Corporate governance objectives of labor union shareholders: evidence from proxy voting

Agrawal, Ashwini ORCID: 0000-0003-0865-9144 (2012) Corporate governance objectives of labor union shareholders: evidence from proxy voting. Review of Financial Studies, 25 (1). pp. 187-226. ISSN 0893-9454

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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 AFL-CIO-affiliated shareholders become significantly less opposed to directors once the AFL-CIO labor organization no longer represents a firm's workers.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.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://academic.oup.com/rfs
Additional Information:	© 2011 The Author
Divisions:	Finance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD61 Risk Management H Social Sciences > HG Finance K Law > K Law (General)
JEL classification:	G - Financial Economics > G3 - Corporate Finance and Governance > G30 - General G - Financial Economics > G3 - Corporate Finance and Governance > G32 - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure G - Financial Economics > G3 - Corporate Finance and Governance > G34 - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance G - Financial Economics > G3 - Corporate Finance and Governance > G38 - Government Policy and Regulation J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J5 - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining > J51 - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects K - Law and Economics > K2 - Regulation and Business Law > K22 - Corporation and Securities Law
Date Deposited:	01 Mar 2017 16:14
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 00:17
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/69609

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