Labor in the Age of Finance : Pensions, Politics, and Corporations From Deindustrialization to Dodd-Frank

**From award-winning economic historian Sanford M. Jacoby, a fascinating and important study of the labor movement and shareholder capitalism** Since the 1970s, American unions have shrunk dramatically, as has their economic clout. __Labor in the Age of Finance__ traces the search for new sources of power, showing how unions turned financialization to their advantage. Sanford Jacoby catalogs the array of allies and finance-based tactics labor deployed to stanch membership losses in the private sector. By leveraging pension capital, unions restructured corporate governance around issues like executive pay and accountability. In Congress, they drew on their political influence to press for corporate reforms in the wake of business scandals and the financial crisis. The effort restrained imperial CEOs but could not bridge the divide between workers and owners. Wages lagged behind investor returns, feeding the inequality identified by Occupy Wall Street. And labor’s slide continued. A compelling blend of history, economics, and politics, __Labor in the Age of Finance__ explores the paradox of capital bestowing power to labor in the tumultuous era of Enron, Lehman Brothers, and Dodd-Frank. "From award-winning economic historian Sanford M. Jacoby, a fascinating and important study of the labor movement and shareholder capitalism. Since the 1970s, American unions have shrunk dramatically, as has their economic clout. Labor in the Age of Finance traces the search for new sources of power, showing how unions turned financialization to their advantage. Sanford Jacoby catalogs the array of allies and finance-based tactics labor deployed to stanch membership losses in the private sector. By leveraging pension capital, unions restructured corporate governance around issues like executive pay and accountability. In Congress, they drew on their political influence to press for corporate reforms in the wake of business scandals and the financial crisis. The effort restrained imperial CEOs but could not bridge the divide between workers and owners. Wages lagged behind investor returns, feeding the inequality identified by Occupy Wall Street. And labor's slide continued. A compelling blend of history, economics, and politics, Labor in the Age of Finance explores the paradox of capital bestowing power to labor in the tumultuous era of Enron, Lehman Brothers, and Dodd-Frank"-- Provided by publisher Contents List of Abbreviations Introduction 1 Labor, Finance, and the Corporation, 1890–1980 2 The CalPERS Era 3 Labor’s Shares 4 Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges 5 From Exuberance to Enron 6 Executive Pay 7 Shareholder Democracy 8 Organizing Finance 9 The Financial Crisis and Dodd-Frank Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Index Labor in the Age of Finance