Union presses Apple on CEO succession plan

CUPERTINO, Calif., Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A proposal for U.S. technology giant Apple to disclose a plan for who will succeed Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs was turned down, a union spokeswoman said.

Jobs took an extended leave of absence for medical reasons in January and has had several episodes of battling cancer, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

With this in mind, the Laborers' International Union of North America at the company's annual shareholder meeting in California asked Apple to divulge its plan for replacing Jobs.

The union did not ask for a list of names under consideration, only for a strategy for finding Jobs' successor. Shareholders rejected the proposal, however, said Jennifer O'Dell, assistant director of corporate affairs for the union.

"We hope Steve Jobs runs this company forever, but is that realistic?" O'Dell asked.

"We know that the company is thinking about it, so they should just disclose it to shareholders," she said.

A company spokeswoman declined to comment, the Post said.

Investment strategist Dave Lutz at Stifel Nicolaus said Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook takes over when Jobs is away on medical leave and other investors did not share the union's level of concern over a succession plan.

At the meeting, Apple announced it would hold a media event March 2, suggesting it would display the second-generation iPad at the event.