by John Richardson on December 14, 2008
Jim DeMint (S-SC), David Vitter (R-LA) and Mitch McConnell, along with a slew of other Republican senators have begun their pitched battle attacking American auto workers this week by opposing any bailout that doesn’t include slashing unionized autoworkers pay to that of non-union autoworkers in the south. Effectively killing a Congressional bailout of the Big Three automakers, they focused their invective on the high pay received by workers represented by the UAW.
Notwithstanding the question of whether the U.S. automakers should receive such help from Congress, attacking American workers as the root cause of the industry woes speaks volumes about what we already know about these Senators, who are hostile to the rights of working Americans while bedding with the worst elements of industry.
Extending the Senators’ logic a bit, should all American’s wages be reset to some other standard? Perhaps Congress should take it upon itself to set UPS worker wages to Fedex standards. Perhaps Toyota workers employed in Alabama receiving $40 an hour have their wages set to those workers at the VW assembly plant in Puebla, Mexico. The comparisons hare endless here but what is important is that, when it comes to screwing working people, these Republicans regulatory ambitions know no bounds.
On the other hand, if it is to become Congress’ role to regulate wages, then perhaps we can start to evaluate executive pay in a similar manner. Something modest is in order here. I like linking U.S. executives wages to that of similar executives in, say, Great Britain or France.
Breaking out of that fantasy, the reality here is that, as was noted in the LA Times and elsewhere, the Republicans’ primary aim is not to consider the merits of the financial bailout of the auto industry so much as to stick it to the UAW, sort of a counter punch to the upcoming effort by organized labor to enact the Employee Free Choice Act. In addition, any blow back that these Senators might receive from their fiscally conservative supporters (I’m speaking about their financial supporters not the electorate), is avoided by tossing this monkey wrench into the process. As we are seeing, President Bush is now talking about deferring funds from the financial industry bailout (TARP), allowing the Republican senators to spoil the deal while avoiding the consequences resulting from a catastrophic failure of the industry.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Sphere: Related Content
by Erika Yost on December 6, 2008
In the December/January issue of
Fast Company magazine there is an
infographic by Spanish graphic design company Lamosca that puts the world’s top ten corporations by revenue in a different perspective.
Each company is matched as if its revenue were the equivalent of a country’s GDP. Here are the results, with figures rounded up in billions of U.S. dollars:
Here are some interesting highlights that are included in the infographic:
- Last year, Finland’s government budget was 40.5 billion euros, about 20% less than Nokia’s annual sales.
- Wal-Mart has more than 2.1 million workers, about the same as the populations of Latvia or Namibia.
- Toyota is the only Asian company in the top 10.
- The oldest company in the top 10, ING is descended from an insurance company founded in 1743.
- Thanks to Shell and ING, the Netherlands, the world’s 19th-largest economy, is the only country other than the U.S. to have more than one company in the top 10.
With all of this relative wealth, this raises the question as to why these and other similarly capitalized companies are seemingly incapable of stepping up in a substantive way to address many of the world’s challenges? While it can be said that companies are in the business of making money, isn’t there also an ethical responsibility for these companies to minimize the harm they inflict on the environment, strive to improve the lives of people in the communities in which they operate and prevent to the extent possible the harm on the world that they inflict wither directly or indirectly?
Popularity: 4% [?]
Sphere: Related Content
by John Richardson on August 8, 2008
Toyota Motor Corporation is a leading auto maker. However, as a corporate citizen, the company poor and, in our opinion, poses serious human rights risk to investors.
It is Japan’s #1 carmaker. The company makes a hybrid-powered (gas and electric) sedan — the Prius — that is popular in US and European markets. Its gas-powered cars, pickups, minivans, and SUVs include such models as Camry, Corolla, 4Runner, Land Cruiser, Sienna, the luxury Lexus line, the Scion brand, and a full-sized pickup truck, the V-8 Tundra. Toyota also makes forklifts and manufactured housing, and offers consumer financial services. Toyota has already passed Chrysler and Ford and is closing in on General Motors. [click to continue...]
Popularity: 25% [?]
Sphere: Related Content
by John Richardson on July 8, 2008
Last month the National Labor Committee (NLC) released a 65-page report documenting serious human rights violations by the Toyota Motor Company titled, “The Toyota You Don¹t Know.” Violations cited in the report included human trafficking and sweatshop abuse; hiring temporary workers at sub-standard wages; unpaid overtime; ties to Burmese dictators and in one case a Toyota employee who was “overworked” to death.
The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre posted Toyota¹s response to the report a general statement denying the allegations and reaffirming the company¹s commitment to human and labor rights. The full NLC report (³”), which states:
Toyota is committed to being a good corporate citizen to all of our stakeholders, including our employees, partners, suppliers and customers. The NLC report contains numerous inaccuracies and presents a false and misleading picture of our company. Contrary to the report’s allegations, Toyota respects its employees and honors the basic human rights of people involved in our business. We comply with all applicable local laws and regulations in every country where we operate. Consistent with our guiding principles, we strive to provide a safe, healthy working environment for all employees throughout our operations, as well as ensure that our suppliers and subcontractors also adhere to these standards.
What are the inaccuracies in the NLC report? Does Toyota deny that the facts set forth by the NLC are true? We are dying to know …
Popularity: 6% [?]
Sphere: Related Content
Jim DeMint (S-SC), David Vitter (R-LA) and Mitch McConnell, along with a slew of other Republican senators have begun their pitched battle attacking American auto workers this week by opposing any bailout that doesn’t include slashing unionized autoworkers pay to that of non-union autoworkers in the south. Effectively killing a Congressional bailout of the Big Three automakers, they focused their invective on the high pay received by workers represented by the UAW.
