It has not gotten much attention here, but a battle royal is brewing across the pond over private equity. A major effort to rein in buyouts is being led by the European labor movement. A series of private conferences over the last year or so laid the groundwork, with the International Union of Foodworkers leading the way. This article from the London Guardian describes the core issues.

Private equity boss and union in landmark meeting | | Guardian Unlimited Business

Meanwhile back in the USA, it was recently reported that a very sizeable portion of the funds raised by private equity funds come from public sector pension funds that, ironically, are often jointly managed by union representatives, as in the case of the giant CalPERS where a union official has been president for several years running now.