Published: February 16, 2010
A former security guard at BofA's offices in New York
protests outside the bank's
Charlotte headquarters
on Tuesday.
The Service Employees International Union wants to know if Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan is morally bankrupt.
The union sent a group of former security workers from BofA offices in New York to Charlotte today for a rally. The group joined local activists to picket the BofA headquarters building here. SEIU reps passed out flyers and waved posters criticizing Moynihan and BofA's practices.
One neon green flyer said: "Is Bank of America's new CEO Brian Moynihan morally bankrupt?"
About 30 people participated, including local activists and workers who traveled to Charlotte from New York.
The rally was tied to a dispute in New York where a group of security workers were either laid off or experienced cuts to their health benefits when BofA purchased Merrill Lynch.
However, the security workers never actually worked directly for BofA. They were employed by a security contractor. And BofA brought in a different contractor after the merger, leading to changes in benefits and some layoffs.
But SEIU officials contend the bank should be ultimately responsible. On Tuesday, the group tried to deliver literature to Moynihan, but were only able to hand it to another bank employee who met them at the entrance to BofA's headquarters.
"They just said something about private property," SEIU organizer Kwame Patterson said. "But there was about 20 executives down here looking at us. In New York, they just peer out the windows."
The SEIU is the largest union in the country representing the service industry. The group has been a longtime critic of BofA, and some observers contend the union wishes to unionize tellers and other customer service employees at the bank.
