In an open letter to G7 finance ministers meeting in Washington, D.C., the leaders of three global workers\' organizations call for transparency in the recovery process and insist that governments look out for the public interest.
"As large parts of the financial system are being supported by the public taxpayer, we insist that governments should take equity stakes and act as activist investors to protect the public interest and ensure that taxpayers are eventually reimbursed," the workers\' organizations wrote.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, in a separate letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, urged him and the other G7 finance ministers develop a plan for "aggressive coordinated inter-governmental action to respond to the current financial and economic crisis."
"Working families have an enormous stake in our government\'s response to this crisis. Our unions hear every day from our members, from employers and from pension fund trustees about the pain and anxiety that this crisis is imposing on working families," Sweeney said.
"Whatever the outcome of the meetings this weekend, it remains imperative to address our nation\'s growing housing and employment crises. It would be enormously helpful if you could lend your voice and support to addressing these challenges with the same imagination and energy that you are showing in addressing our nation\'s financial crisis. In particular, we remain convinced that a substantial second economic stimulus package is needed sooner rather than later."
The G7 countries include the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. The open letter is signed by John Evans, general secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; John Monks, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation; and Guy Ryder, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation. Sweeney also serves as president of the TUAC.
In the open letter to the G7, the global union leaders point out that for the past 20 years, the G7 and the international financial institutions have promoted a "new financial architecture" based on deregulation. That stance led to a series of questionable financial products based on untrustworthy collateral, which in turn contaminated the global financial system.
"As a result what should have been a containable subprime mortgage crisis in the United States has triggered a global financial crisis with enormous social and economic cost," the three leaders said. "This is not any more a crisis of individual banks, it is a crisis of the financial system."
They also call for caps on executive pay and an end to the "perverse incentives" that have fueled the destructive speculation of recent years. Instead, they say executive compensation should be tied to the real economy and in reasonable proportion to the pay for employees as a whole.
Most critically, working people must have a say in the new financial structure.
"[Working people] have little confidence that bankers and governments meeting behind closed doors will get it right this time. There must be full transparency, disclosure and consultation."
James Parks writes for the AFL-CIO news blog, http://blog.aflcio.org This article is reprinted from that site.
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In an open letter to G7 finance ministers meeting in Washington, D.C., the leaders of three global workers\’ organizations call for transparency in the recovery process and insist that governments look out for the public interest.
"As large parts of the financial system are being supported by the public taxpayer, we insist that governments should take equity stakes and act as activist investors to protect the public interest and ensure that taxpayers are eventually reimbursed," the workers\’ organizations wrote.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, in a separate letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, urged him and the other G7 finance ministers develop a plan for "aggressive coordinated inter-governmental action to respond to the current financial and economic crisis."
"Working families have an enormous stake in our government\’s response to this crisis. Our unions hear every day from our members, from employers and from pension fund trustees about the pain and anxiety that this crisis is imposing on working families," Sweeney said.
"Whatever the outcome of the meetings this weekend, it remains imperative to address our nation\’s growing housing and employment crises. It would be enormously helpful if you could lend your voice and support to addressing these challenges with the same imagination and energy that you are showing in addressing our nation\’s financial crisis. In particular, we remain convinced that a substantial second economic stimulus package is needed sooner rather than later."
The G7 countries include the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. The open letter is signed by John Evans, general secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; John Monks, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation; and Guy Ryder, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation. Sweeney also serves as president of the TUAC.
In the open letter to the G7, the global union leaders point out that for the past 20 years, the G7 and the international financial institutions have promoted a "new financial architecture" based on deregulation. That stance led to a series of questionable financial products based on untrustworthy collateral, which in turn contaminated the global financial system.
"As a result what should have been a containable subprime mortgage crisis in the United States has triggered a global financial crisis with enormous social and economic cost," the three leaders said. "This is not any more a crisis of individual banks, it is a crisis of the financial system."
They also call for caps on executive pay and an end to the "perverse incentives" that have fueled the destructive speculation of recent years. Instead, they say executive compensation should be tied to the real economy and in reasonable proportion to the pay for employees as a whole.
Most critically, working people must have a say in the new financial structure.
"[Working people] have little confidence that bankers and governments meeting behind closed doors will get it right this time. There must be full transparency, disclosure and consultation."
James Parks writes for the AFL-CIO news blog, http://blog.aflcio.org This article is reprinted from that site.