March 24, 2009 - The IAM is urging Department of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to set rules regarding the use of bailout dollars and how they are to be used by the banking industry.
Among the latest series of reports regarding the widespread misuse of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds are those in which banks are using the money to finance mergers between major pharmaceutical companies. Those mergers are projected to result in the loss of 35,000 jobs, mostly in the United States.
JPMorgan Chase is reportedly putting up $8.5 billion to finance a merge between Merck and Schering Plough. The merger is expected to result in the loss of 16,000 jobs – some of which may include members of Local Lodge 315 in New Jersey. Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup and JPMorgan will provide $22.5 billion to finance a Pfizer and Wyeth deal, which is expected to cause 19,000 layoffs.
In a letter to Secretary Geithner, IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger expressed his outrage over the latest developments.
“The purpose of TARP and the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) is to restore liquidity and stability to the financial system and assist middle-class Americans by protecting their home values, college funds, retirement accounts, and life savings,” Buffenbarger wrote. “These big mergers in the pharmaceutical industry are not doing anything to stimulate the economy. Instead they are costing thousands of working families their jobs.
“By financing big mergers in the pharmaceutical industry, TARP funds are being directed in a manner that may force more American families into foreclosure, destroy retirement savings, and make it more difficult to meet daily economic needs.”
Buffenbarger is calling on the Treasury Department to quickly issue clear guidelines to TARP recipients on how the funds are to be used. He says it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure the funds “provide tangible economic benefits to American families.”
