Shareholders of Northrop Grumman Corp. for the second straight year rejected a proposal calling for a vote on executive pay.

The proposal to let shareholders have a say in senior executives’ compensation failed after only 39 percent of the votes cast supported the measure, Chief Executive Ron Sugar said at the annual meeting Wednesday. Northrop recommended that shareholders reject the offer, saying it put the company at a disadvantage when recruiting talent.

Sugar’s compensation was the second highest among U.S. defense contractors last year at $20.6 million, and was 5 percent down from his 2006 salary of $21.7 million, which made him the highest paid defense contractor executive in the country.

The measure did garner more support than it did last year, when it got about 37 percent of the votes.

Shares in the Los Angeles-based company closed down 1.8 percent to $74.49 Wednesday.