By Doug Cunningham

By intervening on behalf of workers with pension investments in a corporate takeover at Lafarge NA , the Laborers union was able to boost the purchase price offered helping to protect the value of the pension investments in the company. Laborer’s Union Director of Corporate Affairs Richard Metcalf.

[Richard Metcalf]: "Five hundred million dollars higher than the original offer. So the people that own these shares will get an increased payout of $500 million, and so any worker that has investments through their pension fund will see the increase on that."

Metcalf says workers need a more effective voice at the corporate board level. Unions have amassed a considerable amount of capital in pension funds and Metcalf says unions can use that capital clout to advance workers interests. The deadline for the Lafarge buyout is this week.