Committee on Workers' Capital

The role of labour trustees in driving a just transition

Tamara Herman — 2018-11-02T18:21:36Z

Investors are recognizing that they must participate actively in the transition to a low-carbon economy. This is apparent in the growing inventory of investor responses to climate change risks and opportunities.

Until now, a consideration of the social dimension of this transition has been missing from many of these responses. The trade union movement is fighting hard to chart a roadmap for investors that addresses the systemic risks of climate change for workers and communities, promotes inclusive growth and contributes to sustainable development.

This year was marked by a noticeable shift, with a growing number of investors recognizing that their responses to climate change must incorporate social considerations. Securing the trust of workers and communities is increasingly understood as integral to navigating the profound and systemic changes ahead.

A first edition of a new investor guide has been released by the Investing in a Just Transition initiative, a project led by LSE's Grantham Research Institute and Harvard's Initiative for Responsible Investment, working in partnership with the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). This work outlines why and how investors can connect environmental and social priorities on the issue of climate. It was launched at the Committee on Workers' Capital Conference and the UN PRI in Person in San Francisco in September, and as a side event of the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS).

Pension funds, as asset owners, sit at the top of the investment chain and play a key role in the just transition. The just transition framework allows pension funds to connect their climate risk strategies to the rampant social change that lies ahead for workers and communities across the globe. As outlined in the Investing in a Just Transition Initiative's recent blog, a growing number of pension funds are recognizing that they have a powerful role to play in ensuring the transition ahead is inclusive.

Just transition is aligned with the fiduciary duty of labour trustees to consider long-term investment value drivers that serve the interests of beneficiaries. Investors can advance the just transition in various ways, including through investment strategies, shareholder engagements with portfolio holdings, capital allocation decisions and policy advocacy.

Ahead of the December 2018 COP 24 Summit, trustees and pension funds are invited to signal their commitment to Support a Just Transition on Climate Change by singing onto an investor statement coordinated by the UN PRI. Already, several pension funds are among the first 20 signatories, with assets over $3.5 trillion.

Workers and communities must be at the heart of the transition to a low-carbon economy. It follows that the stewards of workers' capital must be at the heart of investor initiatives in support of a just transition. We invite worker and union-nominated trustees to bring this statement to their fund boards and commit their funds to driving the just transition agenda.

To sign the statement, please click here.

Are you a labour trustee interested in connecting with others who are striving to link social issues with climate action? There is a growing network and resources to support you. Please get in touch for more information.

PDF of investor statement:

jt_investor_statement_26_oct_2018.pdf

Photo: Pixabay|12019

2018 Workers' Capital Conference Public Event: The strategic role of investors in a just transition to a low-carbon economy

Tamara Herman — 2018-08-29T22:31:13Z

You are invited to a public session on just transition hosted by the Committee on Workers' Capital with the Just Transition Initiative.

As investor responses to climate change gain momentum, an awareness is growing that a poorly managed transition generates risks of “stranded workers” and “stranded communities” – both of which contribute to inequality and economic stagnation. Some investors are responding by integrating social dimensions into their responses to climate change.

This session will introduce a just transition framework that connects people and the environment in the climate related strategies that investors are considering. Using real-world examples, it will describe some of the complexities that arise on the ground as we transition to a low-carbon economy. It will then discuss how investors are working to integrate social factors into their climate responses in areas such as investment strategies, company engagements, capital allocation and policy advocacy and partnerships.

This session is part of the annual Workers' Capital Conference, organized by the Global Unions Committee on Workers' Capital, a joint initiative of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Global Union Federations (GUFs) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC).

The annual Workers' Capital Conference is the premier forum for international collaboration and dialogue between trade unions and trade union/worker-nominated pension fund trustees. The CWC works to effect change in the global economy through the responsible investment of more than USD 35 trillion of workers' capital.

Speakers:

Erin Hutson, Director of Corporate Affairs, LiUNA (USA)
Kevin Thomas, Executive Director, SHARE (Canada)
Thérèse Schets, trustee, Cleaners and Window cleaners fund & FNV (Netherlands)

Moderator:

Nick Robins, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), (UK)

Session Details
Date: September 11, 2018
Time: 14:45 – 16:00
Location: LiUNA Laborers' Local 261, 3271 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Open to the public

Click here for PDF session brief

UAW files charges against TESLA on behalf of terminated workers

Tamara Herman — 2017-10-26T07:35:00Z

[UAW NEWS RELEASE]: The International Union, UAW filed unfair labor practice (ULP) charges against Tesla, Inc. yesterday afternoon at the National Labor Relations Board's Oakland office. The filing, which is attached, lays out six charges, including intimidating and harassing employees, terminating a group of employees to discourage protected concerted activity, disciplining employees for wearing items with the Union's logo, terminating and/or disciplining employees in retaliation for participating in protected concerted activities, and more.

Tesla, which recently fired hundreds of employees for ‘performance issues,' swept up many pro-union employees in the terminations. Several pro-union employees have come forward with copies of their performance reports, which show no areas of concern.

To read more, click here

Just Transition

Tamara Herman — 2017-07-13T04:30:51Z

The imperative to deliver returns over the long term has driven many pension funds to begin transitioning their portfolios towards a low-carbon economy. Investors are recognizing that the workers and communities most impacted by this transformation must be at the centre of transition plans. A just transition ensures that social dialogue drives the changes we make as we move towards a low-carbon economy.

Pension funds have a role to play in securing a fair and fast transition to a sustainable economy. A just transition framework can inform fund' capital allocation-decision making. As investors, funds can engage with companies as they develop their scenario plans, bringing questions around workforce transitions into discussions. Asset owners can work to embed social issues into ongoing shareholder activism on climate-related issues. Investors can encourage companies in renewables and other green economy sectors to embrace workforce policies and practices that uphold workers' rights and standards. Pension funds can integrate just transition into the investment and climate-related policy dialogues in which they participate.

The CWC works with participating unions and trustees to bring a workers' capital perspective into climate-related investor initiatives. Our work draws on the ITUC shareholder resolution principles. Our network participants share their work as they respond to the transition to a low-carbon economy and the associated labour-related issues.

Photo: Pixabay | 12019

CWC July 2017 Newsletter

Tamara Herman — 2017-07-12T02:08:00Z

In this edition of the CWC's newsletter:

The CWC Conference
Trustee Profile of Sharon Hendricks, vice-chair of the California State Teacher's Retirement System in English, en français, en español
Archer Capital
CWC at the Trustee Leadership Forum
News and notes from CWC participants: Updates on capital stewardship in Australia, France, the Netherlands, the United States
Important reads: Renewable energy investor briefing: Managing risks & responsibilities for impacts on local communities, Who's responsible? Pension funds and respect for workers' right, Clarification on OECD Guidelines Raises Expectations of Canadian Institutional Investors

Read the full newsletter here

cwc_july_news_bulletin.pdf

active menu items

Alex Gomes — 2017-06-27T15:45:19Z

- active menu items / Trustee Leadership Network, Shareholder Activism Working Group, Taskforce on Workers' Rights and Labour Standards, 2017 Conference, Intro, Conference archive, Worker Rights and Labour Standards, Workers' Capital in Action, 2018 Conference, Conferences and events, Just Transition, Company Engagement, Asset Manager Fees, Infrastructure, Proxy Voting, Regulatory Engagement, 2019 Conference, Asset Manager Accountability, Asset Manager Accountability, 2020 Conference

ITUC Shareholder Resolution Principles

Tamara Herman — 2016-09-19T06:43:00Z

The ITUC has developed Shareholder Resolution Principles for just transition.

ESG is an established commitment for both corporate responsibility and sustainability. To date too few corporations respect human rights and workers rights or accept and implement the mandate of 'due diligence' prescribed by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

With the decisions of global leaders in 2015 to support the Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030) and the Paris Climate agreement the ESG principles must be seen as a bottom line for investment futures.

The imperative to shift to renewable energy is an enormous challenge. The most secure transition for jobs and for stable economies is that our large fuel and energy companies plan for diversification in the energy mix. This should enable them to chart a sustainable pathway and in the process to use their resources and invest in skills and redeployment of workers into renewable energy and related supply chains. This, in turn, would secure the confidence of both workers and their pension funds.

Following discussion with a variety of unions regarding the responsibilities of pension funds concerning jobs, human rights and workers' rights, environmental imperatives and security of investment (ESG) we recommend the following principles for parties structuring shareholder resolutions.

As asset owners, workers want to see the following principles respected by both pension funds and corporations invested in:

A commitment to disclose where pension fund money is invested.
Corporate plans for the consequences of climate change consistent with the Paris Climate agreement along with company commitments to social dialogue to ensure a just transition.
Transparent corporate procedures for due diligence and human rights.
Corporate responsibility for environmental risks to communities.

Depending on the commercial activities of the corporation and its supply chains some or all of these principles will be relevant.

shareholder_resolution_principles_ituc-2.pdf