Shareholders of Penn Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) approved an advisory proposal to declassify the company's Board of Directors at its Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on June 16, according to a statement from labor union UNITE HERE.

The vote marks the second time a majority of Penn Entertainment shareholders have supported board declassification, following similar majority approval of a comparable proposal in 2010.

A classified, or staggered, board structure means directors serve multi-year terms and face election in rotating groups rather than all at once each year. Declassification would require all directors to stand for election annually.

The proposal was advisory, meaning Penn Entertainment's board is not legally required to act on the result. UNITE HERE called on the board to take steps toward implementing the change.

"PENN shareholders have spoken clearly: they want annual elections for all directors," said Michael Hachey, Director of Gaming Industry Research at UNITE HERE. "The Board should now take the necessary steps toward implementing declassification."

Derrick Wortes, founder of Cora Strategies, a shareholder advisory firm, said investors would be watching for a substantive response. "Investors will be looking for real, timely responsiveness here; not performative action that kicks the can down the road, and certainly not silence from leadership," Wortes said.