Companies like ExxonMobil and Blackstone are also major funders of the climate crisis, according to a new union report.

Some of the world’s largest companies have been accused of undermining democracy worldwide by financially supporting far-right political movements, funding and exacerbating the climate crisis, and violating labor rights and human rights, according to a report released on Monday by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Amazon, Tesla, Meta, ExxonMobil, Blackstone, Vanguard, and Glencore are the companies named in the report. Corporate lobbying groups are attempting to shape global policy at the United Nations’ Future Summit to be held in New York City on September 22-23.

In Amazon, the report highlights the company’s size and role as the fifth-largest employer in the world and the largest online retailer and cloud computing service, which has had a profound impact on industries and communities where it operates.

“The company has become infamous for its anti-union practices and low wages across several continents, its monopoly on e-commerce, its atrocious carbon emissions through its AWS data centers, its tax evasion, and its lobbying at national and international levels,” states the report.

The report cites, among other cases, Amazon’s high workplace injury rates in the U.S., the company’s challenge to the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), its efforts in Canada to overturn labor legislation, the banning of Amazon lobbyists from entering the European Parliament for refusing to attend hearings on workers’ rights violations, and its refusal to negotiate with unions in Germany. Amazon has also funded far-right political groups to undermine women’s rights and antitrust legislation, and its retail website has been used by hate groups to raise money and sell products.

In Tesla, the report cites the company’s anti-union opposition in the U.S., Germany, and Sweden; human rights violations within its supply chains; and Elon Musk’s personal opposition to unions and democracy, challenges to the NLRB in the U.S., and his support for political leaders Donald Trump, Javier Milei in Argentina, and Narendra Modi in India.

The report cites Meta, the world’s largest social media company, for its significant role in enabling far-right propaganda and movements to use its platforms to grow their membership and gain support both in the U.S. and abroad. It also mentions the company’s retaliation against regulatory measures taken in Canada and its costly lobbying efforts against data privacy laws.

Glencore, the world’s largest mining company by revenue, was included in the report for its role in financing global campaigns against indigenous communities and activists.

Blackstone, the private equity firm led by Stephen Schwarzman, a billionaire supporter of Donald Trump, was cited in the report for its role in financing far-right political movements, investing in fossil fuel projects, and deforestation in the Amazon.

“Blackstone’s network has spent tens of millions of dollars supporting politicians and political forces that promise to prevent or eliminate regulations that could hold it accountable,” the report states. Blackstone has questioned the deforestation claims in the Amazon and sold its remaining shares in the company in question in 2021. The company argued that it does not make direct political contributions and that the contributions from its executives are personal.

The Vanguard Group was included in the report for its role in financing some of the most anti-democratic corporations in the world. ExxonMobil was cited for funding climate-denying research and lobbying aggressively against environmental regulations.

Even in “strong democracies,” workers’ demands “are overwhelmed by corporate lobbying operations, whether in policymaking or in the elections themselves,” said Todd Brogan, ITUC’s Campaigns and Organizing Director.

“It’s about power, who holds it, and who sets the agenda. As trade unionists, we know that unless we are organized, the boss sets the agenda at the workplace, and as citizens of our countries, we know that unless we are organized and demand responsive governments that actually meet people’s needs, it will be corporate power setting the agenda.

“They are playing the long game, and it’s about transferring power away from democracy at all levels to a point where they don’t care about the effects on workers but are focused on maximizing their influence, their extractive power, and their profits,” Brogan added. “Now is the time for international and multi-sector strategies, because in many cases, multinational corporations are more powerful than states and have no democratic accountability except to organized workers.”

The ITUC includes affiliates from labor groups in 169 nations and territories worldwide, representing 191 million workers, including the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of trade unions in the United States, and the Trades Union Congress in the UK. Given that 4 billion people worldwide will participate in the 2024 elections, the federation is pushing for the development of a binding international treaty through the open-ended intergovernmental working group to demand that transnational companies be held accountable to international human rights laws.

---

Original Source: The Guardian, London, Michael Sainato. Translation by Laboratorio del Futuro team.