XEROX PURCHASE OF A.C.S. COMES WITH STRINGS …..

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Date: Monday February 8, 2010 10:38:37 am
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    http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Xerox-purchase-of-ACS-comes-with-strings-353460.php
    XEROX PURCHASE OF A.C.S. COMES WITH
    STRINGS

    Xerox Corp. shareholders
    approved its $6.2 billion acquisition of Dallas-based Affiliated
    Computer Services Inc. Friday as union demonstrators picketed outside
    the company’s Norwalk headquarters in support of a new labor contract
    for some ACS workers.”We want Xerox to know what they’re buying. They
    (ACS) are rogue employers,” said Tim Dubnau, district organizing
    coordinator for the Communications Workers of America, who attended the
    meeting. “The AFL-CIO has shares in Xerox. We have our certificate of
    stock. As a shareholder, I’m voting for the merger.”We’re hoping Xerox
    is the grown-up here and bargains with the union. It’s up to Xerox to
    put a stop to this and call ACS and tell them to negotiate.”

    The
    simmering labor strife involves an E-ZPass call center on Staten Island,
    N.Y., staffed by 300 ACS employees.The employees voted last year to
    join Local 1102 of the CWA, an AFL-CIO union, and are hoping that when
    ACS becomes a unit of Norwalk-based Xerox it will change its approach
    toward to new labor unit and decide to negotiate a contract.

    About
    a dozen CWA members picketed in front of Xerox on Glover Avenue,
    reminding shareholders as they entered the property that ACS and the
    union were at odds. More than 96 percent of Xerox common shares that
    voted supported the deal, while more than 86 percent of the outstanding
    Class “A” and “B” ACS stocks were cast in favor of the acquisition.

    ACS,
    which has 74,000 global employees supporting multi-national
    corporations and government agencies in more than 100 countries, offers
    business process outsourcing support in finance, human resources,
    information technology, transaction processing and customer care.

    Joining
    Dubnau on the picket line was Dorothy McLeod, an 11-year employee of
    the E-Z Pass call center.”I’m hoping they (Xerox) will treat us more
    fairly. I understand they are a union company,” she said.ACS has
    appealed the National Labor Relations Board’s certification of the
    local, contending that the CWA did not offer other CWA employees at
    other E-Z Pass facilities in New York state an opportunity to vote on
    formation of the bargaining unit.

    “We’re concerned that the CWA
    may have violated the rights of some employees during the union
    recognition campaign,” said ACS spokesman Kevin Lightfoot, commenting
    that ACS employees will retain their jobs.It’s not unusual for a company
    to delay contract talks with a new union after it is certified by the
    NLRB, said attorney Robert Brody of Brody & Associates in
    Stamford.”Three out of four companies that unionize don’t negotiate a
    contract in the first year,” he said.

    Xerox is aware of the
    impasse faced by ACS and the union, said Xerox spokesman Bill Mckee,
    though he declined to comment on the company’s viewpoint. “At this
    point, this is between ACS and CWA, and it would be inappropriate to
    comment,” he said.

    McKee added he expects the deal to close next
    week. CWA stockholders approved the purchase Friday afternoon.”Our
    shareholders’ vote of confidence reflects the strategic and financial
    benefits of this acquisition,” said Ursula Burns, Xerox chief executive
    officer, in prepared comments. “Through the acquisition of ACS, Xerox
    gains a growth catalyst that secures a strong, competitive future for
    our company and increasing value for our customers and shareholders.”

    Traded
    on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “ACS,”
    Affiliated Computer Services is a $6.5 billion company with revenue
    growth of 6 percent and new business signings of $1 billion in annual
    recurring revenue during its fiscal 2009.

    Under the terms of the
    agreement, ACS shareholders receive $18.60 per share in cash and 4.935
    Xerox shares for each ACS share they own. Xerox assumes ACS’s $2 billion
    debt.Xerox shares lost 18 cents and closed at $8.47 Friday, while ACS
    lost $1.39 and closed at $59.64.Last month, Xerox reported fourth
    quarter revenue of $4.2 billion, a 3 percent drop from the same period a
    year ago. Revenue for 2009 was $15.2 billion, compared with $17.6
    billion in 2008.

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