Should employee-shareholders serve on the board?

Recently, Jim McRitchie has been submitting shareholder proposals in an effort to diversify the board to include current or former non-management employees. Here’s an excerpt from his blog about them:

Employee representation grows long-term value of companies in several ways. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, giving workers formal control rights increases female board representation and raises capital formation. Employees are also often more diverse than boards in terms of race, gender, and wealth. The German “co-determination” model of shared governance provides a check against short-term capital allocation practices and other benefits.

The 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code encourages boards to establish a method for gathering workforce views. Options include a director appointed from the workforce, a formal workforce advisory panel or designating a director to liaise with workers.

Senators Baldwin and Warren introduced legislation codifying employee representation on corporate boards, noting that modern corporate governance needs to be accountable wider interests, notably employees. Polling demonstrates bipartisan public support (over 53%) for employee representation.