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> Unions should put their money where their mouth is and invest in cooperatives. Unions aren't structured for investing, and that's not their reason to exist.
by piva00 2y ago
> Unions should put their money where their mouth is and invest in cooperatives.
Unions aren't structured for investing, and that's not their reason to exist.
I don't know where you are from so I can't comment on how unions function in your society, where I live they're definitely not in the same realm as a potential investor for cooperatives.
You are also asking for unions to compete against VCs, and banks, let's be realistic that even a large and wealthy union is not even close in terms of wealth management as a small to mid-size bank/investor. On top of that the union has responsibilities to provide benefits to all members, a bank or investor has none of that, tilting the scale even more in disfavor of an union assuming the role of investment.
It's a good thought though, another entity such as a credit union supported by workers in an industry which also takes the role on investing in cooperatives to foment them, would still be an uphill battle but if some good cooperatives came out of it maybe it could be another viable (albeit smaller) model to start companies.
- aleph_minus_one 2y ago> On top of that the union has responsibilities to provide benefits to all members, a bank or investor has none of that A bank has responsibilities to its shareholders.
- piva00 2y agoBut not to all members participating in the machine, hence my point that unions have a responsibility over all its members.
- hellojesus 2y agoTo the extent the bank wants to retain employees, it does need to provide some minimum level of utility. That may be as simple as an hourly wage for some, but both shareholders and employees are participating in the machine.
- randomdata 2y ago> Unions aren't structured for investing, and that's not their reason to exist. Depends on the union. A credit union is structured for investing and is literally their reason to exist.
- alephnerd 2y agoYk a Labor Union is entirely different from a Credit Union right?
- aleph_minus_one 2y agoFor sure, but who says that they can't become more similar ...
- randomdata 2y agoTypically[1], but both are unions. Had the previous commenter been talking about labour unions then you might have something, but it clearly says "union" and "union" alone. [1] Although definitely not necessarily. A group of labour unions in these parts collectively own one of the largest hedge funds out there.
- alephnerd 2y ago> Unions should put their money where their mouth is and invest in cooperatives As in Labor Union. Pedantry and HN - name a more iconic duo.
- randomdata 2y agoIf labor was somehow significant to union, it would have been mentioned.
- alephnerd 2y agoIn colloquial American English, "Union" denotes "Labor Union".
- merely-unlikely 2y agoOnly partially true. Unions themselves aren't structured for investing, but unions have some of the largest pension funds and the managers of those pensions are some of the largest institutional allocators in the world. Think CalPERS, CalSTRS, Teacher Retirement System of Texas, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, and many others.
- WalterBright 2y ago> Unions aren't structured for investing, and that's not their reason to exist. They seem to have plenty of extra money to fund political candidates.