How would you like to quit your job and yet be paid a whopping $210 million (yes, you read right) in severance payments? If you’re former Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli, that’s what you get for six years of service. Who wouldn’t like to be unemployed under those circumstances?

Talk about a golden parachute — or platinum, as AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee said in his statement earlier this week. It seems that in corporate-governed America your retirement security is at risk… unless you happen to be a CEO.

And guess who gets to foot the bill? Union members participate in benefit plans with over $5 trillion in assets. Runaway executive pay not only hurts working men and women who are invested in the company but also diminishes returns for our funds.

“We’re aghast at the level of compensation that Nardelli is walking away with — this is money directly out of shareholders’ pockets,” Richard Ferlauto, AFSCME’s director of pension investment policy, told the New York Times.

It’s high time that someone paid attention to the issue of ballooing CEO compensation. Congress dragged its feet for years when it came to raising the minimum wage, an issue which is coming back to the forefront as Democrats make it part of the 100 Hours Agenda. Yet politicians haven’t made so much as a peep when corporate salaries come under scrutiny.

This inaction could change as Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), incoming Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has indicated his support for the AFSCME campaign to give shareholders a say in approving CEO pay and plans to hold Congressional hearings on this issue.

AFSCME Director of Pensions & Benefits Richard Ferlauto told CNBC’s Erin Burnett why he’s happy Home Depot CEO Nardelli is gone, and why he is continuing to push for reforms on the issue of CEO pay. Go to CNBC’s website to watch the video clip of his appearance, and for more information on the issue of pension security, check out AFSCME’s website: http://www.afscme.org/pensionsecurity

Today is an historic day — for women, for working people, for all of us who want a better America.

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was just sworn in as the first woman Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. She is charged with nothing less than making good on the promises made in the 2006 mid-term election by progressive candidates. The Democrats will be pushing a flurry of legislative activity, known as the “100 Hours Agenda” to help working families during the first 100 hours of the new Congress.

Today, Democrats are expected to move on ethics reform, voting to ban gifts from lobbyists. Then, on Tuesday, the 100 hours is set to officially begin. AFSCME is part of the Change America Now campaign that will be mobilizing people across the country in support of specific economic elements of the agenda.

1. Minimum Wage — The House will next vote to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour over two years, helping nearly 15 million American workers who make the minimum wage or slightly above it. The federal minimum wage stagnated at $5.15 an hour for years under the Republican Congress.
2. Prescription Drugs — Democrats will then vote to allow the federal government to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, meaning lower drug prices for seniors. Big pharmaceutical companies opposed this, and Republicans complied during their time in power.

These and other agenda items are the reason why AFSCME members across the country worked so hard to put new leadership in Congress. You can help pass the 100 Hours Agenda by sending a message to your congressperson today.