Labor & Employment Law

California Workers Call on Whitman to Come Clean on Goldman Sachs Ties

By James Parks

The U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal investigation into Goldman Sachs’ role in the subprime mortgage meltdown prompted California’s workers to renew their calls for Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman to provide detailed answers to questions about her close ties to the company.

Last week, the state federation announced plans for a massive grassroots campaign?including the launch of a new website, Wall Street Whitman?to combat the $150 million Whitman says she will spend on the race.

Whitman, who’s expected to win the Republican primary June 8, served on the board of directors of Goldman Sachs in 2001 and 2002 where, according to Wall Street Whitman, she was directly involved in the decisions about executive bonuses and mortgage-backed securities that are now cited as major causes of the economic meltdown and the ensuing jobs crisis.

Here’s California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski:

The hot water Meg Whitman’s in is due to her inextricable ties to Goldman Sachs just hit the boiling point. The people of California deserve the honest truth about Whitman’s involvement in the practices that are being investigated as part of the current criminal probe against Goldman Sachs. Whitman must immediately disclose all dealings with Goldman Sachs?past and present?and divulge any information she has about the alleged criminal activity under investigation.

 Specifically, California working families are demanding that Whitman answer several questions:

•  Will you publicly rebuke Goldman Sachs and the Wall Street culture you were a part of?the same company and culture that made you a billionaire?
• Will you apologize to the half million California families who lost their homes for your role as a Goldman director and investor who profited from their losses?
• Will you come clean with voters right now about what you knew about Goldman’s unethical dealings and when you knew it?
• If you are named in a federal criminal investigation or asked to testify publicly about your knowledge of Goldman’s illegal tricks or your profits from the company’s scams, how will you remain focused on California’s concerns?

 Pulaski adds:

To date, Meg Whitman has avoided the tough questions California families have about her dealings with Goldman Sachs and support of the Wall Street agenda that collapsed the economy….Whitman must directly address these questions, which are central to growing concerns about her fitness to lead our state.

Click here to find out more on Whitman’s record as a Wall Street insider and as a failed CEO, with a record of slashing and outsourcing jobs. Whitman has said if elected governor, she wants to fire 40,000 state workers.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on May 03, 2010 (boomark / email).