A group of Toys ‘R’ Us workers wants proceeds from the retailer's liquidation -- as well as the accumulated income that the chain’s private-equity owners have reaped over the years -- to make a severance payment to those laid off, Bloomberg News reported. A petition calls for Bain Capital, KKR & Co. and Vornado Realty Trust to hand over to employees the $470 million that the firms had received in interest and fees from Toys ‘R’ Us. The retailer’s 30,000 employees would get more than $15,000 each under that plan, which has 50,000 signatures. The workers are also lobbying members of Congress to ask for a tax on private-equity and hedge-fund profits, and new regulation on leveraged buyouts and stock-buyback transactions.
