DP: Protesters disrupt Wharton conference

Following my first "Beat the Press" post Wednesday about the Daily Pennsylvanian's coverage of the Wharton Private Equity Conference, the DP published this news brief:

Last Friday, members of the Service Employees International Union and their supporters gathered to protest a speech by David Rubenstein, co-founder of the private equity firm, the Carlyle Group.

Rubenstein was a keynote speaker at Wharton's 14th annual private equity and venture capital conference. The approximately 50 protestors disrupted his speech for approximately half an hour, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

According to Dennis Short, research coordinator for SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, the group turned out to oppose the short staffing and lack of supplies in Manor Care, a nursing care provider that the Carlyle Group acquired three weeks ago.

Short added that the union began protesting conditions with Manor Care's former owner and they insisted that Carlyle Group address the ongoing problems as part of the acquisition. He alleges that Manor Care has still not done so.

I am really happy that the DP was able to set the record straight on what happened at the conference and that they were able to include information from the SEIU. The news brief also quotes Jordan Elpern-Waxman, the Communication Director of the Conference:

Jordan Elpern-Waxman insists that the company cannot be held responsible for these conditions such a short time after the business deal.

Really? Who then should be held accountable? And do we really think that Carlyle is going to improve conditions by increasing staffing and supplies? Somehow I don't remember that to be their modus operandi. Will Carlyle let their employees unionize if they want to?

From the SEIU press release,

According to the New York Times investigation, “At 60 percent of homes bought by large private equity groups from 2000 to 2006, managers have cut the number of clinical registered nurses, sometimes far below levels required by law. During that period, staffing at many of the nation’s other homes has fallen much less or grown.” In the last year alone, 6,000 layoffs have been announced as a result of buyouts involving the Carlyle Group.

Ya, that sounds more like it. I guess we will have to wait and see if Rubenstein's commitment to avoid layoffs will hold true.

~BT