Apple Inc. (NDAQ: AAPL) shareholders approved a non-binding resolution Tuesday asking the board of directors to give shareholders input on executive compensation. Preliminary results of the voting were not immediately availabe, but the proposal required a simple majority to pass. Meanwhile, another shareholder proposal designed to create a board committee on sustainability and environmental protection was rejected.

The AFL-CIO - the leading organization focused on executive compensation - urged shareholders to demand a say-on-pay commenting that the U.S. system for paying chief executives is broken. The organization has successfully pushed for such votes in many companies with great success. Steve Jobs joked after the proposal was brought forth, "I'm hoping the say on pay proposal will help me with my dollar a year salary!".

Meanwhile, many experts continue to question the real value of such proposals given the fact that they are simply advisory votes and not binding votes. The board can still decide to pay executives more than shareholders recommend and still face a relatively small chance of being ousted as a result. The positive side is that this fear alone is keeping board members from issuing huge amounts of pay, but then again these proposals have only passed in companies without problems so far...