WHEREAS, corporate boards of directors continue to lavish top executives with excessive compensation packages that drain corporate resources, incentivize high- risk, short-term business strategies and widen income inequality; and

WHEREAS, CEO compensation has increased 997% since 1978, with many CEOs getting paid more than 300 times that of the average worker; and

WHEREAS, CEOs of the S&P 500 received nearly $7 billion in wages and bonuses in 2014 alone; and

WHEREAS, just 100 CEOs have as much in their company’s retirement assets as the entire retirement savings of 50 million American families, or 41% of all families in the United States; and

WHEREAS, deep-pocketed corporate and political interests have aligned to attack good jobs, affordable health care, pension security and investor protections; and

WHEREAS, the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision opened the floodgates to corporations funneling unlimited sums of money to front groups that lobby against the interests of our union, members and affiliated funds; and

WHEREAS, 95% of corporate earnings are distributed back to shareowners through dividends and share buybacks rather than reinvested back into the companies’ operations or workforces; and

WHEREAS, companies are exploiting offshore tax havens which have increased financial burdens on working families; and

WHEREAS, Teamster core industries have changed significantly due to rapid consolidation, globalization and the increasing influence of activist investors; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED at this 29th International Convention that the Teamsters Union supports the ongoing work of the IBT’s Capital Strategies Department and its efforts to:

• Reform corporate executive pay structures to better align CEO pay with the long-term interests of the company’s stakeholders;
• Make corporate boards more accountable by reforming director elections, addressing board independence, diversity and conflicts of interest;
• Broaden the network of investor allies around the world to promote better human capital management, including the protection of workers’ rights and fair pay throughout companies’ supply chains;
• Demand increased transparency and accountability for corporate political and lobbying expenditures from the companies in which we invest and that manage Teamster assets;
• Engage Wall Street analysts, investors and regulators to provide the Teamsters’ front-line perspective on corporate transactions and strategies;
• Promote the benefits of project labor agreements and employing unionized building and construction workers with infrastructure investors;
• Investigate corporate welfare schemes to ensure that tax dollars are not being used to destroy good Teamster jobs and hard-fought standards;
• Provide ongoing education and support for Teamster trustees and member shareholders on key proxy fights, corporate transactions and contested director elections;
• Monitor and engage private equity owners and their limited partners about the management of portfolio companies; and
• Secure legislative and regulatory reforms that protect Teamster funds, investments and retirement security.