Messing Up At Work

Hmm.  The banks are in trouble, so taxpayers are giving them billions in bailouts.  But the bank executives won’t reign in their wild spending spree. It used to be tolerable that the profits they made on us were spent on massive bonuses and corporate jets and luxury boxes at football stadiums. Those excesses were repugnant but seemed to be part of the bargain we struck, since we agreed to pay all that interest on our credit cards and mortgages.  But last year the banks cried panic and demanded a bailout, meaning that those luxury items and massive bonuses are now being paid for by our taxpayer dollars. Why should we use our tax dollars to subsidize the extravagance of CEO’s who can’t keep their businesses afloat, while millions of workers are losing jobs, healthcare, and housing?

Predictably, the public relations war has escalated with even greater intensity than the economic food fight.

Recently deposed banking executive John Thain, who spent over a million dollars renovating his office last year and slipped in massive executive bonuses just before the Congress turned over taxpayer dollars to help him out, is now in full PR battle mode.  He seems utterly disinterested in playing the role of scapegoat.  Thain, like countless celebrities and moneyed elites before him, hired the best corporate PR talent that money can buy.  Rumor has it that Thain approached Rubenstein first but landed with Sunshine, Sachs & Associates.  Sunshine has helped Thain weave his story, including finger pointing at the man who fired him.  According to Thain, his excesses were known and approved by Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis.

Here’s where Camino PR’s Loretta Kane enters the fray.  Public relations can be used for social justice too, like shining a bright light on corporate excesses and abusive practices.  Yesterday Loretta helped the SEIU publicize their new campaign to oust Lewis from his perch.  These efforts landed the SEIU prominent news attention, including coverage in the New York Times business section:

“…Tuesday, the Service Employees International Union, one of the nation’s largest service sector unions, started a “fire Ken Lewis” campaign…”

The Charlotte Observer – the main newspaper where Bank of America’s headquarters’ are located – ran a prominent story that directly pulled from the SEIU press release, ““It’s time to start enforcing some basic standards for corporate behavior,” said Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, a frequent critic of the bank, in a statement. “Ken Lewis has failed Bank of America and he has failed taxpayers – and the Bank of America board should remove him.”  The union also called on the bank to add director seats for a taxpayer and a lower-level employee and to stop all executive bonus payments until the government’s investment is repaid.”

The full story is laid out in the SEIU press release .  EVERYONE can help with this campaign – just go to seiu.org and find an event to attend in your area.  The SEIU is taking the issue off the newsprint and into the streets.  These small protests will put continued pressure on Bank of America to stop its corporate excesses and culture of abuse.  It’s our money, our jobs, and our houses.  Please take a few minutes to make your voice heard.