CorpWatch Exclusives
 | Boeing Helps Kill Proposed Law to Regulate Drones by Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch Blog March 30th, 2013 Boeing, the aircraft manufacturing giant from Seattle, helped defeat a Republican proposal in Washington state that would have forced government agencies to get approval to buy unmanned aerial vehicles, popularly known as drones, and to obtain a warrant before using them to conduct surveillance on individuals. |
 | South African Gold Miners Sue Over Deadly Lung Disease by Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch Blog January 3rd, 2013 Thousands of gold miners have asked permission from South African courts to sue some 30 mining companies over negligence in health and safety that the miners allege has caused them to contract silicosis, a debilitating and potentially fatal lung disease. |
 | H&M Targeted for Uzbek Cotton Allegedly Grown with Forced Labor by Puck Lo, CorpWatch Blog December 27th, 2012 Swedish company H&M, the world’s second-largest clothing retailer, is under pressure to cut ties with supplier South Korea-based Daewoo International and others that purchase cotton from Uzbekistan, where the government allegedly forces children and adults to harvest the white fiber for little or no pay. |
 | Bolivia pushes back against Swiss commodities giant Glencore by Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero, CorpWatch Blog July 24th, 2012 Glencore corporation, the secretive Swiss commodities giant which has become one of the world's biggest trader of grain, oil and minerals, has hit an unlikely roadblock. The Bolivian government nationalized the Colquiri tin and zinc mine, the third Glencore asset to be seized by the state in five years. |
 | Sweatships at Sea: Carnival Cruises Pay Below International Standards by Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch Blog May 1st, 2012 Carnival Cruise staff on UK ships are paid $1.20 an hour or $400 a month in basic wages, according to the Guardian newspaper. These workers lose their tips, ie roughly 15 percent of wages, unless they get at least a 92 percent favorable rating from customers. |
 | Global Horizons Indicted for Human Trafficking by Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch September 15th, 2010 Mordechai Orian, president of Global Horizons, a Los Angeles-based labor recruiter, was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for "engaging in a conspiracy to commit forced labor and document servitude" of some 400 Thai citizens who were brought to work on farms in the U.S. |
 | BP: Beyond Petroleum or Beyond Preposterous? (2000) by Kenny Bruno May 12th, 2010 In 2000 British Petroleum launched an expensive ad campaign, re-branding its corporate image into the eco-friendly "BP: Beyond Petroleum.” We said it then. When a company spends more on advertising its environmental friendliness than on environmental actions, that's greenwash. Three long weeks into the BP oil disaster roiling the Gulf of Mexico, CorpWatch's December 2000 skewering of its new image sadly, bears repeating. |
 | Mission Essential, Translators Expendable by Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch August 11th, 2009 Ohio-based Mission Essential Personnel supplies over 2,000 translators to the Pentagon in Afghanistan, who play a critical role in protecting local and military lives. These interpreters are a key communications link. But if they are wounded or killed, they are often left to fend for themselves. This special features video of CorpWatch interviews with three Afghan whistleblowers, recorded in country in April. Click through to hear their story. |
 | Regulating Ramatex: Authorities Shut Out as Malaysian Investor Threatens Namibian Environment by Moses Magadza, Special to CorpWatch April 5th, 2009 For nearly six years Ramatex Textile and Garment Factory barred government regulators from entering industrial premises leased from the City of Windhoek. Ramatex came to Namibia in 2001, lured by the newly implemented African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Evidence of environmental violations finally emerged after the company absconded. |
 | Inheriting Halliburton's Army: What Will Obama Do With KBR? by Pratap Chatterjee, TomDispatch.com February 22nd, 2009 President Obama will almost certainly touch down in Baghdad and Kabul in Air Force One sometime in the coming year to meet his counterparts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he will just as certainly pay a visit to a U.S. military base or two. Should he stay to eat with the troops, he will no less certainly choose from a menu prepared by migrant Asian workers under contract to Houston-based KBR, the former subsidiary of Halliburton. |
 | Norilsk Nickel: A Tale of Unbridled Capitalism, Russian Style by Anton Foek, Special to CorpWatch October 9th, 2008 The launch of Russia’s stock markets in the early 90s and privatization of state assets has profoundly impacted Russian society. As the case of mining giant Norilsk Nickel illustrates, this experiment has given rise to both immense personal wealth for a new elite, and economic uncertainty for the ordinary citizen. |
 | Toyota: Auto Industry Race to the Bottom by Barbara Briggs, Special to CorpWatch September 16th, 2008 Globally, Toyota is known for its innovation and quality of products like the Prius hybrid. A closer look at operations in Japan, the Philippines, Myanmar and the U.S. reveals a story of extreme working conditions, union-busting and other corporate abuses. In Japan and elsewhere, workers are speaking out. |
 | A Glittering Demon: Mining, Poverty and Politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo by Michael Deibert, Special to CorpWatch June 26th, 2008 In the DRC, a nation rich in natural resources yet confounded by civil war and endemic poverty, artisanal mining communities are struggling for their livelihoods as foreign multinationals like AngloGold Ashanti rush to cash in. |
 | Playing with Children's Lives: Big Tobacco in Malawi by Pilirani Semu-Banda, Special to CorpWatch February 25th, 2008 Cigarettes may be damaging not only your own health, but also that of some of the world's poorest children. Much of Malawi's thriving tobacco industry rests on the backs of exploited children, some as young as five years old. |
 | Barrick's Dirty Secrets: Communities Respond to Gold Mining's Impacts Worldwide May 1st, 2007 A new CorpWatch report details the operations of Barrick Gold in nine different countries, focusing on the efforts on the part of the communities to seek justice from this powerful multinational. Download Spanish version of report |
| US: Swift sued over hiring
by Christine Tatum, Denver Post December 12th, 2006 Eighteen former Swift & Co. employees who worked at the meatpacker's Cactus, Texas, plant have filed a $23 million lawsuit alleging that Swift hired illegal workers to depress employee wages. |
 | Guest Workers Seek Global Horizons: U.S. Company Profits From Migrant Labor by Kari Lydersen, Special to CorpWatch November 3rd, 2006 Global Horizons is one of the biggest companies in the business of importing temporary foreign workers to do jobs in the U.S. ranging from agriculture to nursing. Their workers endure similar working conditions to undocumented workers, prompting government investigations. Global Horizon Responds |
 | A U.S. Fortress Rises in Baghdad:
Asian Workers Trafficked to Build World's Largest Embassy
by David Phinney, Special to CorpWatch October 17th, 2006 Workers accuse the Kuwait contractor building the US embassy in Baghdad of smuggling low-paid South Asians into Iraq and labor trafficking. Still, the US State Department casts a blind eye on the complaints as it rushes to complete its most ambitious project ever. |
 | Iraq After Halliburton by Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch July 12th, 2006 The controversial multibillion-dollar deal with oil services giant Halliburton to provide logistical support to U.S. troops in Iraq has been canceled. What should happen next? Read our three alternative annual reports on Halliburton, to learn the real legacy of the company's incompetence and corruption. Listen to an interview with CorpWatch's director, Pratap Chatterjee. |
 | A Proxy Battle: Shareholders vs. CEOs by Kevin Kelleher, Special to CorpWatch June 13th, 2006 Earnest shareholder resolutions presented at company annual general meetings on everything from human rights to executive compensation are routinely shot down in flames. But shareholder resolutions may have an effect, even in defeat. |