THE CEO HOSTAGE CRISIS AT BOFA

NY Post ^ | July 6, 2009 | Charles Gasparino

[Scanian]

BANK of America CEO Ken Lewis may have to sacrifice his company to save his job.

Lewis is under fire from angry shareholders looking for change at the troubled bank. But his biggest worry may be the powerful Service Employers International Union.

The SEIU, a national union with locals in a vast range of private and public workplaces, has been trying for more than a year to organize BofA's tellers and office workers -- tens of thousands of jobs. But there's no sign it will pull that off without cooperation from management.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the SEIU in recent weeks ramped up its criticism of BofA, demanding Lewis' scalp in mass rallies outside the bank's headquarters and calling on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to force him out.

BofA officials tell me that the SEIU agitation took off after Lewis refused a sit-down with the union's leaders.

And the union's public gripes about Lewis seem pretty thin. SEIU officials told me that the protests are about the fact that tellers and other lower-level employees were being forced to sell banking products to consumers that contributed to the collapse of the financial system last fall -- and that stopping such sales practices requires Lewis' removal.

"We think Ken Lewis is bad for the company and the economy, and we also think that as long as you have a system where workers can't speak out, you can't fix the economy," said Stephen Lerner, an SEIU assistant president.

[pnh102]

If this guy was in charge when BoA went on welfare then he shouldn’t even be a janitor in charge of keeping a bank office clean. But if he loses BoA to the SEIU that’s just icing on the cake.

[maica]

The SEIU is Communism with purple shirts. Its president, Andy Stern, always goes after rich people/businesses in an effort to gain mass sympathy for his “organizing” efforts.

He wants power, and he is major buds with Obama, Axelrod, etc.

We are witnessing a replay of the Social upheaval in the 1900s. I pray that it doesn’t end in another replay of the 19teens.

[RU88]

The SEIU are some of wonder boy's biggest contributers. What also needs to be said is that they are also some of the world's biggest hypocrites for protesting BOA’s managerial decision to forgo bonuses and move to a salary structure that is salary oriented with structured pay increases. By the way, the EXACT same thing that the SEIU emphasizes in all of their contract negotiations. What scum.

[Leisler]

These are not owners. Most corporate types are hired help. I don’t see why BOFA shouldn’t go the way GM has. Lewis said he was lied to and pressured by Paulson/Bernanke/Geithner, and couldn’t prove it, or make it stick. Obviously the white bread, elite, dweeb has never been in a common fight, nor remembered Shakespeare, “When you set to kill the King, kill the King.”

[WellyP]

ACORN is SEIU is ACORN! RICO statutes must be used to bring them both down!

[wiggen]

“and we also think that as long as you have a system where workers can’t speak out, you can’t fix the economy,” said Stephen Lerner, an SEIU assistant president.”
ah yes,the workers paradise. All the firms crashing under legacy costs,why not make more of them?

[NativeNewYorker]

These b!stards are the only folks who could make me sympathetic for Ken Lewis.

[Oldexpat]

We do have the right to refuse to do business with the Union owned, govt controled, companies. BoA made their bed when they adopted policies favoring illegals. They have been off my list for a long long time.

[NativeNewYorker]

BofA is a hideous monstrosity at many many levels, yes. I *never* do business with them, or Citi.