Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., will introduce legislation Wednesday aimed at making the nation's largest companies accountable to employees and their local communities, not just shareholders.

In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Warren said companies in the late 20th Century started operating in a way that made them slaves to shareholders.

"That shift has had a tremendous effect on the economy," she wrote. "In the early 1980s, large American companies sent less than half their earnings to shareholders, spending the rest on their employees and other priorities."

"But between 2007 and 2016, large American companies dedicated 93% of their earnings to shareholders," Warren added.

She said that change has also prevented large companies from ensuring wage growth kept up with productivity growth.