SEIU Statement on Announcement of KKR Prospectus

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 /EMWNews/ -- The following release

was issued by the Service Employees International Union:



    Perspective on the prospectus:



    As analysts across the globe pore over today's KKR prospectus, we still

don't have the critical information needed to determine whether this deal

is good for America. "It is unclear where in the prospectus KKR explains

why this deal is good for the hundreds of thousands of workers their

companies employ, the health of the pension fund limited partners, or the

communities in which KKR-owned companies operate," observed Stephen Lerner,

director of SEIU's private equity project. "This filing leaves a lot of

questions unanswered."



    Questions SEIU would like to see answered:



    Will KKR, effectively the second largest private US employer, pay

corporate taxes at the same rate as millions of small businesses? Currently

KKR principals enjoy preferential tax treatment that keeps millions of

dollars in taxes in their own pockets that could be used to fund affordable

health care or other crucially needed programs. One private equity tax

loophole alone costs KKR's headquarters city, New York, up to an estimated

$200 million per year. In the first half of 2008, KKR has spent over $2

million lobbying federal legislators on issues that affect private equity

firms, including fighting proposed changes in tax rates for buyout barons

like Henry Kravis. Kravis has raised at least $500,000 for John McCain, who

supports preserving a key private equity tax loophole.



    What kind of future does a publicly listed KKR hold for workers of

their portfolio companies? Last week, a KKR portfolio company, Sealy,

announced that it will close a plant in Pennsylvania. Another KKR portfolio

company, Masonite, has reduced the size of its workforce by 5,000.

Employees of other KKR-owned companies like Toys "R" Us, Dollar General,

and First Data might want to know what the new corporate structure of KKR

holds for them.



    Given the billions involved in this transaction, Toys "R" Us employees

who make just $7.50 an hour may want to know if they will see any benefits

from this deal. By contrast, George Roberts and Henry Kravis are each worth

$5.5 billion, and earned $370 million in 2007--that's $42,237 every hour of

every day, or $177,885 per hour based on a 40-hour work week.



    As KKR markets its new fund targeting public infrastructure, will it

make a full commitment to help rebuild America in a way that's good for

everyone? KKR wants to buy and run our public assets, but what will be the

price-tag for the public? Can KKR assure us that its priorities for

high-profits are a good match for U.S. assets like energy, waste and

wastewater, transportation and telecommunications?