The Service Employees International Union sent a formal letter to the pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, requesting he stop Bank of America’s retiring CEO Ken Lewis from receiving a pension and severance package worth about $125 million.
The SEIU called Lewis “one of the chief architects of the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression.”
Lewis, who is set to retire at the end of 2009 is lined up to receive about $73 million in accumulated stock and other investments, along with a $53.2 million retirement package, mostly comprised of a pension program frozen some years ago.
“The American people are counting on you to reform the reckless culture of Wall Street that allows bank executives to drive our economy into the ground and walk away with millions,” said SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger in the letter posted on its website.
“You must act now to set a precedent that no bank executive will receive compensation packages until they put policies in place to create jobs, allow homeowners to retain their homes and support state and local governments,” added Burger.
In the letter, the SEIU requested that Lewis and other executives at banks supported by taxpayer dollars be restricted from receiving severance packages until certain commitments are made.
The SEIU believes the banks should provide the same affordable loan rates to state and local governments that they receive from the federal government. They would also like to see a commitment to small business lending, along with various other consumer related items.
However, Feinberg may have trouble adjusting or restricting Lewis’ or other bank executives’ retirement compensation even if he wants too, as many of those contracts may pre-date his authority.
