January, 19 2011, 01:57pm EDT
Homeowners, Tax Payers, Workers Ask Pulte Mortgage CEO Debra Still: Show Us The $900 Million Bailout Money!
Over one hundred show up at rally during the scheduled Mortgage
Bankers Association Summit to demand same level of accountability given
to GM and Chrysler.
WASHINGTON
Over one hundred show up at rally during the scheduled Mortgage
Bankers Association Summit to demand same level of accountability given
to GM and Chrysler.
Homeowners, community leaders, tax-payers, and rank-and-file workers
from the Sheet Metal Workers International Association and the
International Union of Painters and Allied Trades held a rally and
demanded accountability for $900 million in taxpayer funds used to
bailout PulteGroup. The rally was held at the JW Marriott, 1331
Pennsylvania Ave., today, with the support of the Detroit Metro and the
Metro Washington AFL-CIO. It was held in the same hotel and in
conjunction with a summit hosted by the Mortgage Bankers Association,
and chaired by Pulte Mortgage CEO Debra Still.
"This is the second time we have attempted to get answers from Pulte
executives about how they spent the money. Wherever they go, we will
follow until there is accountability for those taxpayer dollars," said
Saundra L. Williams, President, Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO. "We bailed
out the auto companies. We bailed out the banks. We bailed out Pulte.
It's time for them to show us the money that was supposed to create
jobs. There needs to be accountability here."
Community members rallied inside the hotel, and announced that they
are calling for congressional hearings to determine whether PulteGroup
may have acted against the spirit and intent of the law. PulteGroup
received close to $900 million thanks to the Worker, Homeownership and
Business Assistance Act of 2009. The act was intended to create jobs
and extend benefits to the unemployed. Instead, PulteGroup is spending
the cash on increasing the ranks of the unemployed by laying off
people. The company reported spending $8 million on employee severances
and related costs. Then it announced plans to cut 350 jobs and close a
plant in Tolleson, AZ. PulteGroup has not indicated to its investors
that it is spending money on creating jobs.
Today's action follows a similar one held in Detroit last December
where the PulteGroup CEO Richard Dugas was to speak at the Detroit
Economic Club luncheon. The luncheon was cancelled with no explanation
at the last-minute, but the rally continued. This effort is part of the
national Building Justice campaign, which aims to hold the nation's
largest homebuilder accountable for its actions both in the financial
arena and in the neighborhoods they build.. The home builder has been
dogged by reports of low quality, violations of environmental
regulations and worker complaints about failure to maintain wage
standards.
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) works tirelessly to improve the lives of working people. We are the democratic, voluntary federation of 56 national and international labor unions that represent 12.5 million working men and women.
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