Accountability of Union Pension Fund Managers

[Deborah Groban Olson <dgo@esoplaw.com>]

Shann:

         Are the fund managers not accountable to anyone? Are any of them 
managers of predominantly union pension funds? Does Australia have an 
organization like the Center for Working Capital at the AFL-CIO that 
coordinates the efforts of union pension funds to make their pension fund 
managers accountable? Monte Taxbox who runs Center for Working Captial was 
working in Australia prior to his CWC job.
Deb  Olson
At 08:20 AM 3/31/00 +1000, you wrote:
>I would like to support this ideas presented in this posting that
>distributing wealth without distributing power makes the distribution of
>claims to assets meaningless.
>
>When I ask union leaders why they are not concerned with the concentration
>of wealth and economic democracy they explain that they have supported the
>introduction into Australia of compulsary pension plans for all workers.
>However, over 80% of all pension money is controlled by around 60 fund
>managers so concentrate control on a non-democratic and very poorly
>accountable basis.  While union leaders understand the exercise of power of
>people better than most they appear to have a blind spot in the exercise
>the power of property rights.
>
>Regards
>
>Shann 
>  
>At 07:15 AM 31/3/2000 , you wrote:
> >
> >> >From heller%tavist@pop1.mail.uk.psi.net  Thu Mar 30 05:16:00 2000
> >>From: "PAMELA HATTINGH" <heller@tavinstitute.org>
> >>To: dgo@esoplaw.com
> >>Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 11:22:01 +0000
> >>Subject: Re: EO National discussion
> >>Priority: normal
> >>X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v3.12b)
> >>
> >>Dear Deb
> >>Thank you for your email of 28th explaining that you
> >>are interested in participation.
> >>
> >>I fully agree with you about the importance of attempts to deal with 
> >>the maldistribution of of wealth.  Wealth and power are closely 
> >>related I am sure you will agree. Hence I am interested in a wider 
> >>distribution of ownership.  Some of the evidence we have reviewed 
> >>(in the book I mentioned) suggests that there are many 
> >>circumstances when changes in ownership does not, unfortunately, 
> >>lead to a better distribution of power and we have to ask ourselves 
> >>why this is so.  In these circumstances, it seems that he new 
> >>owners, if their business is successful, then are tempted to sell 
> >>out.  So to know more about power, how it works or does not work 
> >>is important.  Hence the need for more collaboration between 
> >>researchers operating in related fields.
> >>
> >>Best wishes,
> >>Frank Heller
> >>Frank Heller
> >>The Tavistock Institute
> >>30 Tabernacle Street
> >>LONDON EC2A 4UE
> >>Tel: +44 (0)171 417 0407
> >>Fax: +44 (0)171 417 0566
> >>Email: heller@tavinstitute.org
>
>Shann Turnbull
>P.O. Box 266 Woollahra, Sydney, Australia, 1350
>Phone: 02 9328 7466 office; 02 9327 8487 home
>Fax: 02 9327 1497 home & office.  Mobile 0418 222 378
>Outside Australia, replace first "0" with "61" after international access code
>Life long E-mail: sturnbull@mba1963.hbs.edu
>Alternate:sturnbull@optusnet.com.au
>http://members.optusnet.com.au/~sturnbull/index.html

Attorney Deborah Groban Olson
Principal
Shared Equity Strategies, Inc.
3163 Penobscot Bldg.
645 Griswold St.
Detroit, MI 48226
(ph) 313/ 331-7821  or 964-2460
(f) 313/ 331-2567     or 964-4065

dgo@EsopLaw.com
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