Management pelted with more shareholder proposals this year.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Byline: Wendy Tanaka

Spring is here, but the CEOs and board members of many corporations may find the temperature at their annual shareholder meetings decidedly chilly.

This year's gatherings likely will be more contentious, as shareholders, stung by a wave of corporate scandals and poorer from a bear market now into its fourth year, are fighting back, shareholder activists say.

Their weapons are resolutions that are included in the proxy statements sent to those who own stock in companies. Investors have filed a record number of proposals _ nearly 1,000 _ with the companies in which they own stock, urging management to address such issues as excessive executive salaries, the lack of diversity on boards and funding to battle the AIDS crisis in developing countries.

"Shareholders are paying attention to the issues and wanting to hear the other side, ...