Screaming protestors forced the founder of The Carlyle Group from the stage at a prestigious private equity conference yesterday – the latest disruption by a union that represents workers at some of the buyout firm’s companies.
Activists from the Service Employees International Union shouted and hung giant banners from the balcony of the Park Hyatt in Philadelphia during Carlyle boss David Rubenstein’s keynote address at the Wharton Private Equity and Venture Capital conference yesterday.
The protestors, who did not pay to get into the conference, fought with Rubenstein for about 10 minutes before security ushered them out.
“One person in the front row called one of our spokespeople a ‘fat cow,’ ” Julie Eisenhardt of SEIU told financial blog DealBreaker.com.
The SEIU, which represents 2 million service workers, has waged a public battle against Carlyle and other investment firms for neglecting workers.
The sneak attack on Carlyle, which has been working to improve its transparency and public relations since the firm was criticized for its political ties, comes at a time when media-shy private equity firms are increasingly in the spotlight of a tax-hungry Congress.
Yesterday’s protestors accused Rubenstein of planning layoffs and not taking care of elderly patients at ManorCare, a giant nursing-home chain that the firm recently purchased for $6.3 billion.
“We take care of your patients and you don’t care,” a union rep yelled through a megaphone at Rubenstein.
The billionaire then suggested that the woman “take a remedial course in English” before going further. Rubenstein later said he regretted the comment and has been trying to reach the woman to apologize to her.
Carlyle has owned ManorCare for about two weeks and has publicly stated that it is not planning layoffs and is committed to improving care at the homes.
The SEIU says it is not currently soliciting ManorCare workers to join the union, but does not deny that it would eventually like to unionize it.
Last year, protestors broke into the Waldorf Astoria in New York and disrupted a speech by Rubenstein. The union has also blasted Carlyle for selling a stake to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which they say has a problematic human rights record.
In his speech yesterday, Rubenstein emphasized the need to combat the growing public backlash against private-equity firms.
The industry is going to have to do more “to explain what we do to create value,” he said.