AFSCME - McEntee Hails Resignation of Home Depot Chief, Calls For Greater CEO Accountability

WASHINGTON — Gerald W. McEntee, President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, issued the following statement today in response to the resignation of Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli.

"The reign of this imperial CEO is over. Yet even as Mr. Nardelli resigns, his platinum parachute illustrates the larger problem. He is walking away with an additional $210 million, despite the fact that Home Depot's stock dropped 59 cents during his six-year tenure.

"Shareholders will no longer tolerate executive pay systems divorced from reasonable performance requirements. The solution is greater accountability among corporate directors who insist on rewarding CEOs unwilling to bear personal financial risk for company performance. It is time for the SEC to finally embrace proxy access and allow shareholders to nominate and elect directors who will put the company's best interests ahead of the personal financial interests of greedy CEOs like Mr. Nardelli."

AFSCME’s 1.6 million members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in hundreds of different occupations – from nurses to corrections officers, child care providers to sanitation workers – AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and prosperity and opportunity for all working families.

AFSCME is the largest union for workers in the public service with 1.4 million members. AFSCME organizes for economic and social justice in the workplace and advocates for working families through political action and legislative advocacy. The AFSCME Employees Pension Plan is an institutional shareholder activist with more than $1 trillion in assets invested on behalf of AFSCME's members.