ENRON
EMPLOYEES COMMITTEE TO BE APPOINTED WITHIN TWO WEEKS
HOUSTON
- The Ad Hoc Employees Committee of Enron Corp. reacted
today to the United States Trustees commitment to appoint an official
Employee Related Issues Committee in the Enron bankruptcy case within two weeks.
The
Ad Hoc Employees Committee, comprised of former Enron workers, represented by
David McClain, of McClain &
Siegel, P.C., first requested the appointment of an official employee committee
on December 19, 2001, shortly after Enron and its affiliated companies filed for
bankruptcy. In a letter to McClain,
Ms. Carolyn S. Schwartz, the US Trustee, stated that she will appoint the formal
committee within the next two weeks and schedule its organizational meeting for
April 2, 2002.
Richard
Rathvon, who leads the Ad Hoc Committee, stated, Although we were hoping that
the official committee would have been set up sooner, the appointment process
has proved to be complex and we are pleased that a deadline has been set for the
Employee Related Issues Committee to begin its work.
Mr.
McClain added, We sincerely appreciate the careful deliberations of the US
Trustees office and the commitment to complete the process by a date certain.
The work of the Employee Related Issues Committee should begin as soon as
possible. Important decisions are
being made on a daily basis which affect the rights of Enrons current and
former employees.
Following
her meeting in January with Mr. Rathvon and Mr. McClain, Ms. Schwartz wrote Mr.
McClain to confirm that she would appoint an official committee to represent the
employees interests in the bankruptcy case. In her earlier letter, dated February 14, Ms. Schwartz
acknowledged the uniqueness of the employees interests, and the need for
separate representation for employees in the bankruptcy case.
At
the request of Ms. Schwartz, Mr. McClain has submitted a list of candidates
qualified to serve on the official committee, many of whom have been interviewed
by the Office of the US Trustee.