German union reps sit on corporate boards by law
While most global corporations treat labor as an outside cost, German law requires major companies to give workers half the seats on their supervisory boards.
When the board of a major German company like Volkswagen or Siemens meets to decide the firm's future, the people across the table are not just billionaire investors. Under a system known as co-determination, employees and union representatives legally hold up to 50 percent of the seats on the supervisory board. This means that the people who actually operate the machinery or manage the desks have a direct vote on executive pay and major factory closures. This legal requirement applies to any company with more than 2,000 employees, ensuring that labor is treated as a core partner in the business rather than a mere line item on a balance sheet.