Citigroup Uses Taypayer Dollars to Fight Workers' Rights

by: Seth D Michaels

Thu Mar 12, 2009 at 17:01

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.

Seth D Michaels :: Citigroup Uses Taypayer Dollars to Fight Workers' Rights

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.

(Cross-posted from the AFL-CIO Now Blog.)

Tags: Employee Free Choice Act, EFCA, unions, labor, Citigroup, TARP, bailouts, (All Tags)

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Citigroup Uses Taypayer Dollars to Fight Workers' Rights | 3 comments

This story (0.00 / 0)

should be a warning to everyone who thinks this is a piece of legislation where there can be compromise.

Here's Stein, quoting Glenn Spencer, a senior executive at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

From the Chamber's perspective, and I would say probably from the whole business communities perspective, there are really no amendments you could make to this bill that would make it acceptable.

They are not against this because they care about workers' democratic rights. They are against it because they oppose unions, and don't respect workers' democratic rights.

Also, it should be a warning to anyone who thinks 1) that the bill's opponents won't say anything to oppose it, no matter how unjustified (because what could be less justified than using bailout money to lobby against it or manipulating the stock market to influence the democratic process) or 2) that they media will call them out if they do or say outrageous, hypocritical things.

Thanks for posting this.

Politics is the art of the possible, but that means you have to think about changing what is possible, not that you have to accept it in perpetuity.

by: David Kaib @ Thu Mar 12, 2009 at 23:24:53 PM UTC

Who's Money? (0.00 / 0)

first, you are assuming that part of the 50 Billion is actually being used for this which neither you nor I can say this is true.

second, you are assumming that every taxpayer who contributed to the 50 Billion dollar loan is in favor of EFCA which again we can say with almost certainty that this is false. Union's want this. They need dues bad...they need to re-fund the under funded pension plans...they need to pay salaries...adding new members quickly is the only way to do this. Never mind that fact that businesses all over the country are hurting. Big business will manage with EFCA but small businesses will suffer greatly. EFCA is not about middle america...its about the unions. if you bought into this, your a big fool.

Most people including the average working american believes that EFCA is a bad idea. its pretty impressive to have one million union signatures dilivered to washington in support of EFCA. I bet you couldn't find that many non-union workers signature. It doesn't help that the union's are plastered all over the news lately with layoffs, strikes, companies going out of business, greedy UAW, greedy Teamsters, politcal infighting with SEIU..etc, etc. I don't see how EFCA will help middle america if there are no jobs to negotiate over.....

Democratic senators are bailing out on this quicker than the plague. they were eager to sign because Bush would veto. They realize now is not the time to pay back the unions for their bribes...ops, i mean political contributions.

by: rmoltaban @ Thu Mar 12, 2009 at 23:46:29 PM UTC