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Codetermination and Pension Fund Direct Investment

The labor movement is waning and private equity is waxing. As the percentage of U.S. workers in unions falls to all-time lows, the ability of those workers to have a say in their relations with their employers diminishes. At the same time, workers’ pension funds currently sit on trillions of dollars’ worth of assets. But with less muscle behind collective bargaining agreements, employees need another avenue to ensure their interests are protected against a system that views wages as overhead and workers as cogs in the corporate machine. If legislation is not enough to provide an adequate voice for the worker, some other structural change must occur. In Germany, the codetermination laws ensure that workers have a voice in corporate affairs by placing them directly on the board of directors. Private equity, however, has been booming and provides a potential avenue by which the labor movement could harness private equity to enact lasting structural change and ensure the worker’s voice remains relevant in the workplace. This Note suggests that pension funds should form their own direct investment private equity funds with an investment thesis that codetermination results in more efficient companies.