SAFEGUARD PENSIONS THROUGH CORPORATE REFORM AND LEGISLATION

WHEREAS, boards of directors of public companies are often drawn from the ranks of upper management, overly empathetic to managerial views, often failing to hold management accountable for its policies and practices; and

WHEREAS, in many large corporations, upper management compensation is often excessive and rubber stamped by its boards of directors; and

WHEREAS, such excessive compensation credits only a company's leadership with success, ignoring the contributions of its workforce; and

WHEREAS, such excessive compensation though hidden has a long-term negative impact on corporate debt and stock value; and

WHEREAS, corporate deceit, including forcing individuals to invest exclusively in company stock, backroom decisions to declare bankruptcy, outsourcing, stock manipulation, has led to a dramatic loss in stock value and eroded the pensions of working people in both public and private employment, causing some private-sector employees to lose all their pension investments due to the sudden collapse of a company's stock; and

WHEREAS, not all states enjoy equal protections for pension funds; and

WHEREAS, efforts to replace defined-benefit pensions with defined-contribution plans continue, often at great risk to pension funds; and

WHEREAS, teachers' pensions are put at risk by such managerial and accounting practices; and

WHEREAS, the right to a decent pension after a lifetime of work is a human right:

RESOLVED, that the AFT continue to collaborate with the AFL-CIO, NEA and other corporate accountability advocates to enact federal and state legislation to protect both public and private pension plans and to strengthen "right-to-know" laws so that workers will be fully informed about management plans to seek bankruptcy; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT and these other corporate accountability allies work to establish more reasonable guidelines for executives' compensation and pension board selection and study the feasibility of providing insurance for defined-contribution plans; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT assist locals in promoting reforms in investment policies to better protect retirement funds; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT continue to work with the AFL-CIO and NEA to identify and disseminate best and worst practices of corporations with particular attention to labor practices, executive compensation and board oversight.