Between 30 and 50 protesters stormed into a Philadelphia conference room today to disrupt a conference being held by buyout fund and venture capital investors.
The protesters, members of Service Union Employees International, disrupted a talk by David Rubenstein, co-founder of powerful buyout firm, Carlyle Group, hooting him off the stage, according to one report.
They chanted about employee rights with megaphones, as part of the SUEI’s continued protest against the buyout industry, which they criticize for making boatloads of money but not caring about the effects on the bought companies and the shedding of employees that can happen after those companies are then merged or sold by the buyout chieftains.
The disruption came at the Wharton Private Equity Conference at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia Hotel, and the protesters were escorted out by “a small army of police.”
They criticized Rubenstein’s recent acquisition of ManorCare, the largest chain of nursing homes, for its effects on residents.
The buyout industry has also come under attack since Blackstone, another buyout firm, started flaunting its wealth, holding lavish events with $300 stone crabs, raising questions whether the buyout industry was paying its fair share of taxes (we’ve covered this in detail). See poster at left, which describes some of the sentiment.
Full disclosure: VentureBeat had helped sponsor the event, and we’ve run ads on the event on our Web site. [Image at left is from Dealbreaker].
3 Comments
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Anonymous said:
Maybe because Rubenstein and other high profile buyout pro’s fill the economy with money and keep the money coming from inside the U.S. rather than offshore markets.
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Silicon Valley said:
Perhaps those protesters are not aware of the fact that productivity technology and telecommuting and outsourcing will affect many of the jobs that are in existence today - much more so than mergers.
In fact mergers and staff consolidation, may be necessary to keep American companies competitive.
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CaliforniaConservative.org said:
Woe is Mitt Romney. If he becomes the GOP presidential nominee, we can be assured that class warfare (as usual) will be his opponent’s primary campaign tactic - and possibly Romney’s Achilles heel.
While PE firms may sometimes exercise a heavy hand in cutting the fat, would the unions ever admit to being overweight?
If a company can perform better with less(more profitably, more competitively), while still providing value and customer service (lest they lose marketshare), why pay wages for unnecessary headcount?
That’s what government is for.
