Dirt Diggers Network: Digest No. 5
May 22, 2002
Editor: Philip Mattera
1. Replies to query about boards of subsidiaries
2. Good Jobs First conference announcement
3. new info source: industry reports on sustainable development
4. question about Schilit book
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1. Replies to query from Marcia Carroll about how to find
the members of boards of directors of subsidiaries
Rick Rehberg writes:
just a quick response to the question on subsidiary boards. I've
generally found that subs don't have boards, just officers (CEO, CFO,
assorted VPs). Often the highest ranking officer of a sub will sit on the
parent board, although this is not always the case.
To learn the executives (or board, if any) of a sub, I would use the
Directory of Corporate Affiliations (National Register Publishing, part of
Lexis Nexis, book and CD-ROM format), Dun and Bradstreet's Million Dollar
Directory CD, and/or purchase a D&B Business Information Report at
www.dnb.com.
If the sub is the result of a recent merger/acquisition, then SEC filings
from the time of the transaction might describe the sub's management in
detail, although obviously the older the documents the less worthwhile this
will be.
I might have other suggestions depending on what industry the sub is in.
Rick Rehberg, Research Director
Food and Allied Services Trades Dept. (FAST, AFL-CIO)
Steve Askin writes:
I'd go for industry-specific sources. For example, if you want the local
board of a California hospital (including, but not limited to those owned by
publicly traded for-profits), contact the CA Office of Statewide Health
Planning and Development (OSHPD) at http://www.oshpd.cahwnet.gov/ and order
the full OSHPD report (or relevant section) on that hospital. Note that
OSHPD provides much info online, but not this section of the report. I'd
guess that similar sources exists in other states and for other highly
regulated industries.
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2. conference announcement
Workshops on researching state and local corporate subsidies will be
among the offerings at the Reclaiming Economic Development conference
that will be presented by Good Jobs First in Baltimore in July.
This event, the first of its kind, will bring together activists, researchers
and public officials involved in efforts to impose accountability and
disclosure standards on the economic development incentives
given to companies by state and local government.
The conference will take place July 11-13 at the Maritime Institute,
located near Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
For more details, see: http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/flyer.htm
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3. The Division of Technology, Industry and Economics of the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has begun to release a series of
reports on the progress made by specific industries on sustainability
issues. The reports were written by industry representatives, so they
perhaps should be categorized as greenwash. Decide for yourself.
Among the sectors covered so far are chemicals, coal, iron & steel
and oil & gas.
The reports (in PDF format) can be found at:
http://www.uneptie.org/outreach/wssd/sectors/reports.htm
The UNEP has also issued a report with its own somewhat pessimistic
assessment of industry's progress toward sustainability. It can be found at:
http://www.uneptie.org/outreach/wssd/global/global.htm
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4. question about Schilit book
Responding to the AP story in Dirt Diggers No. 4 about Howard Schilit
and his Center for Financial Research & Analysis, Andy Banks writes:
Does anyone know if Schilit's book Financial Shenanigans is worth getting?
Andy Banks
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Philip Mattera
pmattera@goodjobsfirst.org