Public Outrage Over Bank of America's Self-Serving, Predatory and Dangerous Practices Heats Up

Posted by Ali Jost, SEIU at 4:34 PM on April 16, 2009.

In recent weeks, there’s been a growing chorus of public outrage over the lavish bonuses paid to bank executives whose self-serving profit schemes and risky financial deals led to today’s economic collapse. After spending billions to bailout big banks for their bad behavior, taxpayers are making their voices heard in the streets, in the halls of Congress, and through online campaigns to say: Enough is enough. It’s time to close the chapter on corporate excess, restore America’s middle class, and create an economy that works for everyone.

This month, in a series of grassroots actions and advocacy efforts, American taxpayers are turning up the heat on Bank of America, the largest financial institution and the poster child of the kind of corporate excess and dangerous profit schemes that must come to an end if we are to rebuild an economy with strength that can last.

Leading up to Bank of America’s annual shareholder meeting on April 29, consumers, employees and shareholders will call for reform, from top to bottom, of Banks of America’s practices of preying on consumers, abusing employees, and using their power in Washington to block pro-worker legislation that would help restore our economy and rebuild the Middle Class.

TAXPAYER ACTIONS AGAINST BANK OF AMERICA IN APRIL:

•    Taxpayer Proxy Actions to Oust Ken Lewis and Reform the Banking Industry—Ahead of Bank of America’s Annual shareholder meeting on April 29, a diverse group of labor, consumer advocacy and religious groups will be collecting thousands of “taxpayer proxies” from around the country, demanding shareholders take swift action to: (1) Fire Ken Lewis; (2) Commit to real financial reform; (3) Stop consumer abuses that hurt our communities; (4) Provide health insurance to all its employees; and (5) Stop lobbying against pro-worker legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act that would support working families and restore balance to our economy. Go to www.takebacktheeconomy.org to learn more.
 Watch SEIU’s Stephen Lerner on The Ed Show on MSNBC preview the taxpayer proxy actions and talk about the critical role the Employee Free Choice Act will play to rebuild the American Middle Class.

•    Bank of America Employees Speaking Out Against Abuses and Calling for Action—Just like taxpayers, Bank of America employees are starting to speak out against Bank of America’s mistreatment of employees and dangerous sales practices of pushing debt on consumers. Bank workers can play a central role in reforming the industry, but they need whistleblower protection to sound the alarm on predatory sales practices that are bad for consumers and dangerous for our economy.
     Bank of America employees are available to speak with reporters.

•    Shareholder Pressure to Reform Bank of America from the Top Down—Last week, Change to Win Investment Group sent a letter to Bank of America’s Board of Directors urging them to immediately recoup a total of $3.6 billion rewarded to Merrill Lynch executives in December 2008—even after the same executives led Merrill to lose a total of $27.6 billion in 2008.

•    Shareholder Resolution to Oust Ken Lewis—A growing number of Bank of America shareholder are calling for Ken Lewis to step down as Chairman of Bank of America and urging Bank of America to re-examine practices that are destabilizing our economy.

•    Pressuring Government to Regulate TARP Recipients—Labor and consumer groups will continue urging Government to stop Bank of America and other TARP recipients from using taxpayer funds to lobby against taxpayer interests. Last week, in a panel discussion with progressive economists, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger spoke about the urgent need regulating TARP recipients, warning that “People have been feeling robbed at every turn by the big banks, and there’s zero patience for anything that looks or sounds like more of the same.”

The bottom line is this: we’re never going to fix America’s economy if we continue to allow the same failed leaders to promote the same failed policies. More than 80 percent of Americans believe that financial institutions like Bank of America are to blame for today’s financial crisis. It’s time to expose Bank of America’s abuse of consumers, mistreatment of employees, and dangerous self-serving profit model.

Tagged as: seiu, bank of america