Fight for a seat at the table to represent employees at your company -- you deserve a voice in your company's long-term strategy.
We demand that [Company] grant employees the opportunity to elect a representative to the Board of Directors.
[Company] workers—from customer service attendants to field technicians—ensure the success of our company’s day-to-day operations. However, when it comes to important decisions about [Company] ’s future, there is no channel for employees to contribute their wealth of on-the-ground knowledge. Board-level employee representation is not just about strengthening workers’ voices. Rather, it can improve relationships at all levels of the corporate ladder, increasing productivity and profitability.
A 2019 study by labor scholars found that companies with greater employee representation saw an impressive 16-21% increase in labor productivity, as well as lower rates of outsourcing and larger capital stocks invested in fixed assets. While in the US employee representation on boards is only recently becoming a trending topic, similar policies, such as Employee Stock Ownership Plans, have led to increased productivity, profitability, and job satisfaction, ultimately leading to positive returns on investments.
Adding an employee representative to [Company] ’s board can also help to improve relationships between employees and management, creating more opportunities for win-win negotiations. This is particularly important in the face of financial challenges. At the height of the recent economic slowdown, [Company] laid off thousands of workers. Yet the mass firing led to employee dissatisfaction and protracted lawsuits, while the company’s bottom line hardly budged. In contrast, companies with board-level employee representation may be better equipped to find alternative ways to reduce labor costs, studies show. It’s no wonder the Harvard Business Review has declared that “[a]ppointing workers’ representatives to company boards may be an idea whose time has come.”
In short, board-level employee representation represents a win-win for all [Company] stakeholders. Adding an employee rep to the board will not take away power from current decision-makers. Rather, it will simply expand the table to include a seat for employees who are deeply invested in [Company] ’s long-term success. [Company] must get with the trend and appoint an employee rep to its board!