Corporate Governance Objectives of Labor Union Shareholders: Evidence from Proxy Voting
The Review of Financial Studies, Volume 25, Issue 1, pp. 187–226 (2012).
54 Pages Posted: 16 Oct 2008 Last revised: 20 May 2018
Date Written: January 1, 2012
Abstract
Labor union pension funds have become increasingly vocal in governance matters; however, their motives are subject to fierce debate. I examine the proxy votes of AFL-CIO union funds around an exogenous change in the union representation of workers across firms. AFL-CIO affiliated shareholders become significantly less opposed to directors once the AFL-CIO labor organization no longer represents a firm’s workers. Other institutional investors including mutual funds and public pension funds do not exhibit similar voting behavior. Union opposition is also associated with negative valuation effects. The data suggest that some investors pursue worker interests rather than maximize shareholder value alone.
Keywords: Corporate Governance, Institutional Investors, Proxy Voting, Board of Directors, Labor Union
JEL Classification: G30, G34, G38, J50, J52, J53
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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