Teamsters Praise Obama for Cutting Top Executives' Pay

(WASHINGTON) – The Teamsters Union today applauded President Obama for slashing pay for top executives at companies that received TARP money.

The cuts apply to the 25 highest paid executives at the seven companies that took the most help from taxpayers.

“This is a return to common sense,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “It’s outrageous to pay top executives millions of dollars after they’ve driven their companies into the ground.

“When these financial elites can take home hundreds of millions of dollars for a few years of work, they have no reason to care if their companies survive past their retirement. Unfortunately, it’s average Americans who are paying the price for the incompetent managers who undermined the stability of the whole financial system.”

Hoffa also praised the Federal Reserve for proposing a review of the pay practices at the nation’s 28 largest banks and at regional lenders.

“Still, we need to do more,” he said. “We need to give shareholders a voice in setting compensation for top executives.  We need to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, we need to regulate derivatives and we need to make sure that banks are never again too big to fail.”

“It’s in everyone’s interest to align executive pay with a company's performance,” said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Tom Keegel. “The same logic that says financial services companies deserve bailouts because they are systemically important also says executives must be held financially accountable for their performance.”

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.