The Obama administration has gone and done something that might put a bit of a damper on the bankers' big party in Chicago this weekend. They're drafting a plan, to be announced in the coming days, that will dramatically cut CEO salaries for the companies that took the most taxpayer money during the financial collapse. From the New York Times:

Under the plan, which will be announced in the next few days by the Treasury Department, the seven companies that received the most assistance will have to cut the cash payouts to their 25 best-paid executives by an average of about 90 percent from last year. For many of the executives, the cash they would have received will be replaced by stock that they will be restricted from selling immediately.

And for all executives the total compensation, which includes bonuses, will drop, on average, by about 50 percent.

The companies are Citigroup, Bank of America, the American International Group, General Motors, Chrysler and the financing arms of the two automakers.

At the financial products division of A.I.G., the locus of problems that plagued the large insurer and forced its rescue with more than $180 billion in taxpayer assistance, no top executive will receive more than $200,000 in total compensation, a stunning decline from previous years in which the unit produced many wealthy executives and traders.

In the months since the Obama administration appointed Kenneth Feinberg to clamp down on executive pay at bailed out firms, Wall Street has been speculating whether or not he would actually take his position very seriously. They can stop now. It's clear that Feinberg intends to use every tool in his belt to go after the people who try to get rich with our tax dollars.

Here's the problem, though: he's just about out of tools. Feinberg only has compensation-review authority over the seven largest recipients of tax-funded bailouts; that leaves dozens of other banks that are still taking billions in tax dollars and paying out huge bonuses to their top execs. And they're still using our tax dollars to lobby against financial reforms that would help prevent another financial crisis.

The restrictions the administration are about to place on these seven firms are great news for all of us pushing for real financial reform. But we can't allow ourselves to turn a blind eye to the billions of our tax dollars still being squandered away by the dozens of other banks receiving bailouts. Rest assured, there will still be plenty of good fortune for Wall Street CEOs to toast at their party in Chicago this weekend.

Congress took a step towards cracking down on corporate and big bank CEO pay today, as the House passed the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009 by a 237-to-185 vote. Today's vote to restrict risky compensation and bonuses would apply to any company with more than $1 billion in assets. It follows mind-boggling report on Thursday that nine of the country's biggest banks--all receiving billions of dollars in bailout funds--had 'awarded' roughly 4,800 million-dollar-plus bonuses.

Today, the average CEO today makes in one day what the average worker is paid in one year. Employment compensation for workers in this country has grown over the past 12 months by the lowest amount on record--a stark reality that stands in direct contrast to the skyrocketing CEO pay and bonuses that have not slowed since our economic crisis hit. Here's a visual to help illustrate our point:

The Penthouse View vs. The Main Street Reality

Bonuses at big banks have even outpaced earnings. CBS News reports that while Goldman Sachs earned $2.3 billion last year and received $10 billion in TARP funds they paid out $4.8 billion in bonuses--more than double their income. "America is not living up to its promise when one of the architects of the economic crisis gets paid billions in bonuses for his failures while his employees take home wages barely above the poverty level," said SEIU President Andy Stern.

The House passage of the bill is an important step to correct the enormous disparity between those at the top and regular working Americans, but much more needs to be done to help Main Street recover. SEIU is calling on lawmakers to pass the Employee Free Choice Act as an essential way to rein in reckless CEOs and corporate greed and speed up economic recovery.

Corporate lobbyists and executives are gearing up for their next round of attacks on the Employee Free Choice Act. But the next battle is bound to show them for who they are: greedy people who will do anything to hold onto their power.

In recent weeks, corporate groups have waged war to prevent workers from enjoying what CEOs take for granted: a contract.

Watch our "coming attraction" trailer for the new battle:

Anti-worker groups are now attacking the "first contract arbitration" portion of the Employee Free Choice Act. It seeks to stop employers from using endless foot-dragging against workers who have voted for a union, but have yet to secure a contract.

Their new line of attack is entirely hypocritical. Corporations use arbitration all the time, because for years, they've said it's a fast, inexpensive way to settle disputes.

It doesn't have to be a battle, but CEOs are doing all they can to stop the Employee Free Choice Act. To them, this is "Armageddon" and "the demise of a civilization." It's an epic battle that must be fought to preserve the status quo, and of course, their lavish lifestyles.

Tell your members of Congress that they need to support the Employee Free Choice Act. Tell them that they need to choose their constituents over the corrosive power of greed. We're counting on them to help level the playing field to improve the lives of the American people that they represent.

Watch the video and write to your members of Congress here: http://action.seiu.org/epicbattle

Today, the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in Congress. Want some great reasons to support this bill that you've been hearing so much about? Here's five. (And if you already support it, please contact your Members of Congress and ask them to do the same.)

1. Because more jobs should be good jobs.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last year, it's no surprise that millions of Americans are out of work, losing their health care or their retirement money, or are otherwise in financial straits. Times are tough. And who's taking this economic crisis on the chin? Well, we are, of course.

Four million people have lost their jobs since the recession began in December 2007. It's not for lack of trying. In terms of productivity, people are working harder than ever-- but American workers still haven't gotten a raise. And while jobs and wages are down, the cost of living continues to rise: The average cost of family health insurance plan will go up to $24,000 by 2016. $24,000!

The Employee Free Choice Act says that workers should have the ability to bargain with their employers for better wages and benefits--like affordable quality health care.

2. It's good for the economy.

One of the biggest reasons for our current economic crisis? People literally don't have the cash they need to buy goods and services--which would in turn help the economy. Higher wages and higher benefits would give workers the purchasing power they need to buy more of the goods and services that this economy produces. According to a February report from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, unionization could pump more than $49 billion into the economy.

But don't take it just from us. Last month, forty leading economists, including three Nobel prize winners, took out a full-page ad in the Washington Post offering their reasons for supporting the bill. In the ad, they argued that one of the main reasons for our economic slump is the "erosion of workers' ability to form unions and bargain collectively," that shifted the wealth of our country from "broadly-shared prosperity" to "growing inequality."

3. Barack Obama loves it, and so do most of you.

Not to mention Joe Biden, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, and majorities in both houses of Congress. And according to recent polling, 73% of the public supports it. Just last week, speaking in front of a labor gathering, President Obama vowed to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, stating,

"I have every confidence that if we are willing to do the difficult work that must be done, we will emerge from these trials stronger and more prosperous than we were before. And as we confront this crisis and work to provide health care to every American, rebuild our nation's infrastructure, move toward a clean energy economy, and pass the Employee Free Choice Act, I want you to know that you will always have a seat at the table."

What's not to love about that?

4. Because CEOs should be helping workers, not hurting them.

Want to get really depressed about your paycheck? Compare it to a CEO's. As a testament to the growing income disparity between CEOs and the workers they employ, look no further than Wal-Mart's former CEO, Lee Scott. Scott earned $15,000 an hour in 2007 while Wal-Mart workers earned just $10.68 an hour. On average, CEOs earn 344 times what their typical employee makes.

And yet, when Goldman Sachs received $10 billion in Wall St. bailout funds, they turned around and spent $6.5 billion on bonuses! If the Employee Free Choice Act passed, workers would have more of an opportunity to share in the prosperity they helped create.

5. Because the other side is really scary.

Or at least, they're trying their hardest to scare us. The corporate interests opposing the Employee Free Choice Act have warned of everything from rioting in the streets to, literally, Armageddon if the bill passes. For a sense of just how extreme the other side has gotten, check out our "scary movie" video here:

Corporate interests are bent on lying about the Employee Free Choice Act - they'd have you believe that the bill means the end of the secret ballot - but nothing could be further from the truth. The Employee Free Choice Act simply gives employees the choice to join unions - not the employers. Right now, workers can join unions through majority sign-up or a secret ballot election, and they can do so under the Employee Free Choice Act, too. The only difference is it will be the employees' choice, not the employers.

But don't take it from me - watch Rachel Maddow destruct this argument:

If you're as fired up as we are, go to SEIU.org and sign up to help. It's time for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Crossposted from the Huffington Post here.

On Thursday, hundreds of Chicago janitors and supporters rallied at Fifth Third Bank in Schaumburg to call for good jobs and an economic recovery that works for everyone, not just the people at the top. Janitors marched from Woodfield Mall to the bank, chanting loudly and holding purple banners reading "Value Work."

Fifth Third Bank took $3.4 billion in taxpayer-funded bailout money, and CEO Kevin Kabat was paid over $200,000--more than seven times the average teller's annual pay--for perks like country club dues, parking and estate planning. Fifth Third Bank's CEO also received a base salary increase from the year before, as well as stock and option awards valued at about $1.9 million on the days they were granted.

The average salary for a downtown janitor is about $1,950 a month, with suburban janitors making even less than that.

Thursday's march builds on momentum from the rally held earlier in the week, when 3,300 janitors marched through downtown Chicago to call on Bank of America and other banks to use federal bailout money to create jobs that will strengthen the economy, instead of paying executives excessive salaries and bonuses. Both rallies are part of an effort by SEIU Local 1 janitors and community supporters to call attention to low-wage workers struggling to keep afloat in a time when corporate CEOs are still getting multimillion dollar compensation and bonuses.

With more hardworking Americans losing their jobs and their homes every day, janitors want to protect and create good jobs that will help get this country's financial system back on track. "We're here to show that we're important in this economy too," said Alexandra Figus, who's worked as a janitor for 29 years. "We have families and homes. Our homes are going into foreclosure. I'm a mother. I have a family. That's why I'm here. We need job security."

Thursday's rally occurs as nearly 15,000 SEIU Local 1 janitors begin contract negotiations with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Chicago, including 3,000 janitors who work in suburban office buildings. The current agreement expires April 5.

On Wednesday, CEOs of eight bailed out banks went in front of Congress to answer questions about how they used hundreds of billions in taxpayers' money.

While in front of Congress, Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis admitted he thinks it's in "the best interest" of Bank of America to spend money lobbying against economic recovery legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act.

That is not acceptable. Companies that receive tens of billions in taxpayer money should not be allowed to lobby against policies that would help out millions of taxpayers in this tough economy.

Watch this video about Bank of America using taxpayer money to lobby against the Employee Free Choice Act, then encourage Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to set lobbying restrictions on bailed out banks.

In these tough times, we need policies that will help working families and pump more money into the economy. Bank of America even admitted in an internal memo that the Employee Free Choice Act will lift wages and benefits.

Yet CEO Ken Lewis says it's in his "best interest" to fight what his company called "a defacto wage and benefit increase" for consumers.

It does not make sense to give Bank of America $45 billion from taxpayers and allow them to turn around and fight our economic recovery efforts.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner recently did the right thing by imposing restrictions on bailout banks from using money for corporate jets and excessive executive pay. We're encouraging Secretary Geithner continue that progress by saying banks with government bailouts can't spend money on lobbying.

Watch this video about Bank of America's fight against economic recovery and sign our petition to Secretary Geithner:

With your help, we can make our economy work for everyone again.

A group of SEIU members are on the Hill this morning, calling on Congress to prevent companies that are receiving massive taxpayer subsidies from spending money on lobbying that may pit their corporate interests, and the interests of highly compensated CEOs, against taxpayers' interests.

While taking taxpayer money, bailout recipients like Bank of America & Merrill Lynch have continued to lobby--through their trade association memberships--to block consumer protection measures, predatory lending regulations, and the Employee Free Choice Act, a measure that would ensure workers the freedom to form a union for a voice for improved wages, benefits, and working conditions. Beyond the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), some bailout recipients--who fail to provide affordable healthcare or a living wage to their employees--are dipping into additional federal coffers, forcing thousands of employees to seek healthcare through taxpayer funded programs like Medicaid and food stamps.

Watch the C-SPAN live hearing as CEOs from eight major banks that received $125 billion in taxpayer bailout funds are called before Congress to account for their use of the funds.

UPDATE, @5PM: The hearing is over now, but you can still watch the testimony of the CEOs whose companies received the first TARP funds explain how they used the bailout money before the House Financial Services Committee.
> Watch the TARP hearing's morning session here and the afternoon hearing session here.

"I just returned from Davos and the inability of leaders of the business community to take responsibility was everywhere, and it was disappointing...Too many leaders tried to justify their own or companies behavior rather than admit that the system they promoted that had made them wealthy, while creating gross inequities, and economic calamities was flawed," wrote SEIU President Andy Stern last week on the Washington Post's "On Leadership" online forum.

Andy records a video in a workshop at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Flickr Photo © 2009 Robert Scoble

"When Barack Obama raised his voice we saw what real leadership means. Is it any wonder that the public has less trust in big business than it had in President Bush when he left office?"

Stern recently returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he was a participant in two panels, "Renewing Trust in Corporations" and "Power to the People: Politics in the Internet Age."

In this YouTube clip recorded in Davos, Andy Stern discusses whether company executives should have a code of ethics. Watch it now:

Did you see the news on Tuesday? The Huffington Post reported that just days after receiving billions in bailout money, Bank of America hosted a secret call to plan the defeat of the Employee Free Choice Act.

Bank of America has $45 billion in bailout money, but they're not using it to help the economy, homeowners, or their employees. The company instead planned how to keep their employees and other working people from improving their economic situations.

It's time to fire Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis and replace him with someone who will use our bailout money responsibly.

Today, we're asking you to go to a Bank of America location to talk directly with employees about what's happening with their company - and why their CEO should be fired.

Click here to find an event near you, or create your own event at a Bank of America branch.

Combined with recent reports that Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis knowingly let a bank purchased by his company dole out $4 billion in bonuses before receiving even more bailout funds, it's clear Bank of America is not interested in anything but its bottom line.

Let's be clear: it won't be enough to replace Ken Lewis with someone equally reckless. After Bank of America replaces its CEO, the company needs to use its $45 billion bailout money responsibly. We're asking the company to:

• Provide health care for its 247,000 workers
• Keep over 12,000 troubled borrowers in their homes with executive bonus money
• Sign new leases with renters who live in buildings that are being foreclosed upon
• Commit to providing affordable healthcare to all of its employees and their dependents.

Find a Bank of America near you and invite your friends to help you talk to tellers. Click here to tell Bank of America employees about their company on Thursday.

Bank of America employs 247,000 people but pays some so little money that its employees take up significant portions of public health care in some states. And get this: in 2006, Lewis took home $99 million, more than 4,000 times what his average employee makes.

Someone needs to stand up for Bank of America employees, because the company sure isn't. It's time for Ken Lewis to go.

Find a Bank of America event near you today.

> More background on Bank of America's practices here: www.seiu.org//bank-of-america/

Over the last few months, it's become abundantly clear that Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis just doesn't get it. The era of greed and irresponsibility is over.

Bank of America tellers make about $24,000 a year. That's less than what the CEO of a company bought by Bank of America paid for his curtains during the $1.2 million redecoration of his personal office.

Enough is enough. Today, we're calling on Bank of America to fire CEO Ken Lewis.

On Thursday, we're asking you to go to a Bank of America location to talk directly with employees about what's happening with their company - and why their CEO should be fired.

Click here to find an event near you, or create your own event at a Bank of America branch.

News reports say that Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis turned a blind eye when one of his new acquisitions doled out billions in executive pay in 2008 - including an estimated $4 billion in bonuses right before the company got its $10 billion bailout from the government.

We're going to Bank of America locations around the country on Thursday because the employees of the largest bank in the country need to hear the truth about their CEO.

Let's be clear: it won't be enough to replace Ken Lewis with someone equally reckless. After Bank of America replaces its CEO, the company needs to use its $45 billion bailout money responsibly. We're asking the company to:

• Provide health care for its 247,000 workers
• Keep over 12,000 troubled borrowers in their homes with bonus money
• Sign new leases with renters who live in buildings that are being foreclosed upon
• Commit to providing affordable healthcare to all of its employees and their dependents.

Find a Bank of America near you and invite your friends to help you talk to tellers. Click here to tell Bank of America employees about their company on Thursday.

It seems Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis forgot about the 247,000 people who make his company successful. In 2006, Lewis took home $99 million, more than 4,000 times what his average employee makes. In some states, Bank of America employees take up large portions of public health care because they don't earn enough money.

Someone needs to stand up for Bank of America employees, because the company sure isn't. It's time for Ken Lewis to go.

Join us at Bank of America locations on Thursday.

On this weekend's edition of MSNBC's Meet the Press, former Rep. David Bonior, a member of President-elect Barack Obama's economic transition team, talked about ways the next administration can help get the economy back on track. One proposal supported by President-elect Obama and 60 percent of the public is the Employee Free Choice Act, which will help employees bridge the gap of wage inequality in the country today.

Watch the video clip:

The New York Times recently made a similar point in its endorsement of the "swift passage" of the Employee Free Choice Act:

The measure is vital legislation and should not be postponed. By giving employees a bigger say in compensation issues, unions also help to establish corporate norms, the absence of which has contributed to unjustifiable disparities between executive pay and rank-and-file pay. There is a strong argument that the slack labor market of a recession actually makes unions all the more important.

Bonior echoed the same sentiment in a recent letter to incoming Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke:

The time is ripe for a new Wal-Mart with an incoming President who has pledged to bring change to this country, ensure a fairer economic system for workers and business alike, reform health care, and restart our economic engine so that it works for all Americans. Here's to a New Year, a new Wal-Mart, and a new resolve for being part of the positive change that's coming.

(Transcript of segment below: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28605356/page/3/)

REP. BONIOR: Well, from my perspective we've got to get a hold of this inequality we have in this country today on, on wages and income, and this Bush tax cut piece is a, is a big part of that. The top--over the last 20 years, the top 10 percent took 90 percent of the income gains in this--in the country. And the top 1 percent took roughly 60 percent. And the top 1/10th of 1 percent took 35 percent of that. I mean, it's skewed the wrong way. And what we need to do is focus in on not only monetary policy and fiscal policy, as we have talked this morning, but we've also got to talk about where we want to end up.

MR. GREGORY: Mm-hmm.

REP. BONIOR: And the way we end up with helping actually people is to give them the chance to bargain collectively at the table. With 7 percent unionization in this country, you're not going to get the dispersion that you need. We were successful in this country--after the second World War, the three most profitable decades for working people. Shared prosperity occurred after the second World War because unionization was at 35 percent. The Employee Free Choice Act is an important piece of legislation that President-elect Obama and Biden support, the Congress supports, 60 percent of the American people support, and that will help share in the benefits and the bounties of the country.

The New York Times hit the nail on the head when it called for swift passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. In thoughtful analysis of workers' role in an economic recovery, The Times wrote:

The measure is vital legislation and should not be postponed. Even modest increases in the share of the unionized labor force push wages upward, because nonunion workplaces must keep up with unionized ones that collectively bargain for increases. By giving employees a bigger say in compensation issues, unions also help to establish corporate norms, the absence of which has contributed to unjustifiable disparities between executive pay and rank-and-file pay.

The Times understands that ensuring workers have the freedom to form unions is vital to rebuilding our middle class. Workers in unions earn 30 percent higher wages and are 59 percent more likely to have employer provided health coverage.

President-elect Obama and the new Congress should act with urgency to pass the Employee Free Choice Act to ensure that workers, and not just CEOs, can benefit from the economic progress they help create.

Read the full editorial here.

P.S. Know someone else who should receive our updates on the Employee Free Choice Act? Tell your colleagues to sign up for these updates on this page: http://freechoice.seiu.org/page/s/freechoiceupdate

The failing state of our economy, skyrocketing costs of healthcare and the growing CEO-to-worker pay gap have combined to create a crisis. Collectively, these factors have become an impossible drain on the finances of working Americans and on our economy.

Americans have spoken powerfully for change and now expect action --action that will both revive our failing economy and rebuild it stronger and fairer for the future.

And we can't afford to wait....

Two million-member labor union planning intensive state-by-state effort to help fix nation's healthcare system, ensure workers have a voice on the job

WASHINGTON, DC- Against a backdrop of economic crisis and skyrocketing healthcare costs, the two million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will unveil a groundbreaking state-by-state effort to fight for immediate economic relief and recovery efforts, help fix the nation's broken healthcare system and ensure workers have freedom to choose a voice at work on a telephone press conference at 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, January 7.

On Thursday, January 8, SEIU will host a live chat about the campaign with bloggers and activists at 4:15 PM eastern, which can be viewed live on SEIU.org.

The announcement comes the same week as an economic stimulus package moves before Congress and on the heels of a historic election where ordinary American families overwhelmingly voted for change. Post-election polling by Lake Research Partners showed the economy topping the list of voters' overall issues and healthcare costs ranking number one among economic concerns. Meanwhile as union membership has declined nationally, average CEO pay has reached an all time high of 344 times average worker pay according to The Washington Post.

WHAT: Telephone Press Conference on New SEIU Campaign

WHEN: 1:30PM EDT Wednesday, January 7, 2009

***** CALL-IN INFORMATION:*****
Members of the media should dial 1(800) 288-8960 and ask for the
"Change That Works" call.

This morning SEIU unveiled online advertising to promote the New York Times' recent support of the early passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. The ads are running on the websites of The Hill, Roll Call, Politico, the Washington Post, and progressive blogs (see the ad on the right).

In late December 2008, the New York Times editorialized about unions and the Obama Administration's commitment to labor. The paper gave a full-throated endorsement of the Employee Free Choice Act and why it is such an important part of an economic recovery program.

The Times wrote of the Employee Free Choice Act:

The measure is vital legislation and should not be postponed. By giving employees a bigger say in compensation issues, unions also help to establish corporate norms, the absence of which has contributed to unjustifiable disparities between executive pay and rank-and-file pay. There is a strong argument that the slack labor market of a recession actually makes unions all the more important.

SEIU's online ads invite viewers to join the campaign for the Employee Free Choice Act.

WASHINGTON, DC -- SEIU President Andy Stern issued the following statement today regarding the negotiations of a bailout of the Big Three automakers:

"Today, amidst global economic insecurity, members of Congress and the White House are debating how and how much taxpayers will come to the aid of America's ailing auto industry. We stand together at a moment when change is no longer on the horizon but determined by the choices we make each day. This bailout gives us the opportunity to not just rescue another failing industry but to imagine how our next steps could be part of wider economic solutions that will benefit all working families.

"First and foremost, the auto executives could join efforts to reform our failing health care system. Ours is the only major economy on earth that puts the price of health care on the cost of our products--a reality that eats away at the competitiveness of American cars in the global marketplace. For years, the voice of the Big Three has been silent in the call for Congress to pass affordable, quality health care for all Americans. By breaking contractual agreements and leaving workers without access to health care, the automakers have cut costs at the expense of the hardworking men and women who built their companies. It is not too late for the auto executives to ask Congress to shoulder some portion of health care for retirees until national health care is achieved--a step that would relieve the automakers of a major cost and extend benefits to individuals who need expanded health care benefits.

"Secondly, the United States should replace its gas-guzzling and aging fleet with fuel efficient cars produced by the Big Three. By pre-ordering and pre-paying for more vehicles built to a specification that guarantees considerably higher fuel efficiency, the government could simultaneously support the industry, create demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles, reduce carbon-emissions and take steps toward greening the economy.

"Finally, the auto executives should drop expensive and backward-looking emissions lawsuits against states like California and instead encourage adoption of tougher national emissions standards. This would level the playing field for automakers and position them as part of the solution--rather than part of the problem--as our nation faces an undeniable and monumental climate change crisis.

"We now know from unfortunate experience that change is inevitable, but progress is optional. If taxpayers are going to be asked to invest in $15 billion or more in bridge loans to keep the industry afloat, the package must include serious taxpayer protections, limits on executive pay, and a strong hand for Congress and the White House in shaping and implementing the immediate restructuring necessary to restore the competitiveness of these three engines of the American economy."