Workers Shine Spotlight on Buyout Industry Practices, including Those of Wharton School Conference Keynote Speaker David Rubenstein and The Carlyle Group

PHILADELPHIA , PA – As hundreds of private equity investors gathered at the Wharton School for a conference on "harnessing the winds of change to allocate capital and maintain returns of recent years,” protesters called on the industry to take greater responsibility for the impact of their investments on workers and communities. Workers from Manor Care nursing homes, a company recently acquired by conference keynote speaker David Rubenstein’s The Carlyle Group, joined protesters in holding up the firm’s poor record in the community as an example of the harmful impact of irresponsible buyouts.

“David Rubenstein’s actions show how harmful buyouts can be to our communities,” said Dennis Short, spokesperson for SEIU 1199P. “The Carlyle Group makes billions without ensuring that communities and workers are protected.”

Protesters, chanting through the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue Hotel, distributed flyers on The Carlyle Group’s record:

* Purchasing Manor Care, one of the nation’s largest nursing home chains, without giving the public any detailed plan to fix the company’s problems with resident care deficiencies and staffing levels below what experts recommend to keep fragile residents safe.

* Acquiring Synagro, a sewage sludge company, even though residents who live near sewage sludge sites report a variety of serious health complaints.

* Selling a significant stake of Carlyle to Abu Dhabi, part of the United Arab Emirates. The US State Department describes the United Arab Emirates’ human rights record as “problematic.”

The protest is part of an ongoing nationwide effort by the 1.9 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to hold private equity firms including The Carlyle Group accountable for the impact of their actions on taxpayers, workers and communities.