposition statement are presented on Pages 76 and 77 through 78 of the proxy statement. Mr. Chevedden and Sister Nora Nash, a Sister of St. Francis of Philadelphia, are on the phone today to present their respective proposals. Operator, we are ready for Mr. Chevedden.
Thank you. Mr. Chevedden has been activated.
Hello, this is John Chevedden.
Mr. Chevedden, would you please introduce Proposal Four?
Hello, this is John Chevedden. Can you hear me okay?
Yes.
Our Proposal Four, special shareholder meeting improvement. Shareholders ask our board to take the steps necessary to give the owners of a combined 10% of our outstanding common stock the power to call a special shareholder meeting. Management already seems to be in agreement with this proposal because management provides for one shareholder to call a special shareholder meeting if the shareholder owns 10% of our stock. A group of shareholders should have the same right as one shareholder when both parties have the same 10% stock ownership. Why should one large shareholder get special treatment when his money at risk is the same as a group of small shareholders? We gave 42% support to this proposal topic in 2016.
This 42% support likely represented 51% support from the shares that have access to independent proxy voting advice and are not forced to rely on the biased view of management. It theoretically takes 25% of shares now to call for a special shareholder meeting. This theoretical 25% translates into 33% of the shares that cast ballots at our annual meeting. It would be hopeless to expect that shares that do not have the time to vote would have the time to go through the special procedural steps to call for a special shareholder meeting. It is also important to have a more reasonable stock ownership percentage to call for a special shareholder meeting to help make up for the fact that we do not have a right to act by written consent.
Many companies provide for both a shareholder right to call a special shareholder meeting and a shareholder right to act by written consent. Southwest Airlines and Target are companies that do not provide for shareholder written consent and yet provide for 10% of shares to call for a special shareholder meeting. In 2021, we gave 46% support to a shareholder proposal for a right to act by written consent in spite of management resistance propped up by misleading management statements. When reading the management statement next to this proposal or next to any shareholder proposal, please remember that there is a formal process to root out any supposedly misleading shareholder text in a shareholder proposal, but there is no formal process to root out misleading management text next to a shareholder proposal.
This 46% support in 2021 most likely represented 51% of the shares that have access to independent proxy voting advice. Lockheed Martin is thus getting a free ride on the backs of small shareholders who have no access to independent proxy voting advice. Management makes the worn-out claim that shareholder rights can be misused. However, companies that make this worn-out claim do not back the claim up with one example from a universe of 3,000 companies during a span of 10 years. Please vote yes. Special shareholder meeting improvement, Proposal Four.
Thank you, Mr. Chevedden. Operator, you may now put Mr. Chevedden's line back on mute.
Mr. Chevedden's line is muted.
Thank you, operator. We are now ready for Sister Nash.
Yes. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the board, shareholders, and guests. I am Sister Nora Nash. I represent the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, and I am here today to move the shareholder proposal calling for a human rights impact assessment, which my congregation filed in collaboration with the Sisters of Charity of Elizabeth, NJ and the School Sisters of Notre Dame Cooperative Investment. We encourage all shareholders to support the proposal. Over the past 16 years, we have had numerous communications with Lockheed Martin on a variety of topics, and we are very grateful for impactful engagement on diversity, inclusion, water, and many other things. However, our engagement on impacts related to human rights have fallen short of the norms for peace and justice.
In a society struggling with excessive violence, war, nuclear threats, climate crisis, displacement, and the death of too many world citizens, we assert that there is a clear moral responsibility for Lockheed Martin and its investors to acknowledge the direct role that the defense industry plays in perpetuating human rights harms in war and conflict, and that all parties must contribute to appropriate remedies. As we speak, Russia's war in Ukraine intensifies, with thousands of civilian casualties, growing accusations of war crimes, rising threats of nuclear conflict, and global economic consequences. Lockheed Martin's President and CEO, Jim Taiclet, was criticized for remarks on a January 22, 2022 earnings call, which appeared to frame such devastating conflict as a growth opportunity as Lockheed Martin seeks to profit from the arms shipments of Javelin missiles to Ukraine.
As I reviewed my notes from our November twenty-first dialogue, I couldn't help but think Lockheed Martin has all the equipment to support war but doesn't seem to have the answers to come to near solving it. You still haven't answered our questions on due diligence that prevented particular sales. Several human rights organizations have recorded indiscriminate use of Lockheed Martin products against civilians, and it makes no sense in the world to keep supplying military equipment to unstable states and nations. The over $2 billion sales to the Philippines, despite congressional opposition, was egregious and raises questions about your commitment to human rights when it comes to supplying other armed forces. The company's weapons and defense systems, surveillance systems, and $ billions in nuclear weapons contracts are contributing to an increased disregard for the human person.
Lockheed Martin has a responsibility to assess how its products may contribute to adverse human rights impacts and to take steps to prevent them. We therefore offer this proposal, supported by strong legal and financial risk assessments to Lockheed Martin and its shareholders as an invitation to deeply examine the business model in the context of its human rights responsibilities. On behalf of the proponents, I urge the company and the shareholders to support the proposal on human rights impact assessments and encourage the company to implement the requests of the proposal. We remain ready to continue our engagement with you, and we will continue to urge you to make progress on these important issues. We are most grateful for the many times that you take steps to implement human rights policies. Thank you.
Thank you, Sister Nash. Operator, you may now put Sister Nash's line back on mute.
Sister Nash's line has been muted.
Thank you. With all five Proposals properly presented, I will pause now briefly before closing the polls to allow stockholders to complete their online voting. I now declare the polls closed. At this time, I'd like to announce the preliminary voting results on the five Proposals presented today. The official results will be announced by the filing of a Form 8-K within four business days. Proposal one, each of the 13 director nominees has been elected to the board of directors. Proposal two, the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditors for 2022 has been ratified. Proposal three, the compensation of our named executive officers has been approved on an advisory basis.
Proposal four, the stockholder proposal to reduce the threshold for calling a special meeting has been rejected. Proposal five, the stockholder proposal to issue a human rights impact assessment report has been rejected. This concludes the official business of our meeting today, and the meeting is now adjourned. We will now open the meeting to questions or comments from our stockholders. We will answer as many questions as we can during the meeting.
Hello, this is Greg Gardner. As a reminder to those on the call, if you have not already submitted a question, you may do so by clicking the Q&A icon near the top right of your screen, typing your question into the rectangular box near the bottom of your screen, and then clicking Send. The first question comes from an unidentified beneficial shareholder. What corporate citizenship initiatives is the company promoting to aid the people of Ukraine?
Lockheed Martin has taken steps to address the worsening humanitarian crisis through multiple partners in Ukraine, including committing aid to the Polish Red Cross, providing immediate relief to refugees in Poland, funding new shelters in Romania, and ensuring delivery of medical supplies in Ukraine. In addition, many of our employees in Poland have voluntarily taken into their homes, refugees from Ukraine as well, and we applaud them for their generosity in doing that.
Thank you. Next question comes from Mr. Whitehead. How did management respond to President Biden's questionable COVID vaccine mandate issued in September 2021?
As with all presidential and government directives, we adhered to it and also worked really closely with our employees to work with them to either achieve the vaccinations or submit an approvable accommodation. I believe we have many positive experiences in this matter, and we have over 98% compliance with the rule, and we're working towards 100%.
Thank you. Our next question comes from Diane Bahar. Why did you not sue the government to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne?
The board and management agreed and concurred that, taking the path of litigation against the U.S. government, was not in the best interest of the company or its shareholders, and so we decided to step back from the acquisition.
It appears there are no additional questions today. I'll turn it back to you, Jim.
Thank you. Thank you, Greg. That concludes our meeting today, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and we look forward to seeing you, virtually again next year.
This concludes the meeting. You may now disconnect.