Whitworth said Lowe's share price has risen about 21% over the same period, while its chief was paid $60 million. "That is a smoking gun," he told CNBC. Another Proposal Submitted Richard Ferlauto, director of pension and benefit policy for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, on Monday said his group submitted a Home Depot shareholder proposal for 2007 that would amend the company's bylaws to split the roles of chairman and chief executive. Specifically, the proposal calls for the chairman to be "independent" from the corporation, according to a copy sent to Reuters. A similar proposal failed to pass at this year's Home Depot annual meeting but garnered 41% support. "The board is not committed to real substantive change so activist shareholders will be joining together to mount various challenges," said Ferlauto, a critic of the pay package of Home Depot's Nardelli. The investor attention comes as the cooling U.S. housing market hurts results.