Goldman Protests Mount

Dec. 16, 2009— -- When the members of the Service Employees International Union decided to pick a fight with Goldman Sachs earlier this month, it wasn't as a major shareholder in the controversial Wall Street investment bank.

The union, whose members include janitors and security guards, has no specific grievance on behalf of any Goldman employee.

Rather, the SEIU, part of a coalition, Americans for Financial Reform, which is set to demonstrate in front of Goldman's headquarters today, says it is merely standing up for millions of working class people.

"We are specifically targeting Goldman Sachs because, frankly, no single firm has benefited more from taxpayer bailouts than them," said SEIU president Andy Stern.

Stern insists that if the much maligned bank set aside even a modest slice of the estimated $22 billion in 2009 bonuses it is expected to hand out to employees next month, hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens – taxpayers – could measurably benefit.

"Around $10 billion, or half of what Goldman will dole out to its bankers, could fund an increase to Head Start that would create 330,000 new jobs and help children," Stern said.

In addition to participating in today's protest, the Washington, D.C.-based union has launched an e-mail campaign aimed at Goldman's board members, and at Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

Meanwhile, former Goldman employees and Wall Street insiders who feel Goldman is being unfairly targeted seem to have had their fill of tar and feathers (call it a backlash to the backlash). They point to the hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes that will be taken out of this year's bonus pie and the taxes paid in years past, as well as charitable initiatives, such as the $500 million the firm earmarked to help small business, as evidence of Goldman's unappreciated good will.

Goldman supporters also stress that the firm repaid the TARP funds and repurchased the government's warrants, giving taxpayers a 23 percent return on their investment. Though not bound by new compensation rules put in place by Obama special pay master Kenneth Feinberg, Goldman says they have on its own reformed how it pays top executives, moving to all-stock compensation for all 30 members of its management committee.

But to Goldman's critics, it just isn't enough.