An SEC ruling completed action taken in the financial reform bill that gives more power to shareholders. This change was sought by unions and other groups that engage in corporate accountability campaigns.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN251240... Shareholders won more power on Wednesday to shake up corporate boards in the United States after the financial crisis exposed weaknesses in how companies were managed. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 to adopt a rule that gives shareholders an easier way to nominate company directors.
Activist shareholders who want more say on how companies are run have long sought the ability to place their nominees' names on company proxy statements.
Thinking a few steps ahead, could this change set up the legal framework necessary for worker-owned and managed corporations? What if a union is able to effectively elect a company's board of directors? What if the majority of a company is owned by its employees who hold democratic elections for its governing board?
Which will be the first company or union to follow the example of the South American worker-owned factory movement?
http://www.zcommunications.org/factory-in-... How much impact this law will have depends on whether the progressive movement can recognize this opportunity and seize it. It could be a minor reform that puts mild pressure on a few corporate boards. Or it can be a step that leads to more dramatic change in response to a popular movement. It will take a lot more work than calling the White House to beg for top-down change.
