Instar-owned Windmill Farms faces risks from ongoing labor dispute
A labor dispute covered in blogs from December 2023 and March 2024, continues to plague Instar-owned Windmill Farms, as Instar and Windmill Farms have refused to meet with…
Explore the issues
Find more information on the issues deeply affected by private equity investments:
Private equity-backed companies union busting at higher rate than peers
As more workers petition to form unions, employers are turning to union avoidance firms and anti-union persuaders. Union busting firms use tactics like creating anti-union literature and holding captive audience meetings where workers are discouraged from…
U.S. healthcare industry should be wary of private equity’s acquisition of Steward Health Care physician network
Statement from Mary Bugbee, Healthcare Director at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP), on the announcement that Steward Health Care will sell its physician network to Rural Healthcare Group, an affiliate of the private equity firm Kinderhook Industries. Kinderhook …
PESP releases updated database of largest private equity-owned employers in America
The Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) has released updated research tracking the largest employers in the United States that are owned by private equity firms. This comprehensive research underscores the significant impact of private equity ownership on…
Instar must respect workers’ rights at Washington mushroom farm
In June, the Yakima County Superior Court considered a lawsuit brought by farmworkers against Windmill Farms and the company’s private equity owners, Instar Asset Management. Filed last November, the lawsuit details allegations of…
New report examines domination of ASL interpreter service market by private equity
Today, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) released a report detailing the private equity duopoly that dominates the FCC-funded Video Relay Service (VRS), a critical translation tool for Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals provided by the federal government, used for…
New AFT report on labor risk in private equity
On July 24, AFT, a union representing 1.8 million workers in education healthcare and public services, released a report, Managing Labor Risks in Private Equity, which calls on public pension fund trustees to press private equity firms…
Going beyond Blackstone’s new employee ownership model
In May 2024, Blackstone announced a new program to distribute ownership to employees at all the portfolio companies it acquires in the future. The firm will start by implementing the program at Copeland,…
Severance violation in private equity-owned Lucky Brand supply chain
Workers at Industrial Hana, a Guatemalan factory that produced garments for Lucky Brand, were left without a job or legally mandated severance pay when the factory suddenly shuttered in October 2023. Industrial Hana failed to pay$1.56 million in…
Michigan legislators introduce groundbreaking guaranteed severance pay legislation
On July 30, the Guaranteed Severance bill will be reintroduced in the Michigan legislature. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is a federal law that requires employers to provide advance notice of mass layoffs or plant closings that…
CalPERS holds private equity accountable for violating labor standards
The largest public pension fund in the United States, the $500 billion California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), began implementing its policy to address subpar labor practices at some of its private equity firms’ portfolio companies. During the…
Don’t blame the shrimp: How private equity is bankrupting America
In May, Red Lobster announced it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, closed dozens of stores, and would be selling all its assets.[1] CEO Jonathan Tibus, who was brought in as a restructuring advisor, was quick to…
