Trade Unions, Pensions, Corporations, and the State

Toronto — 13 December 2013.

Pension Funds, Unions, and Working Class Strategies – session 6:

Since the late 1960s, a certain number of progressives and trade unionists have dreamed that the powerful corporations that dominate capitalist economies (and politics), exploit workers, and destroy the physical environment might be taken over – or at least restrained – through the organized exercise of “shareholder power” through pension and other investment funds holding assets belonging to workers. Given the labour movement’s opposition to privatization and positive support for significant public infrastructure renewal, how can labour movement pension activists and trustees support an agenda that actually shrinks the power of private finance in shaping such investments and expands the role of public and democratically accountable institutions to play this role instead? Click here to view complete outline.

Moderated by Greg Albo. Presentations by:

• Doug Henwood – Left Business Observer, author of Wall Street: How It Works and for Whom, London; New York: Verso, 1998
• Sam Gindin – co-author (along with Leo Panitch) of The Making of Global Capitalism: The Political Economy of American Empire, Verso, 2012
• Kevin Skerrett – CUPE

Sponsors: Centre for Social Justice, Global Labour Research Centre (York University), Canada Research Chair in Political Economy (York University) and Socialist Project.