Union Pacific board member Thomas Donohue, whose full-time job is president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is under fire from two shareholder advisory companies who say he should be voted off another board on which he serves the board of Sunrise Senior Living.
The shareholder advisory companies allege he failed in his oversight duties during an accounting scandal involving Sunrise.
An environmental group, the National Resources Defense Council, earlier this year questioned whether Donohue can serve on Union Pacifics board of directors and fairly represent the interests of all chamber members as Congress debates climate change legislation. The burning of coal is at the heart of environmental legislation, and UP derives 20 percent of its annual revenue from hauling coal, say environmentalists.
Donohue has been a UP board member since 1998. UP and U.S. Chamber officials disputed that Donohue has a conflict of interest.
Earlier in his career, Donohue was chief executive of the American Trucking Associations.
