NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) -- Organized labor increased its opposition to The Stanley Works' attempt to reincorporate in Bermuda as the president of the national AFL-CIO claimed the toolmaker was indicative of ``corporate greed.''þþMore than 200 workers and Democratic Party activists rallied in front of The Stanley Works factory in New Britain. The rally, punctuated by whistles and horns and adorned with a giant inflatable rat and campaign signs for Democratic candidates for state office, was among the first in a series of AFL-CIO events focused on corporate accountability.þþJohn Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, told the crowd that Stanley's effort to reincorporate to reduce its tax burden by $30 million is a ``code word for corporate greed and tax evasion.''þþ``It's totally irresponsible and we have an obligation to prevent them from doing that,'' he said. He called The Stanley Works ``the poster child of corporate greed.''þþPeter Duda, a spokesman for The Stanley Works, said organized labor should embrace the company's effort.þþ``We think labor unions would especially be concerned that U.S. companies be concerned with global competition,'' he said. ``That's how we preserve jobs.''þþJohn Trani, Stanley's chairman and chief executive, offered to meet with Sweeney on Wednesday.þþIn a fax released by the AFL-CIO and confirmed by Stanley, Trani told the union leader he would discuss with Sweeney ``actions to assure that Stanley is not taxed at a higher rate'' than competitors.þþTrani also said the company does support legislation that would impose a three-year moratorium on relocations of corporate headquarters to tax havens such as Bermuda and ensure that companies pay certain taxes when they move assets offshore. But that support is conditional on the legislation applying to competitors that have already moved overseas, he said.þþThe legislation, proposed by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman William Thomas, R-Calif., would impose a 20 percent tax on stock options held by company insiders when corporations move headquarters offshore. þþ
Source: NY Times
