Corporate Affairs

The UBCs’ Corporate Affairs Department is at the forefront of efforts to advance our members’ interests as owners in American and Canadian corporations.

Protecting Our Members' Retirement Security Through Responsible Ownership Activism

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters’ (UBC) Corporate Affairs Department is at the forefront of efforts to advance our members’ interests as owners in American and Canadian corporations.

Our advocacy to shape corporate governance and promote responsible corporate behavior is an important component of the UBC’s commitment to safeguard members’ retirement security.

The Carpenter Funds’ stockholdings establish the worker funds as significant shareholders in US and Canadian corporations. Carpenter Funds embrace their ownership rights and responsibilities; they closely monitor companies, exercise stock voting rights, and challenge corporate practices through direct engagement.

For decades, the Carpenter Funds have been among the leading activists in the US market, challenging and engaging thousands of companies on a broad variety of investment issues.

The Carpenter Funds advocate for a system of corporate governance designed to enhance the long-term value of the Funds and the corporations in which they invest. Corporate governance measures that smartly balance the rights and responsibilities of shareholders, directors, and executives are the centerpiece of our activism.

And in an era of over-the-top executive compensation, we are strong and effective advocates for executive pay principles and practices that drive sustained and measurable corporate performance.

 “We have assumed our rightful role as owners of capital, accepting all the associated rights and responsibilities, and as the nation’s economy struggles to generate jobs and fair work and living standards, the UBC will intensify its work,” said UBC President Douglas J. McCarron.

While our shareholder activism has produced positive corporate reforms, it’s clear that more needs to be done.

Carpenter Fund activism will continue to promote a governance and compensation agenda that advances long-term corporate value creation and an economy that reflects worker-owner interests.

History
of Activism

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters’ pension program, since its inception in the 1920s, has pursued a simple, but compelling, goal: Provide members with a fair and secure retirement benefit after long years of demanding work in the construction and allied industries.

Key Activism
Issues

The governance of U.S. and Canadian corporations is determined by a variety of state and provincial corporate laws, federal regulations, and the provisions of internal corporate governance documents that structurally allocate governance power among shareholders, directors and executives.

UBC Council “Grassroots Ownership” Activism Program

The grassroots activism puts a local “face” on the UBC’s national activism, infuses it with new energy, and sharpens the focus on the interests of the full range of corporate stakeholders, including employees, communities, and owners.

Proxy Season Reports

For decades, the Carpenter Funds have been among the leading activists in the U.S. market, challenging and engaging thousands of companies on a broad variety of investment issues.

Who to Contact

Please feel free to reach out to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters’ Corporate Affairs Department at any time for general or specific inquiries.