Private Equity Labor Rights Platform

The Private Equity Stakeholder Project calls for the private equity industry to adopt a comprehensive labor rights platform to counter a 'low road approach' that reduces wages and staffing. The platform includes demands for a $25 sustainable minimum wage, equitable scheduling, paid sick leave, and protections against discriminatory practices and harmful technology. It also urges institutional investors, particularly public pension funds, to establish enforceable mechanisms to prevent the support of unethical labor practices.

• The private equity industry manages $11 trillion in assets and employs over 11.7 million workers in the United States, with millions more globally.
• Private equity-owned employment is heavily concentrated in low-wage sectors, including food service (1.5 million workers), retail (1.1 million), and security and healthcare (nearly 1 million each).
• The proposed labor platform includes ten specific standards: a sustainable living wage (with a $25 floor), equitable scheduling, paid sick leave and healthcare, ending occupational segregation, eliminating discrimination and harassment, ensuring safe conditions, providing layoff protections (at least one week's pay per year of employment), the right to organize, increasing worker voice on boards, and protections from harmful technology.
• Public pension funds are identified as the largest investor group in private equity and are urged to implement enforceable mechanisms to manage human capital risks and avoid unethical labor practices.
• The document highlights the scale of specific private equity acquisitions, such as Roark Capital's acquisition of Dunkin' Donuts (nearly 1 million workers), Warburg Pincus-owned Allied Universal's acquisition of G4S (over 800,000 workers globally), and Apollo Global Management's growth to over 550,000 employees.

APA

Private Equity Stakeholder Project (n.d.). Private Equity Labor Rights Platform. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PE-platform-2023.pdf

Chicago

Private Equity Stakeholder Project. Private Equity Labor Rights Platform. n.d. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PE-platform-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |title=Private Equity Labor Rights Platform |url=https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PE-platform-2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{privateequitystakeholderprojectndprivate, author = {{Private Equity Stakeholder Project}}, title = {{Private Equity Labor Rights Platform}}, publisher = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PE-platform-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }