TransPerfect workers lobby Delawareans
TransPerfect workers continue the battle for their company in Delaware, knocking on doors and asking residents to petition their legislators
TransPerfect employees took their fight to the doorsteps of Delaware residents last week.
Workers at the New York translation services company knocked on doors asking citizens to pressure state legislators into supporting a law that would limit or remove the Delaware Court of Chancery's authority to sell a private company.
Some may call the neighborhood canvassing a sign of desperation, since residents can do little more than contact a legislator who may or may not support such a measure.
But TransPerfect workers say the grassroots campaign is their only tool to tell Delawareans about how the Chancery Court's decision has upended their lives.
"In some ways this is desperate, but it's the only move we have," said a TransPerfect worker who declined to be identified. "This is the only way we can get the word out and get the public talking."
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TransPerfect workers say their careers and livelihoods have been threatened by Chancery Court Judge Andre Bouchard's decision to sell the company after its co-owners sued each other. Bouchard ruled the feud between the owners had created a dysfunctional atmosphere, preventing TransPerfect from executing important business decisions including hiring new employees, signing leases or expanding.
Bouchard's conclusion supports the claims of TransPerfect co-owner Elizabeth Elting, who filed a lawsuit requesting a court-appointed custodian to resolve deadlocks. Philip Shawe, the company's other owner and Elting's former fiancee, has denied her allegations, pointing to the company's success as proof their personal fighting hasn't hampered the business. Since being formed in a New York University dormitory in 1992, TransPerfect has grown into a company with more than $505 million in sales last year and 3,500 employees in 92 offices scattered across multiple countries. Shawe and Elting sued each in the Court of Chancery because the company is incorporated in Delaware.
Court papers detail intense fights between the former lovers. They traded nasty, expletive-filled emails and argued over raises among other disagreements. Elting once ended a meeting by pouring water over Shawe's head and when she kicked him in the leg to get him out of her office, he filed a criminal assault complaint with the New York Police Department, the court papers show.
Bouchard called their behavior "complete and utter dysfunction" and appointed a custodian to sell TransPerfect. Workers are fearful a private equity firm will buy the company and gut it or a rival will purchase TransPerfect for its client list and lay off employees. Several hundred have formed Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware, a lobbying group aimed at eliminating the court's authority to sell a private company.
Part of that effort is knocking on doors to educate residents about the lawsuit. Last week, the group canvassed Halstead Street in the Sharpley neighborhood of Wilmington. Employees of KFOA Public Affairs, an organization that does canvassing, took one side of the neighborhood, while a TransPerfect employee worked the other side.
Sharpley is represented by state Sen. Greg Lavelle, a Republican.
Julijana Englander, a Citizens for Pro Business Delaware spokeswoman, said it was the second the time the group has canvassed Lavelle's district.
"Sen. Lavelle is a leader in Delaware," she said as she accompanied an employee through the neighborhood. "He is someone in the Legislature who is pro-business that we think could be on our side."
Lavelle said he has not been contacted by the group.
"They are making a heck of an assumption," Lavelle said. "I'm on the side of a consistent policy towards our corporate world and how we make changes to it, but I don't know if that's the side they are on. Half of the people in any court decision may view it as unfair but that is hardly a reason to change a law."
The senator said he would be open to reviewing a proposal if submitted through the proper channels. Typically, changes to state corporate law are raised by the Delaware Bar Association's Corporate Law Council and then presented to the General Assembly. Chris Coffey, a spokesman for Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware, said a proposal will be submitted to the council by the end of September.
"I suggest they let the lawyers who live and breathe this stuff vet and consider" their proposal, he said.
While the majority of residents were not at home, those who did answer the door were open-minded, if not sympathetic to the workers' cause.
"You are talking about our state being involved in a private corporation," said William Vigneville, a resident who had read about the case in The News Journal. "I don't think that's fair. I'm glad to tell Greg [Lavelle] to do whatever he can to prevent this from happening."
Diane Higman and Kathy Olsen, who live across the street from Vigneville, both pledged to contact Lavelle and ask him to support any measure that will prevent TransPerfect from being sold.
"I think this needs to happen," Higman said. "One I get the time, I'm going to call him."
The TransPerfect employee who cannot be identified called the conversations a victory, even if they don't materialize into substantial pressure on Lavelle.
"I don't have any expectations," the worker said. "I just want people talking to each other."
TransPerfect workers cannot be identified in media reports, because Robert Pincus, an attorney with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, has threatened termination for workers who speak with the press, company officials have said. One employee has sued both Pincus and Bouchard in federal court over the gag order, claiming it is a First Amendment violation.
Coffey said Citizens for a Pro Business Delaware has already canvassed five other districts in the state, including the legislative districts for state Sens. Harris McDowell, D-Wilmington North, and Margaret Rose Henry, D-Wilmington East, and Reps. John Mitchell, D-Elsmere, and Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach.
"We expect to canvass 20 districts by the time the General Assembly is back in session in January," he said.
The canvassing is part of a multi-prong effort to reach Delaware residents and legislators. Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware says it has mailed more than 35,000 flyers to citizens, hired a lobbyist, and launched a radio and print campaign that included full-page ads in The News Journal. Coffey said local television cable advertisements could be next. A group of TransPerfect employees are funding these efforts.
"Canvassing is just one part of the puzzle," Coffey said.
The TransPerfect worker, who gave up personal time and paid their own expenses to travel to Delaware, said the company is worth fighting for. A long-time employee of the company, the worker said the door-to-door campaign is a way to inform Delaware residents about how Bouchard's decision will impact them personally.
"Our voice was adamantly not heard by the court," the worker said. "This gives us a chance to do something for the company."
Contact Jeff Mordock at (302) 324-2786, on Twitter @JeffMordockTNJ or jmordock@delawareonline.com