IBEW Pension Fund Sues Goldman Sachs over Executive Pay

The Pension Fund of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) sued Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., on March 8, accusing the Wall Street investment bank of overpaying its executives. The lawsuit seeks to stop Goldman from allocating roughly 47 percent of 2009 net revenue as compensation to its top executives, saying that such allocations “vastly overcompensate management and constitute corporate waste.”

Goldman has been at the center of a public debate over how much banks should pay their executives in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, after taking billions of dollars of federal bailout money. Last week, Goldman said it would cap 2009 compensation expenses at $16.2 billion, for a 36 percent compensation ratio, despite posting a record profit.

The lawsuit also wants Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and others in management, rather than shareholders, to be responsible for charitable contributions that Goldman is making as an apology for its activities. Goldman spokesman Ed Canaday said “We believe the lawsuit is completely without merit.”

Lockout at Bosch’s Indian Factory to Hit Auto Manufacturers
A lockout at a factory of Bosch Ltd., India’s largest manufacturer of auto parts, may cripple the production of vehicles if the dispute between the company and the union remains unresolved for a few more days, Workers at Bosch’s Naganathapura unit near Bangalore have been on a go-slow protest since Feb. 12, demanding a wage increase of 25 percent. On March 8, the local arm of German parts maker Bosch AG declared a lockout.

The Naganathapura factory supplies critical electrical parts, such as alternators and starter motors, to vehicle manufacturers Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), Hyundai Motor India and Tata Motors. “It’s a precarious situation for the entire automobile industry, and we are very concerned about it,” said a high-ranking auto executive, who insisted on anonymity. He said that inventory from the parts maker has been reduced to 30 percent.

S. Presanna Kumar, president of the workers’ union at the Naganathapura plant, said the Bosch management had offered an average wage increase of Rs3,000 ($275) per worker while the union wanted an interim hike of Rs4,500 ($400). This is the second time in 14 months that Bosch has faced a labor crisis. The firm had declared a lockout at its Jaipur factory in December 2008 in dealing with labor problems.

Steelworkers Reject Vale Inco Offer by 88.7 Percent
Members of Steelworkers Local 6500 voted 88.7 percent in favor of rejecting a contract proposal from Vale Inco on March 11, in line with the unanimous recommendation of the union bargaining committee. John Fera, the local’s president, said, “Our members sent a pretty strong message yesterday. I think that all we’ve ever wanted was a fair deal and the struggle will continue until the company is willing to offer that.”

The key issues that put the union on strike in July 2009 still haven’t been properly dealt with in the latest round of negotiations under a mediator or in the proposed contract. A Vale Inco spokesman, Steve Ball, said the company was disappointed by the rejection of its contract offer.

Ball stated that Vale will continue with its plans to move to full production, using non-striking employees and replacement workers. It is not clear whether negotiations will be renewed with new proposals from either party. The Steelworkers have offered to submit the dispute to binding arbitration, a departure from union principles.

Egyptian Workers to Receive Meany-Kirkland Award
The AFL-CIO Executive Council, meeting in Florida the past week, awarded the Egyptian union movement the George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award for 2009. The prestigious U.S. labor award was given to Egyptian workers for taking to the streets and engaging in a wave of strikes and other protests in the early 2000’s. Despite strong repression by the government, more than two million Egyptian workers were involved in 3,000 strikes, demonstrations and sit-ins since 2004. The Egyptian government has responded to the protests with a mixture of red tape and outright violence.; yet Egyptian workers are continuing their struggle.

In presenting the award, the Council stated: “They are leading the most significant social movement in the Arab world since World War II and the largest labor unrest since the late 19th century. Egyptian workers are continuing to challenge their employers, their unions and their nation’s government.”

The AFL-CIO Council also cited the Center for Trade Union and Workers Services, a non-governmental labor support organization that provides important institutional support for Egyptian workers. Established in March 1990, it aims to promote independent trade unionism, defend workers’ right to strike and develop democratic practices in Egypt.:

45 Colombian Union Leaders Were Assassinated in 2009
Amid news reports of human rights abuses in Colombia involving the assassination of union leaders, Canada’s largest labor organization says it is appalled that the Canadian government will try to fast-track approval of a free trade agreement with that country. “I’m deeply saddened by a news report from Colombia’s National Labor School that chronicles the assassination of 45 Colombian trade union leaders in 2009,” says Paul Moist, president of the 600,000-member Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

The victims were women and men killed by right-wing death squads tied to the government, because they were fighting to improve living standards and protect basic rights for Colombian workers. “In the face of these serious, ongoing abuses, it is unacceptable that Ottawa would even be talking to the Colombian government, let alone fast-tracking an agreement,” Moist says.

Meanwhile, recent reports by the United Nations and Amnesty International have raised serious concerns about escalating violence against Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, including murder and forcible displacement. Over four million Colombians have become refugees in their own country, mainly due to ongoing military violence.

700,000 Honduran Workers Earn Less than Minimum Wage
About 736,000 Hondurans continue to receive less than the minimum wage set during the government of President Manuel Zalaya, according to the official figures of the Labor Ministry. Labor Deputy Minister Carlos Gomez insists that 83.6 percent of employees in the business sector are not properly paid.

The Zalaya administration set the minimum wage at 5,500 lempiras ($291) for workers in the urban sector and 4,055 lempiras ($214) for those in rural areas, However, many companies allege problems to pay this amount and have started massive layoffs. Gomez explained that this year 5,000 Hondurans, so far, have been fired and 585 others have presented their resignations.

The secretary of the United Workers Confederation, Israel Sainas, considers that private enterprise has sufficient funds to increase the salaries of their workers. Negotiations between the government and union representatives to work out a salary adjustment were suspended. The government is expected to unilaterally set a new minimum wage.