Sherida Ryan

Pensions at work : socially responsible investment of union-based pension funds

Pension funds have come to play an increasingly important role within the new economy. According to Statistics Canada, in 2006, trusteed pension funds in Canada had

Supported Social Enterprise A Modified Social Welfare Organization

836 billion of assets and represented the savings of 4.6 million Canadian workers. Pensions at Work is a unique collection of papers that uses a labour perspective to deal with the socially responsible investment of pension funds. Featuring leading Canadian and international scholars, it builds on existing scholarship on socially responsible investment and on the growing interest of the Canadian labour movement in joint trusteeship. What is unique about this collection is that it synthesizes three distinct themes - socially responsible investment, pension funds, and labour studies. The contributors address an array of critical issues such as gaps in the education of union trustees of pension funds, the impact of human capital criteria on shareholder returns, the influence of corporate engagement upon corporate performance, and the nature of public-private partnerships (PPPs). Although the essays in Pensions at Work all address the nexus between socially responsible investment, pension funds, and unions, each looks at a particular manifestation of that relationship through a different disciplinary lens. This collection moves the discussion to pension funds in which union representatives are also trustees, a relatively new approach that will be of great interest to institutional investors, the labour movement, and instructors in labour studies programs.

Researching the social economy

This article presents a study of supported social enterprise, a hybrid organization that not only either employs or trains members of marginalized social groups, often on disability pensions and social assistance, but also has social welfare characteristics. These organizations sell services and goods, like other forms of social enterprise, but rely heavily on external support from government programs, foundations, and a parenting nonprofit. The article presents an empirical study using a survey and interviews of participants in these organizations from Ontario, Canada, and notes that even though they earn minimally from work in these organizations, they view the experience positively. The final discussion centers on the concept of supported social enterprise and raises the question as to whether such organizations should be viewed primarily as a form of social enterprise or as a modified form of social welfare organization.