Getting Corporations To Clean Up Their Act

The days of corporate abuses, such as Enron and Worldcom, will be over if James O'Keefe is elected. He will work with responsible mutual funds and other state pension funds to use the power of our combined shares to get corporations to clean up their act. We can rein in excessive CEO salaries and perks. We can make corporations truly accountable to employees and shareholders. We can get corporations to pay workers a living wage and stop polluting our communities.

As state treasurer, James O'Keefe will actively work with responsible mutual funds, other state pension funds, employees and regulators to:

• Ensure that boards of directors are elected by and only accountable to shareholders and employees;
• Get corporations to pay workers a wage on which they can support their families, provide health care and recognize workers fundamental right to unionize;
• Challenge excessive pay for executives;
• Get corporations to change to renewable energy and production technologies;
• Oppose the Free Trade Area of the Americas and other efforts to increase corporate power at the expense of people.

James O'Keefe will develop and publicize proxy voting guidelines and voting records. Such guidelines and records must be made available on the web for public access.

James O'Keefe will ensure that the state treasurer's office works with regulators and other governmental bodies to fight efforts by companies to infringe on share holder or employee rights. James O'Keefe will work to increase the amount of information that a corporation must publicly disclose and to increase corporate democracy.

A number of investments pervert our democracy or our environment. James O'Keefe actively opposes investing in the following types of investments:

• Corporations that hide profits in other nations inorder to avoid paying their fair share of taxes;
• Corporations that manufacture and distribute tobacco products;
• Corporations that manufacture and sell military arms;
• Corporations that manufacture and distribute coal and oil;
• Corporations that own power plants that pollute Massachusetts heavily;
• Corporations that manufacture nuclear power plants or generate power from nuclear power plants;
• World Bank Bonds.

Links

James O'Keefe Calls for True Reform of Corporate Governance - 7/30/2002
James O'Keefe Joins striking janitors, pledges support - 10/01/2002