The IAM is endorsing a congressional push to put workers—not corporate profits—first and include strict corporate accountability measures in any coronavirus relief aid provided by the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve.
U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with more than 80 lawmakers, sent the letter advocating for working people to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
“In 2008, the federal response to the financial crisis provided hundreds of billions of dollars in a bailout with virtually no conditions,” the lawmakers write. “For working families , the results were unacceptable. Now, faced with an unprecedented economic crisis unleashed by the Administration’s failed response to COVID-19, millions are concerned that they will once again be left behind.”
The IAM has been leading the fight to stop airlines who received billions of CARES Act dollars from reducing the hours, wages and benefits of their employees.
The letter calls on Powell and Mnuchin to apply appropriate constraints to corporations receiving federal dollars from coronavirus relief legislation, including:
- Tax dollars must not be used to reward wealthy shareholders and executives
- Tax dollars must not be used to fuel out of control CEO-to-worker pay ratios
- Workers must come first
- Workers must have a seat at the table
- Companies must be transparent
- No bailouts for “inverted companies”
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