>CALPERS has indeed been successful in arguing for various kinds of
>social policy. Like layoffs, restructuring, outsourcing, etc...
Seth
> Yeah, and Calpers has been pushing the lean & mean policy
> characteristic of the shareholder revolution. I interviewed their
> chief investment officer a few years ago and asked him to comment on
> the oddity of a public worker pension fund pushing an antiworker
> agenda. He said all they cared about was results.
>
> Doug
Seth and Doug,
I won't make arguments that CALPERS is leading the socialist charge, but in a number of areas they have brought social concerns as well as the bottom-line to corporate governance. In areas like fighting excessing executive salaries, those interests have converged, but CALPERS has been a leader in fighting to punish racist executives at Texaco, funding lower-income housing, challenging clearcutting in the Headwaters forests, and supporting prevailing wages in the construction industry in their real estate investments.
I am sure there are a number of votes which you can find where they passively went along with some bad resolutions, but the fact is that CALPERS has a good history of supporting a number of good social investments and often being there to support union-based resolutions during corporate campaigns.
I'm attaching a few news clips-- Nathan Newman
Dow Jones Telerate Energy Service
Copyright (c) 1996, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Monday, November 25, 1996 California Treasurer Urges Penalties For Texaco Executives
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Dow Jones)--California's treasurer said Monday that he asked Texaco to withhold or cut bonuses of top executives as punishment for racial discrimination at the oil company, The Associated Press reports.
Matt Fong's request holds additional weight because he is a board member of the California Public Employees Retirement System (Calpers) and the State Teachers Retirement System, pension funds which own 2 million shares of Texaco stock worth about $200 million.
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The Star-Ledger Newark, NJ Monday, July 4, 1994 Pension funds viewed as catalysts of growth DAVID A. VISE
WASHINGTON-The Department of Labor has issued new guidelines designed to encourage pension funds to make investments in affordable housing and other socially useful programs as two members of the president's cabinet testified in support of such initiatives. Secretary olf Labor Robert Reich and Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development Henry Cisneros both told Congress the Clinton administration strongly supports a major increase in targeted pension-fund investments. Reich said the $4.6 trillion in pension funds represents the biggest pool of money in the country and in a time of tight government budgets it should be mobilized to help create jobs and address social needs.
Reich said the new Department of Labor guidelines regarding "economically targeted investments" (ETIs) were needed to clear up confusion over the department's policy on investments chosen for their social benefits. While some public pension funds have made such investments, private corporate funds have generally avoided them, in part due to fear they might violate federal laws designed to protect retirees.
According to the new guidelines, pension-fund trustees can consider the "collateral benefits" of investments in affordable housing, start-up companies and other socially worthwhile projects when choosing among alternatives...
Bill Crist, president of the giant California Public Employees Retirement System (Calpers), said his fund had $1.6 billion in ETIs, mostly housing investments, out of $80 billion in holdings, and had strong financial results. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who chaired the hearing, noted 22 states have laws or programs encouraging pension funds to make ETIs. Many of those involve making in-state investments designed to create local jobs. ----------
The Press Democrat Santa Rosa, CA Friday, February 21, 1997 PENSION FUND TRYING TO INFLUENCE BAN ON HEADWATERS LOGGING
Mike Geniella Staff Writer
This article also appeared on The Press Democrat Home page (http:// www.pressdemo.com).
California's public employees' pension fund, the nation's largest, is pressuring Pacific Lumber Co.'s corporate owner to back off threats to log Headwaters Forest if a proposed $380 million deal with the Clinton administration collapses.
"If any of those towering redwoods start falling, the public outrage would be incredible. It could be the beginning of Maxxam's financial ruin," said Patricia Macht, spokeswoman for the pension fund, California Public Employees' Retirement System. "As a major stockholder, we're very concerned about that."
The $108 billion fund, which handles the pensions of more than a million state and local government workers, holds about $15.2 million worth of stock in Maxxam Inc., Pacific Lumber's Houstonbased owner. The fund, known as Calpers, is arguably the nation's most influential pension fund. ----
Pensions & Investments Monday, December 8, 1997 UNIONS QUIZ MONEY MANAGERS: PROXY VOTES EYED BY THE AFL-CIO Steve Hemmerick
There already is evidence that AFL-CIO related plans and public plans can work together. Some union officials are crowing about getting public plans to "go along on lawsuits" against Columbia/ HCA Healthcare Corp., Nashville, said Simon Russin, a trustee with the $22 billion Los Angeles County Employees' Retirement Association.
Another example, he said, is CalPERS' approval of a prevailing wage clause to be honored by its real estate developers.
------- Press Democrat Santa Rosa, CA Thursday, July 20, 1995 SR HOUSING PROJECT PRAISED BUDGET CUTS MAY END FEDERAL PROGRAM Dick Phillips Staff Writer
A low-income housing project in Santa Rosa was hailed by an assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development as a national model of federal and private financing Wednesday -- even as he warned the program it was built under faced the budget ax in Congress...Financing for the complex comes from California Community Mortgage Funds, created by Equitable Real Estate, which raised $75 million for housing investments in California. Of the $75 million, $50 million is from the California Public Employ ees' Retirement System, CalPERS, the largest pension fund in the nation, and $25 million is from the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension Fund. The two pensions have more than $100 billion in assets. ------