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Citigroup Uses Taypayer Dollars to Fight Workers’ Rights |
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It seems that another bank on the public dole is using its taxpayer-subsidized time and resources to lobby against the Employee Free Choice Act.
Today, Sam Stein of the Huffington Post reports that Citigroup hosted a private conference call yesterday to bolster opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act that included a senior executive at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a business lobbying group that has put tens of millions of dollars into the anti-Employee Free Choice disinformation campaign. Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake notes that the Citi stock analyst who downgraded Wal-Mart over fears of the Employee Free Choice Act passing was on the call, too.
Citigroup, the Huffington Post reports, has received some $50 billion in federal bailout funds—funds that are meant, in theory, to shore up the financial system, not allow Big Business to continue to distort the political process and lobby against critical legislation.
Dan Pedrotty, director of the AFL-CIO Office of Investment, says that Citigroup’s taking taxpayer dollars while inserting themselves into the political process is hypocritical.
Everyone should recognize that when we are talking about Citigroup here, the emperor has no clothes. You have a company surviving on taxpayer largess weighing in against workers who want to improve their lives.
Citigroup isn’t the first bailed-out bank to put resources into lobbying against the Employee Free Choice Act. Last year, Bank of America—shortly after being approved for billions in taxpayer bailout funds—hosted a conference call in which Employee Free Choice Act opponents insisted (possibly illegally) that those listening in should donate to anti-worker Senate candidates and anti-union front groups.
By taking public bailout funds while trying to block vital legislation for working families, Citigroup is betraying taxpayers and showing their desperation to keep the corporate-dominated status quo rather than give bargaining power back to workers.
12 Comments
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It is really difficult for me to understand why BA,Citi, and AIG are even involved. No more, Not with my tax money and certainly not with my money. My BA account will soon be closed!
They are also paying the NY Mets $20 million/year for 10 years for the naming rights to new stadium. Should be called People Park or Taxpayers Park.
When are we going to stop expecting either major party to stop this?
Why is anyone even surprised at the banks’ actions? The bailout money they received had no strings attached; they were supposed to use it to “shore up the financial system” but there were no controls or restrictions on how they used it. It was up to them to decide how they were going to “shore up the financial system” and if they believe that fighting the EFCA will help them in the future, they had the money to use in the battle. I am not against the bailout, I just believe that it should have had controls and overseers to make sure that it was used for responsible purposes and not for gain against the taxpayers who would end up paying for it.
Recently I changed my phone/internet/cable companies. I had four pages of paperwork that I had to read and agree to before I could use the new services. Ironic, isn’t it? What did the banks sign? A receipt for the money?
Tonight when you check your mail and see their garbage credit card application, send an EFCA flyer in the return envelope.
I bet every one of the CitiBank exects that support anti union, or anti labor policies and actions are, to a man, Republicans. There is nothing conservative about tyranny.
The Employer Free Choice Act will correct some of the injustices that now exist in Federal law. I won’t go into all the ways that mean-spirited employers use to undermine the rights of workers to join unions. Evidence abounds. Look it up. The GOP/anti-labor nonsense about “secret” representational elections is a red-herring. Those same hate-mongers did not give a tinker’s damn when millions of voters were denied their right to vote in the Presidential races of 2000 and 2004. The EFCA gives workers the right to determine their own destiny. Besides, with all the dirty, under-handed and illegal machinations committed by Wall Street financiers, why would anyone in their right mind now find credence in their anti-EFCA propaganda?
We voted for change last November. We must not allow Republicans or “Blue Dog Democrats” to subvert our votes! I expect Congress to pass the EFCA. I am withholding any financial support to the Democratic National Committee until after the EFCA and true health care reform are enacted into law. I don’t want one penny of my money to go to “Blue Dogs” who oppose the EFCA, or who tout lame “health care reform” legislation. I will continue to donate money to real Democrats in Congress who are committed to doing what is right for America’s working class. Thereafter I will send money to the DNC once the EFCA and real health care reform become realities. Besides, most of my campaign contributions are sent to my union’s PAF. My union does the right thing!
Sound off! Contact your Senators and Representatives. Tell them the EFCA and real health care reform are musts if they want our continued support! It’s easy to make a phone call to Congress. We must all do it!
We should be orgainizing right now for a total boycott of Citi and BoA and any of their holdings, subsidies, etc. They will not be the only ones. Put a stop to this nonsense now! Slap them right where it hurts.
Realteamster, Rich A. and Meat are right on point. I am here in Washington D.C at a Consumer Federation of America Annual meeting and fighting to keep support for EFCA in a Policy Resolution that several “business interests” are trying to GUT. This group (CFA) is supposed to be supportive of the largest group of Consumers in the country - WORKERS !! I hope they are! The vote comes down tomorrow!
I am a 48 year union member and union organizer that has seen first hand, what employers do when workers say they might like a Union. Passage of EFCA is going to wind up being a “fight to the death”!!!
Jim G
This is an acton that I believe should be brought to the attention of
President Obama and our full Congress.
The very idea of these “To Big To Fail” financial institutions using
Tax Payer Money to pay extremely lucaritive Baseball Clubs for the privelage of putting THEIR name, istead of “The Citizens Park”
or The Taxpayer’s Park” on Baseball Stadiums is insulting to WE TAXPAYERS, who are actually paying this ill-spent money for that
privelege is abominable and must end immediately!
If they want their names on stadiums so bad, let them first become solvent once again, pay back every penny WE TAXPAYERS provided to them to become solvent and THEN spend their own money on Stadium Renaming!
Such SARCASTIC behavior ranks right up there with using taxpayer money to give multimillion dollar salaries and multimillion dollar bonuses to CEO’s and the multitude of Assistant CEO’s for their shoddy, inferior work, practices that would get anyone else fired for.
I wish I had a Citi Card so I could return it. If I see someone using one they will get a tongue lashing.
This isn’t really a suprise is it? Here in North Carolina we have Representative Howard Coble and Senator Richard Burr accepting awards from Americans for Prosperity which, while posing as a “conservative labor non-profit”, appears to be a front for big business in attempting to stop the Employee Free Choice Act. Americans for Prosperity evolved from Citizens for a Sound Economy ( an industry funded think tank supporting deregulation) and was started with money from the Charles G Koch Charitable Foundation. Koch Industries(the second largest family owned business in the US)founder Fred G. Koch was a founding member of the John Birch Society. His sons, Charles and David, were named by Forbes magazine as both being among the 50 richest Americans. They have also been described as “following in dads footsteps”. Conservative - ridiculously! Labor-You’ve got to be kidding! This lets me know where these elected officials stand.
The fact that all these groups are “too big to fail” and they have the money and resources to fight the EFCA, which, ethically, they should stay out of, only means that they are monopolies, capable to do anything they damn well please, which also means they are too big now to allow to stand. This is a violation of Federal Trade laws. Monopolies are illegal!! We could take them down on that fact alone!