Labor union presses Apple for post-Jobs plan

The Laborers' International Union of North America put forward a modest proposal Wednesday during Apple's annual gathering of shareholders: The company should disclose more about its plan to replace its chief executive, Steve Jobs.
Although the union did not ask Apple to cough up names of potential successors - just that it outline a plan - the effort was defeated by fellow Apple investors, a union spokeswoman said.
The issue has gained urgency for some shareholders as Jobs, who has had bouts with cancer, took an extended medical leave last month. Apple shares, which have skyrocketed in the past few years, are one of the most widely held among big funds, retirement accounts and ordinary investors.
"We hope Steve Jobs runs this company forever, but is that realistic?" asked Jennifer O'Dell, assistant director of corporate affairs for the union, which represents the construction industry. It has $34 billion spread across 100 investment funds, each of which has Apple shares. "We know that the company is thinking about it, so they should just disclose it to shareholders."
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
Other companies that have recently been faced with similar proposals made by the union - such as Hewlett-Packard and Intel - agreed to disclose some details about their executive plans, O'Dell said.