What began as a Texas-based energy trading company has become an international corporate calamity. The rise and fall of Enron, the multinational energy corporation, represents the worst in corporate manipulation and deception. As the air in Enron�s balloon is let out by the way of bankruptcy proceedings, the lonesome losers are the former Enron workers.

Enron utilized smoke and mirrors to create the false appearance of financial stability. It did so by inflating revenues and minimizing debt through "off-the-book" accounting tricks. The inflated revenues were used to boost stock prices. The inflated stock prices were used to guarantee loans and investments, which were, in turn, used to inflate profits, and on and on, until the balloon burst.

Within the balloon were workers�many hardworking men and women�who gave their trust to Enron. Yet, now they find themselves without their life�s savings and no way to pay for retirement.

While the company has filed for bankruptcy, (protection from its creditors) ex-workers are placed at the end of the "protection" line. Under U.S. bankruptcy law, banks are at the front of the line, followed by preferred stockholders, wealthy private investors, small investors and lastly, the ex-workers. Those workers matter.

What the Enron debacle has uncovered is the difference between secured pensions and unsecured pensions. If you are currently investing in a pension plan, be sure to ask the plan manager what type of plan you are investing in. In a secured pension�called a defined benefit plan�employees are guaranteed a certain pension upon retirement for the remainder of their life. The level is determined by the worker�s income and years of service. Employers, backed by federal guarantees, take the risk.

In an unsecured 401-K retirement savings plan, employees assume the risk; Enron�s lower- and middle-level employees possessed unsecured plans.

Well, not all the workers are suffering. By some strange coincidence, prior to the collapse, Enron executives sold off $1 billion worth of stock and company�s stock traders were given millions in financial bonuses to keep them afloat when economic tremors were felt.

Outside of financial losses incurred by Texans, other shareholders across the nation are also in a financial situation. For example:

� The California Public Employees Retirement System (CALPERS) lost $45 million.

� The public pension funds of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio and Washington lost $330 million.

� University of California regents lost $144 million.

As the business lobby�led by National Association of Manufacturers and the Chamber of Commerce�is mobilizing to block real reform the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition joined with organized labor (the AFL-CIO) and embarked on a bus trip with ex-Enron employees from Houston to Washington, D.C., to highlight the plight of working people everywhere. The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and organized labor continued to put a human voice to the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Through our combined efforts, the former Enron employees� tragedy was brought to the attention of the country. These efforts have also lead to the introduction of four bills in the U.S. Congress that address many of our concerns. The diligence and work of Rainbow/PUSH, the AFL-CIO and former Enron employees is making a difference.

Keep Hope Alive!