The ongoing fight for justice does not end on an American factory floor. It extends to many regions of the world. We are all exploited by these global companies, by globalization. Ed Havaich, GE worker and Union member
You never expected justice from a company, did you? They have neither a soul to lose nor a body to kick. Sydney Smith
United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company. Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby
Sixteen tons what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
Say brother, don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store. Merle Travis, Sixteen Tons, 1947 song
For years I thought that what was good for our country was good for General Motors and vice versa. The difference did not exist. Our company is too big. It goes with the welfare of the country. Charles E Wilson, 1953
Since 1980 eight Coca-Cola union factory workers have been murdered by paramilitaries in Colombia. Surviving members of the union SINALTRAINAL claim that Coca-Cola bottlers collaborated with the paramilitaries. Since the murders colleges and other schools around the world have kicked Coca-Cola off their campuses. The Cost of a Coke Revisited
Former union leaders now live in hiding. ibid.
The same night the union office was set on fire, and its leadership ordered to meet a paramilitary commander. ibid.
Killer Cola. The Drink That Represses. ibid.
Coca-Cola hired, contracted with or otherwise directed paramilitary forces to murder, torture, illegally detain or otherwise silence trade union leaders. ibid.
Coca-Cola has come under intense scrutiny in India too. They were forced to shut down a plant in India after they had been found guilty of depleting and contaminating the water supply. ibid.
Even in Turkey they have denied workers their rights to unionise. ibid.
The cost of human life has now been calculated into the profits of the Coca-Cola company. ibid.
Coke Further Undermines Colombian Investigation: Employers led by a Coca-Cola executive [Ed Potter] stopped the International Labour Organisation examining violations of workplace rights in Colombia. The Sydney Morning Herald 6th June 2007 on-line report, post 14th June 2007
Q) Why do you need to wreck that company?
Gordon Gecko) Because it’s wreckable, all right? Wall Street 1987 starring Michael Douglas & Charlie Sheen & Daryl Hannah & Martin Sheen & John C McGinley & Terence Stamp & James Karen & Hal Holbrook & Sean Young & James Spader et al, director Oliver Stone
We’re all just one trade away from humility. ibid.
You are all being screwed over by these bureaucrats. ibid. Gordon Gecko to shareholders
You’re only the president of the company. What the hell do you know? ibid. Gecko to son
I create nothing. I own. We make the rules. ibid. Gordon Gecko
Create something instead of living off the buying and selling of others. ibid.
Look around. Oil companies guzzle down the billions in profits. Billionaires pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries, and Wall Street CEOs, the same ones the direct our economy and destroyed millions of jobs still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them. Does anyone here have a problem with that? Elizabeth Warren
Credit card companies are jacking up interest rates, lowering credit limits, and closing accounts – and people who have made timely payments are not exempt. So even if you pay off your balance – and that’s tough when interest rates are insanely high – there’s a good chance your credit limit will be slashed, and that will hurt your FICO score. Suze Orman
When people say they prefer organic food, what they often seem to mean is they don’t want their food tainted with pesticides and their meat shot full of hormones or antibiotics. Many object to the way a few companies – Monsanto is the most famous of them – control so many of the seeds we grow. Michael Specter
Overwinding happens when hedge funds destroy companies by attempting to leverage derivatives against otherwise productive long-term assets. Douglas Rushkoff
Five billion dollars! Five billion dollars to the credit card companies. That’s what this bill is all about. Where do you think it comes from? People who have gone into bankruptcy. Who are those people? They are the people that have the heart attacks. They are the men and women whose jobs have been outsourced. They’re the mothers, the single mums, who aren’t getting paid back in alimony and child care support; those are the people who are being hurt! Edward Kennedy
It appears to me that the atmosphere of the temple of Justice is polluted by the presence of such things as these companies. L J James, Wilson v Church 1879 L R 13 C D 44
Today’s consumers are eager to become loyal fans of companies that respect purposeful capitalism. They are not opposed to companies making a profit; indeed, they may even be investors in these companies – but at the core, they want more empathic, enlightened corporations that seek a balance between profit and purpose. Simon Mainwaring
If a company kills a man, the company gets let off. Barbara Kopple, Harlan Country ***** USA 1976, miner
Organised crime has moved into our financial markets. Thousands of victims across Britain have lost their livelihoods. The most vulnerable are the prime targets. Tonight, the city of London police investigated a gang making millions. Fraud Squad I, ITV 2011
Fraud is the new goldmine for criminal gangs. Three point two million people in Britain have become victims. Organised crime’s latest enterprise is to con people into purchasing shares in companies that don’t exist. ibid.
The City of London police have a specialist department tackling fraudsters nationally and internationally. They have identified twelve hundred boiler rooms making criminals over three hundred million pounds per year. ibid.
Criminal gangs share the list of people they have conned. ibid.
The sale of fake shares requires a sophisticated network. [George] Abrue’s criminal organisation uses bogus websites, shell offices, glossy brochures and mass-market emails. ibid.
George Abrue Gang London Sweden Barcelona: Organised crime has moved into our financial markets. Thousands of victims across Britain have lost their livelihoods. The most vulnerable are the prime targets. Tonight, the city of London police investigated a gang making millions. ibid.
Fraud is the new goldmine for criminal gangs. 3,200,000 people in Britain have become victims. Organised crime’s latest enterprise is to con people into purchasing shares in companies that don’t exist. ibid.
The City of London police have a specialist department tackling fraudsters nationally and internationally. They have identified 1,200 boiler rooms making criminals over £300,000,000 per year. ibid.
Criminal gangs share the list of people they have conned. ibid.
The sale of fake shares requires a sophisticated network. Abrue’s criminal organisation uses bogus websites, shell offices, glossy brochures and mass-market emails. ibid.
The City of London Police have arrested nine people. They are accused of selling millions of pounds of fake shares to hundreds of British victims. Fraud Squad II
Ringleader Abrue has been arrested in Sweden for assault. ibid.
Fraud is one of the fastest growing crimes in Britain. ibid.
Nine suspects are charged with sixteen offences. ibid.
Detectives have seized one million pounds in assets from the gang. The victims have lost twenty million. ibid.
America ain’t a country, it’s a company. We move knocked-off prescription drugs now. Lower profit, but it brings less attention. Luv 2012 starring Danny Glover & Common & Michael Rainey junior & Dennis Haybert & Lonette McKee & Charles S Dutton & Meagan S Dutton & Meagan Good et al, director Sheldon Candi, coach
How British business leaders are selling off our best companies for quick and easy profits ... A great British sell-off that’s creating a dumbed-down low-wage Britain. Will Hutton, Selling Off Britain, Channel 4 2015
In the last 10 years $440 billion of British companies have been sold abroad – the biggest cull in our history. ibid.