DDD37

Dirt Diggers Digest No. 37

June 10, 2003


Editor: Philip Mattera


1. Greenpeace publishes parody of ExxonMobil annual report

2. Treasure trove of union density data

3. Fair Labor Association releases factory audits

4. Study of Citigroup's predatory lending in the South

5. Citigroup at bottom in corporate governance ranking

6. Analysis of the union victory at Tenet

7. Canadian insider trading data now available online


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1. Greenpeace publishes parody of ExxonMobil annual report


As part of its corporate campaign against ExxonMobil's role

in global warming, Greenpeace has published a glossy,

full-color parody of the energy giant's annual report (see the

link at www.dontbuyexxonmobil.org). In place of photographs

of happy employees and tables of financial results, the "Revised

Annual Report" features pictures of protests and data on the

company's harm to the environment. ExxonMobil has warned

that it may sue Greenpeace for "fraudulent use" of its logo.


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2. Treasure trove of union density data


Your editor has just learned that a website featuring a wealth

of union density data -- far more than what the Bureau of Labor

Statistics includes in its annual release on the subject -- was

created late last year by two academics. The site, called UnionStats

<www.unionstats.com>, was assembled by Barry Hirsch of Trinity

University and David Macpherson of Florida State University as

an offshoot of their detailed analysis of the union affiliation question

asked as part of the Census Bureau's annual Current Population

Survey. The site has, for example, union density data for

metropolitan areas, industries and occupations going back to

the 1980s.


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3. Fair Labor Association releases factory audits


The Fair Labor Association <www.fairlabor.org>, a coalition

of universities, clothing manufacturers and non-profits formed

in response to the anti-sweatshop movement, has made

public the findings of what it calls independent audits of seven

major footwear and apparel companies. The audits, which can

be found at http://www.fairlabor.org/all/transparency/index.html,

cover Adidas, Eddie Bauer, Levi Strauss, Liz Claiborne, Nike,

Phillips-Van Heusen and Reebok.


The disclosure of the audits appears to be a response to

criticisms from anti-sweatshop activists about a lack of

transparency on the part of the FLA. Activists have also

charged that the FLA's employment standards are too weak.


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4. Study of Citigroup's predatory lending in the South


The Institute for Southern Studies has announced that its

Southern Exposure magazine is publishing a report on

predatory lending practices by Citigroup in the South. An

advance version of the report, written by Michael Hudson

and titled BANKING ON MISERY, can currently be found

at http://www.southernstudies.org/reports/bankingonmisery.pdf.

The full report, along with other features on predatory lending,

will appear in the Summer 2003 issue of Southern Exposure.


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5. Citigroup at bottom in corporate governance ranking


Citigroup received the worst overall rating in an assessment

of 1,700 public company boards of directors conducted by The

Corporate Library (TCL) website <www.thecorporatelibrary.net>.

TCL's Board Effectiveness Ratings are based on factors such

as the experience and expertise of directors, the mix of

directors, and the willingness of the board to make "strong,

effective decisions on key issues like financial reporting,

strategy and CEO compensation." A summary of the 2003 ratings

can be found at http://www.thecorporatelibrary.net/ratings2003.html

but access to TCL's complete board of directors database is

available only by subscription.


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6. "Boardroom chaos": article analyzes union victory at Tenet


"Bringing Chaos to the Boardroom" is the title of an article

published by a website called The Black Commentator

<http://www.blackcommentator.org/45/45_cover.html> on

the turmoil at Tenet Healthcare Corporation that led to an

unusal agreement between the for-profit hospital company and

the unions that have been trying to organize its employees.

The article acknowledges that union campaigners were not

primarily responsible for disclosing the fraudulent practices

of the company, but there is an interesting quote from Tenet's

new CEO about the role played by SEIU's TenetMonitor website.


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7. Canadian insider trading data now available online


Canada has beaten the United States in the race to put insider

trading information on the web. This week, Canada's System

for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders, or SEDI, went online at

the website www.sedi.ca. Searches can be done either by

the name of the insider or the company.


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Philip Mattera

Director of the Corporate Research Project

Good Jobs First

pmattera@goodjobsfirst.org

www.corp-research.org