I'm tired of reading about the job layoffs daily while witnessing the lavish spending and bad decisions of incompetent CEOs. After watching the attitudes of auto executives change under congressional questioning, I decided to do something about it and started a petition.
To: U.S. Congress
During an unprecedented economic downturn, some American companies are needlessly laying off workers. These layoffs are the decisions of CEOs and executives who earn many times what the average worker makes and often get multi-million dollar bonuses. Ironically, these executives -- not the workers -- are often the reason for a company's difficulties.We believe that unneeded layoffs are a tremendous threat to the U.S. economy. Simply put, workers without jobs can't afford to buy goods or services. The massive layoffs are creating a spiraling, downward cycle in the economy that effects not just the families of these laid off workers but everyone.
We realize that sometimes a company must lay off workers. However, we agree with the sentiments of CEO Barry Diller, who recently said:
"The idea of a company that's earning money...not losing money... to have cutbacks so they can earn another $12 million or $20 million or $40 million in a year where no one's counting is really a horrible act when you think about it, on every level. First of all, it's certainly not necessary. It's doing it at the worst time. It's throwing people out to a larger unemployment heap for frankly no good reason. It's not that you don't want to earn as much money as you can -- it is your obligation, of course -- but companies have obligations beyond that and they certainly have obligations beyond that at certain times, in the times in which they operate."We call on the members of Congress to hold immediate hearings and to call the CEOs of these companies to account for themselves and these harmful layoffs. Let the American people see the CEOs answer questions in a public forum, explain their decisions and discuss their executive pay packages.
The recent example of the hearings with the big three automakers have shown that CEOs can change their behavior under public scrutiny. We hope these hearings will bring about public awareness and get the executives of all American businesses to act in a manner befitting the times and more beneficial to all.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
Please sign the petition here. If you want to help, please share with this others and feel free to contact me via email at Stranahan@gmail.com . I have a website up and running at StopLayoffs.org
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Let them get a taste of unemployment instead of lifetime employment.
Here in Chicago, Republic Window shut down with no notice. Union rules require 60 days.
BofA cut off their credit.
The employees are occupying the property until they get paid, including wages, accumulated vacation and sick days.
The bosses new they had problems long ago. I'll bet they got paid.
Hearings are a waste of time.
Congress has the power right now to condition the auto loans on serious fat cat income trimming.
No need for hearings.
They just need to DO IT.
In other words 25% to 50% of much of the workforce has been replaced by workers forced, BY Congress, to work for nothing. We tout it as "increased productivity."
"Part-time" employees are paid far less than full-time employees for the same work because that portion of salary in "benefits" under the quaint "Fair Employment Practices" don't apply to part-timers. Thank-you Congress. So suddenly, Surprise! -- all the jobs are part-time!
My suggestion -- don't petition, call you Rep and DEMAND WORKERS BE PAID AND EMPLOYERS BE PROSECUTED, not "exempted." If they won't do it FIRE THEM next election.
Shouldn't we be asking companies that receive bailouts to first come up with a business plan that keeps jobs in the United States.
Unwillingness is a function of fear. Everyone is spreading the fear. Even Obama has been playing into it.
Inability is due to loss of credit, and loss of jobs.
Congress bailed out the banks to open the credit spigot. They forgot to require that the banks use the money in that way. The banks didn't.
Congress will bail out the Big 3 to keep millions of people employed. But these companies see success as staying alive until things get better. In order to do that, t they are going to lay off workers.
IWhy not simply forbid companies to lay off? And use pay bailout money to pay workers' salaries? The alternative is paying them unemployment benefits - which is essentially the same thing, except you get no return.
Those companies which take Federal bailout money would be forbidden to lay off and would pay wages out of the bailout cash. Those companies not in on a bailout can be forbidden, for x period of time, to lay off except for cause or poor performance. The Federal government will pay the otherwise laid offt employee and take an equity stake in the company. And/or the wages can be considered a form of loan which the company must later pay back.
Now you have people earning, with a government guarantee. There goes fear, and there goes inability.
Beyond this, I think Congress should be forced to answer to the public in reverse hearings---where the public can ask Congress questions, in a hearing room, on the record, on tape.
Congress has let lobbying and special interest money detach them from their true consitutents---the public who vote and pay taxes.
"Say yes to 'reverse hearings'!"
There should be a law that workers can't be laid off unless CEO's take a pay cut of eqaul percentage to the number of workers laid off
Greed got us into this mess, and I'm afraid it will take more than petitions to get us out.
now 1600 people have been laid off. i'm currently training the people from india, where my job is being outsourced to. after over 18 years as a good employee i'll be unemployed march 1st. in the worst economy in decades.
our ceo took a "pay cut" from $5.6 million a year to only $4.8 million a year...
One of the companies I worked for years ago (before they outsourced our jobs to India) told me that I would need to train someone from India to do my job, of course at the time, I was the only one in the company that knew how to do my job, and I was self-taught. I refused to train him/her or whoever it was. I figured you're gonna have me train someone to take over my job so you can lay me off, FU. I quit.
I believe we're at a different point in history - people are fed up, we have an incoming administration that was elected on a platform against corporate greed, and the internet has changed communications. The world can now watch what happens and talk about it instantly. This is our time.
These practices have been going on for a generation and the cumulative effect is where we are now. The economy has stumbled for the same or similar reasons several time over the past 20 years, but we've ignored the root problems. That this petition has been drafted and we are discussing this issue indicates that a shift is in the works.