Investors continue to support "say on pay" shareholder proposals this proxy season, with resolutions averaging 41 percent support over 13 meetings.

A proposal at Verizon Communications may have received majority support on May 3. According to a company press release, the preliminary results "are too close to determine whether the proposal passed or was defeated." Verizon said it will report final results on its Web site and in its Form 10-Q filing for the second quarter.

Also at Verizon, proposals seeking shareholder approval for future severance agreements and greater disclosure on compensation consultants both won about 47 percent support. The AFL-CIO, which supported all three resolutions, said the results "send a strong and powerful message to Verizon that shareholders will not stand for excessive CEO compensation."

Before Verizon's meeting, the best showing for a "say on pay" proposal was a 49.2 percent vote at Merck on April 24, according to the AFL-CIO, which received that result from the company. However, it is unclear whether abstentions were included when the pharmaceutical company determined that percentage.

An advisory vote proposal won 40 percent support at Boeing on April 30, despite the company's opposition to the resolution.

"It is possible that this 40 percent is the highest so far for a say on pay proposal where a company had an aggressive vote-no campaign," said proponent and shareholder activist John Chevedden.

To review a new ISS white paper on pay votes in international markets, please visit here.

*This article ran in this week's edition of Governance Weekly.