Hope you'll forgive a posting from a long-time subscriber but first-time poster. Something of interest for those of you in Ohio.
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The Ohio AFL-CIO and the Ohio Employee Ownership Center of Kent State University are jointly sponsoring an Ohio Working Capital Conference, May 19-20, 2003, to discuss how workers' pension fund monies are being invested and to explore alternative investment strategies. The Conference will be held at the Akron/Fairlawn Hilton at 3180 West Market Street in Fairlawn, OH.
U.S. workers' pension funds have assets of several trillion dollars. These funds own nearly half of all publicly-traded stocks in the United States. Worker representatives sit on the boards of Taft-Hartley funds with hundreds of billions of dollars in assets. The five Ohio state employee retirement systems alone have cumulative assets over $100 billion. That's a lot of money. Is it being invested responsibly? This conference will provide a forum to explore investments that provide not only solid rates of return but also collateral benefits such as union jobs, affordable housing and financing to fill the capital gaps that exist especially among small and medium-sized companies in Ohio. Such investments can keep jobs at home and help grow local economies.
Richard Trumka, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, and Leo Gerard, President of the United Steelworkers, will be addressing these issues at the Conference. Both are committed to seeing that workers' pension funds are invested with a purpose. We will also hear from panels of experts on the following topics:
Venture Capital for Small Companies
Economically Targeted Investing
Labor-Sponsored Investment Funds
The Role of Trustees in Pension Fund Investing
Please join us in exploring ways to positively influence Ohio business growth through the investment of worker pension fund monies. The Conference kicks off Monday, May 19 with registration at 11 AM followed by lunch at Noon with Rich Trumka. The balance of the day will feature panels on (1) capital for small companies and (2) economically targeted investing. A reception will be held from 5 PM to 7 PM.
On Tuesday, May 20, the program continues with a Continental Breakfast at 8 AM featuring Steelworkers President Leo Gerard. After hearing from panels on the topics of (1) labor-sponsored investment funds and (2) the role of trustees in pension fund investing, the Conference will conclude at 12 Noon.
Please visit our web site at http://www.kent.edu/oeoc/WorkingCapitalFlyerVersion2.pdf for registration information and directions to the hotel. It's not too late to register. Hope to see you there.
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Chris Cooper, Media Specialist/Business Succession Planning Program Co-Coordinator The Ohio Employee Ownership Center 309 Franklin Hall Kent State University Kent, OH 44242 ccooper1 at kent.edu 330-672-3028 330-672-4063 fax <http://www.kent.edu/oeoc> <http://capitalownership.org>