This diary is mostly derivative of the SEIU blog, but I felt this was a blog post worth sharing among many people and a cause worth supporting:
I have a story for you.
Two CEOs lead two large public companies that start sinking, putting thousands out of work and toppling the American economy. Both CEOs accepted billions in taxpayer dollars to sustain their companies, but both failed to stop their companies' downward spirals.
One CEO -- GM's Rick Wagoner -- got his pink slip from President Obama this morning. The other -- Bank of America's Ken Lewis -- accepted bailout funds while continuing to fleece consumers and taxpayers.
It's time for the Obama Administration to show the door to CEO Ken Lewis in order for real reform to take hold at Bank of America.
Why fire Lewis? Do you really need to ask? The proof is in the pudding.
The SEIU asks the Obama Administration to apply the same lesson to the financial sector as it did to the automotive industry: "replace failed leadership and shepherd the industry into a new era."
Why should Ken Lewis be fired? Let's count the reasons.
$45 billion bailout for more of the same. Ken Lewis' Bank of America has yet to change its core business practices that ran our economy into the ground in the first place.
$5 billion in bonuses met with blind eye. CEO Ken Lewis turned a blind eye when one of his new acquisitions gave out an estimated $5 billion in bonuses right before the company got a $10 billion bailout.
$120 million in CEO pay. Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis took home more than $120 million dollars in the last several years, more than 4,000 times what his average employee makes. The era of excess is over.
247,000 forgotten employees. Ken Lewis' Bank of America is actively fighting the Employee Free Choice Act, which would level the playing for its employees. In some states, Bank of America employees take up large portions of public health care because they don't earn enough money.
And while we're talking about breaking union contracts with GM and Chrysler, don't you think bank bonus contracts should go in return for bailout money? I do.
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