Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Top Ten Most Evil Companies?

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (Through 2005) Donate to DU
 
dusty64 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 12:48 PM
Original message
Top Ten Most Evil Companies?
I know this has been done before, but lacking the search feature (I know donors only. I promise to give next month on my third anniversary)I can not find the threads in the past.

I would like to expand my boycotts and ten seem manageable. clear channels, mbna, general electric, news corp. are already on my list. Here is a list of the top ten rethug corporate donors. What would your list look like? Also any ideas for companies that DESERVE our support.

Top Ten Soft Money Donors to Republicans
January 1, 1999 through December 2000
Donor Amount
AT&T* $2,302,451
Philip Morris Cos Inc* 2,098,922
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co* 1,518,019
Natl Rifle Assn* 1,455,187
Enron Corp* 1,433,850
Pfizer Inc* 1,398,592
Freddie Mac 1,383,250
Microsoft Corp* 1,296,079
AOL Time Warner* 1,139,861
Amway Corp* 1,138,500

*Includes contributions from executives and/or affiliates. http://www.commoncause.org/publications/april01/softmoney/page3.htm
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
evil_orange_cat Donating Member (910 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 12:49 PM
Response to Original message
1. you should post the money those companies gave to democrats
plus... I don't necessarily fault some companies just for giving money... fault the system, not the companies that play by the rules.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
movonne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 12:54 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. No they buy the rules.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
dusty64 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 12:57 PM
Response to Reply #1
4. Fair enough,
although the top ten donors are mainly unions so it makes it hard to do business with them. I don't base my list solely on donations but the corporate philosophy and the way they treat their workers and the environment. I meant to add walmart to my boycott list as they certainly deserve to be on it. Any other ideas?


Top Ten Soft Money Donors to Democrats
January 1, 1999 through December 2000
Donor Amount
Amer Fed of State County & Municipal Employees* $6,463,600
Service Employees Intl Union* 5,090,696
United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners* 2,925,000
Communications Workers of America* 2,420,000
United Food & Commercial Workers* 2,151,250
S Daniel Abraham, Chair, Slim Fast Foods Co 1,882,000
Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers* 1,846,400
Peter L Buttenwieser, Pres, PL Buttenwieser & Assoc 1,832,500
American Federation of Teachers* 1,794,000
Haim Saban, Chair, Saban Entertainment* 1,551,363

*Includes contributions from executives and/or affiliates.
http://www.commoncause.org/publications/april01/softmoney/page3.htmSaban, Chair, Saban Entertainment* 1,551,363

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Blue-Jay Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 01:40 PM
Response to Reply #4
14. Haim Saban?
Isn't that the Power Rangers guy?

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
truthseeker1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 06:05 PM
Response to Reply #14
24. Haim Saban founded the Saban company on the Power Rangers
Edited on Sun Feb-29-04 06:09 PM by truthseeker1
and is a gazillionaire.

This is a recent comment from a friend of mine regarding Saban:

"...he is also the biggest fucking cheap skate around! ..... he totally raped the cast and crew of the power rangers
for years. He was paying the star actors only $100 a day for several years while they were making him millions and refused cut them in on any merchandizing - while selling t shirts and the lot with their faces on it. He also refused to unionize for the crew..... and threatened the unions that he would move
the show to mexico if they didn't back off. We worked 14 hour days with horrible pay."
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Ilsa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 12:57 PM
Response to Original message
3. I dunno. It somehow seems incomplete without WalMart
and a few others. I think Lou Dobbs' list of US companies that have done significant outsourcing and causing American layoffs should also fall under the heading of "evil".
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
dusty64 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 01:00 PM
Original message
Holy crap, I would have to
stop doing business whatsoever. This list is VERY disturbing and lengthy.


3Com
3M

A
Accenture
Adaptec
ADC
Adobe Systems
Advanced Energy Industries
Aetna
Affiliated Computer Services
AFS Technologies
A.G. Edwards
Agere Systems
Agilent Tech.
AIG
Alamo Rent A Car
Albertson's
Allen Systems Group
Alliance Semiconductor
Allstate
Alpha Thought Global
Amazon.com
AMD
American Express
American Household
American Management Systems
American Standard
AMETEK
Amphenol Corp.
Analog Devices
ANDA Networks
Andrew Corp.
Anheuser-Busch
AOL
A.O. Smith
Apple
Applied Materials
Art Leather Manufacturing
A.T. Cross Company
AT&T
AT&T Wireless
A.T. Kearney
Automatic Data Processing
Avanade
Avery Dennison

B
Bank of America
Bank of New York
Bank One
BearingPoint
Bear Stearns
Bechtel
BellSouth
Bentley Systems
Best Buy
BISSELL
Black & Decker
BMC Software
Boeing
Brocade
Bumble Bee

C
Cadence Design Systems
Candle Corporation
Capital One
Carrier
Caterpillar
Celestica
Cendant
Cerner Corporation
Charles Schwab
ChevronTexaco
CIBER
Ciena
Cigna
Circuit City, Inc.
Cisco Systems
Citigroup
CNA
Coca-Cola
Cognizant Technology Solutions
Columbia House
Comcast Holdings
Computer Associates
Computer Sciences Corporation
CompuServe
Continental Airlines
Convergys
Cooper Tire & Rubber
Cooper Tools
Countrywide Financial
COVAD Comm.
CSX
Cummins
Cypress Semiconductor

D
Dana Corporation
Delco Remy
Dell Computer
Delphi
Delta Air Lines
Direct TV
Discover
Document Sciences Corp.
Dow Chemical
Dresser
Dun & Bradstreet
DuPont

E
Earthlink
Eastman Kodak
Eaton Corporation
EDS
Electroglas
Electronics for Imaging
Eli Lilly
EMC
Emerson Electric
En Pointe Technologies
Equifax
Ernst & Young
Ethan Allen
Evolving Systems
Expedia
ExxonMobil

F
Fair Isaac
Fedders Corporation
Federated Dept. Stores
Fellowes
Fidelity Investments
Financial Techologies International
First American Title Ins.
First Data
First Index
Flowserve
Fluor
Ford Motor
Foster Wheeler
Franklin Mint
Franklin Templeton
Freeborders
Frito Lay
Fruit of the Loom

G
Gateway
GE Capital
General Electric
General Motors
GlobespanVirata
Goldman Sachs
Goodrich
Goodyear Tire & Rubber
Google
Greenpoint Mortgage
Guardian Life Insurance

H
Halliburton
The Hartford Financial Services Group
HealthAxis
Helen of Troy Corp.
Hewitt Associates
Hewlett-Packard
The Holmes Group
Home Depot
Honeywell
HSN
Humana

I
IBM
iGate Corporation
IndyMac Bancorp
Infogain
Ingersoll-Rand
Innodata Isogen
Innova Solutions
Intel
Intl. Paper
Intuit
Invacare
ITT Educational Services

J
Jabil Circuit
Jacobs Engineering
Jacuzzi
JDS Uniphase
Johnson Controls
Johnson & Johnson
JPMorgan Chase
Juniper Networks

K
KANA Software
Kaiser Permanente
Keane
Kellogg
Kemet
KeyCorp
KLA-Tencor
Kraft Foods
Kulicke and Soffa Industries
Kwikset

L
Lawson Software
Lear Corporation
Lehman Brothers
Levi Strauss
Lexmark International
Lifescan
Lillian Vernon
Linksys
Lionbridge Technologies
Lionel
LiveBridge
Lockheed Martin
Lowe's
Lucent

M
Maritz
Marshall Fields
Mattel
Maytag
McDATA Corporation
McKinsey & CO
Medtronic
Mellon Bank
Merrill Corporation
Merrill Lynch
Metasolv
MetLife
Microsoft
Monsanto
Morgan Stanley
Motorola

N
Nabco
National City Corporation
National Life
National Semiconductor
NCR Corporation
neoIT
NETGEAR
Network Associates
Newell Rubbermaid
New York Life Insurance Co.
Northrop Grumman
Northwest Airlines

O
Office Depot
Ohio Art
ON Semiconductor
Oracle
OshKosh B'Gosh
Otis Elevator Co.
Outsource Partners International
Owens Corning

P
palmOne
Parker-Hannifin
Parsons E&C
Pearson Digital Learning
PeopleSoft
PepsiCo
Pericom Semiconductor
Perot Systems
Pfizer
Pitney Bowes
Planar Systems
Portal Software
Pratt & Whitney
Primus Telecom
Procter & Gamble
ProQuest
Providian Financial
Prudential Insurance

Q
Quark
Qwest Comm.

R
Rainbow Technologies
Radio Shack
Rawlings Sporting Goods
Raytheon Aircraft
RCG Information Technology
Regence Group
Rockwell Automations
Rogers
Rohm & Haas
RR Donnelley & Sons
Russell Corporation

S
Sabre
SAIC
Sallie Mae
Sanmina-SCI
SBC Comm.
SEI Investments
Siebel Systems
Sikorsky
SMC Networks
Sola Optical USA
Solectron
Sovereign Bancorp
Sprint
Sprint PCS
Square D
Stanley Furniture
Stanley Works
Starkist Seafood
State Farm Insurance
State Street
StorageTek
StrategicPoint Investment Advisors
Sun Microsystems
SunTrust Banks
Supra Telecom
SurePrep
The Sutherland Group
Sykes Enterprises
Symbol Technologies
Synygy

T
Target
Tecumseh
Telcordia
Teleflex
TeleTech
Tellabs
Teradyne
Texas Inst.
Textron
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
Time Warner
Tower Automotive
Toys "R" Us
Trans Union
Travelocity
Triquint Semiconductor
Tropical Sportswear
TRW Automotive
Tyco Electronics
Tyco Intl.

U
Union Pacific Railroad
Unisys
UnitedHealth Group Inc.
United Online
United Technologies
USAA

V
Valence Technology
VA Software
Veritas
Verizon
VF Corporation
Vishay

W
Wachovia Bank
Washington Group Intl.
Washington Mutual
WellChoice
Werner Co.
West Corporation
Weyerhaeuser
Whirlpool
Wolverine World Wide
WorldCom
Wyeth

X
Xerox
Xpitax

Y
Yahoo!

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Touchdown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 12:59 PM
Response to Original message
5. AT&T gives evenly to both Dems and Repugs.
If you go with any other Long Distance service, you are going non-Union. A rock and a hard place for you with AT&T.

I also know AOL/TW gave more to Dems in 2002 than Repubs. Viacom gave less overall, but they gave $450,000.00 to Repubs and $780.00 to Dems.

You need to post what these companies give to Dems, to get a broad look of the issue before boycotting any of them.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
dusty64 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 01:02 PM
Response to Reply #5
8. What about Working Assets long
distance, that is the company I use. Their credit card unfortunately appears to be issued by mbna (the main sponsors of the bankruptcy bill before Congress).

http://www.workingassets.com/
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Touchdown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 01:12 PM
Response to Reply #8
10. WA uses AT&T's network, and hires no technical expertise.
Edited on Sun Feb-29-04 01:13 PM by Touchdown
...thus, no unionized workforce. CWA and IBEW (both top contributers in your Dem column) are both represented at AT&T. You boycott AT&T, you boycott them.

Here's the breakdown of soft money the company gave to both parties...

http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.asp?ID=D000000063&Name=AT%26T

Keep in mind, that 2000 was the year of the mega-merger with TCI...and TCI was a very Republican company...Comcast bought that portion out, and AT&T no longer does cable TV.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
dusty64 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 01:20 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. Very interesting,
thanks!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
truthseeker1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 01:37 PM
Response to Reply #10
13. AT&T is no longer
They were just bought out by Cingular and most likely a lot of AT&T employees will get laid off or relocated to Atlanta (without Union support, I'm guessing).
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Touchdown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 02:00 PM
Response to Reply #13
16. That's AT&T Wireless, separate companies tha tuse the same name.
I'm talking about the old Ma Bell company. And yes, they were never union, and Atlanta seems to be where AT&T employees go to finally die.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
truthseeker1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 02:21 PM
Response to Reply #16
21. Yes, you're right
Edited on Sun Feb-29-04 02:25 PM by truthseeker1
I was overlooking that.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
WhoCountsTheVotes Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 01:41 PM
Response to Reply #10
15. If AT&T is good to their Union, I'll buy AT&T everytime
I support CWA and IBEW, so I'll support the companies that recognize the union and play fair. In fact, I'll pay more for it, because that's good service.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
kayell Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 12:59 PM
Response to Original message
6. A figure I would be interested in:
The difference between pay for high level executives and average workers - what companies have the biggest disparaties. Does anyone know where to find those figures?

Also - companies that have shipped highest percentages of jobs overseas, eliminating jobs in the US, while rewarding CEOs with large increases.

Companies with the worst human rights abuses of overseas workers.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
dusty64 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 06:59 PM
Response to Reply #6
27. I've searching for that
and no luck so far.

Michael Eisner vs. Vietnamese Laborers



If greed is good, as Michael Douglas infamously stated in the movie "Wall Street," then Disney CEO Michael Eisner must be a saint.
Last year, the Disney executive received compensation of more than $575 million. On top of his $750,000 salary, Eisner claimed a $9.9 million bonus and cashed in on $565 million in stock options.
This is not the first mega-pay haul for Eisner. From 1991 to 1995, he took in $235 million. A decade ago, in 1988, he collected more than $40 million -- a compensation package which led to shrieks of outrage.
In Eisner's defense, it can be said that giant salary grabs are increasingly the norm among big company CEOs. Among the heads of the largest U.S. corporations, CEO average compensation is $5.8 million. CEO pay rose 54 percent from 1995 to 1996 (final 1997 figures are not yet in) and have risen almost 500 percent since 1980.
Skyrocketing CEO pay does not represent a massive expansion of the economic pie from which all corporate stakeholders are benefiting. While executive pay increases partly reflect rising returns to shareholders, workers have received almost none of the benefits showered on those at the top.
Average hourly earnings for working people have actually dropped since 1980, from $12.70 (in 1996 dollars) in 1980 to $11.81 in 1996. The ratio of big company CEO pay to factory workers' wages has ballooned from 44-to-1 in 1965 to more than 200-to-1 today.
There is no sharing of the economic pie here.
Rising executive compensation and flat or declining wages for workers both reflect a single reality: the diminished power of organized labor.
If enough CEOs start taking home Eisner-like wages, then public outrage may work to curb executive compensation. But it is hard to imagine a concerted effort to rectify the imbalance in executive and worker pay in the absence of a resurgent labor movement. There are no signs of self-restraint or enlightened generosity among the employer class.
As severe as the wage disparity is between U.S. executives and U.S. workers, however, the differential between the executives and Third World workers at whose expense they increasingly profit is staggering.
Disney, to its everlasting shame, has in recent years outsourced production of Disney clothing and toys to sweatshops in Haiti, Burma, Vietnam, China and elsewhere.
http://multinationalmonitor.org/focus/focus.9812.html
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Taeger Donating Member (914 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 01:00 PM
Response to Original message
7. Some of my "most evil" corporate entities

1) Bank of America
BCCI origins. MASSIVE outsourcing of jobs. A programmer actually committed suicide in their parking lot after finishing training his H-1B replacement.

2) Bechtel
They have taken over municipal/government run water supplies worldwide basically through influence in WTO and IMF. They didn't BUY them, they were GIVEN them (this is what WTO means by "foreign investment"). They went straight ahead and GOUGED consumers and fucked up the water supplies. Bechtel is currently doing shoddy, overpaid work in Iraq consisting of malnourishing trops and fucking up schools even WORSE than US bombs.

3) Kuch Brothers
Scumbag thief of oil on Native American soil. Prime sponsor of the "Arkansas Project" along with Richard Mellon Scaife.

4) The Carlyle Group
Theives and profiteers on oil, gold minds and diamond mines. Bush Sr sits on their board.

5) Enron
Enron successfully made a hundred billion dollar industry out of nothing but buying and selling non-commodities. In order to actually make those profits, they were engaged in the high finance equivalent of paying off your Visa with your imaginary friend's Mastercard. The main source of profit was making themselves look rich and attracting more investments which the executives promptly stole by dumping their grossly over-valued stock.

6) Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson IS the self described anti-christ. He's a multi-millionaire through fleecing old ladies, selling worthless vitamins, and stealing diamond minds (killing workers as well). He also has his hands into shady bank deals.

7) The advertising industry
They do nothing but scare people for the sake of getting them to buy shit that they don't need. That money goes to finance even MORE commercials for MORE shit that would cost a tenth as much if it wasn't for advertisers.

Give me some more people.

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
dusty64 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 01:03 PM
Response to Reply #7
9. Great list!
Thank you, this is exactly what I'm looking for.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
leftofthedial Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 07:11 PM
Response to Reply #7
28. this is an overstatement
7) The advertising industry
They do nothing but scare people for the sake of getting them to buy shit that they don't need. That money goes to finance even MORE commercials for MORE shit that would cost a tenth as much if it wasn't for advertisers.


Most advertising is not based on fear.

Coca Cola advertises. So does The Nature Conservancy. I'd guess you have a problem with the former and not the latter. Perhaps the problem is the product and in many cases a lack of regulation about product claims, not the advertiser.

Advertising does not account for 90% of the budget for any product.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Taeger Donating Member (914 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 09:58 PM
Response to Reply #28
29. Swoosh!!!!

Nike shoes cost cents per shoe to manufacture.

I have no idea exactly how all the money is being distributed to advertisers, sponsors and product design, but I'm pretty damn sure consumers are being ripped off!!!!!!

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
WhoCountsTheVotes Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 01:14 PM
Response to Original message
11. General Electric?, multiple felon, and JP Morgan Chase?
The Pinkertons, perhaps the most evil company in history, and still working evil today.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
LiberalFighter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 02:02 PM
Response to Original message
17. Amway should be #1
They are a pyramid scam.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
TacticalPeek Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 02:08 PM
Response to Original message
18. The Golden Rule Insurance Company
Cash cow of J. Patrick Rooney, sugar daddy to wingnuts.

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Touchdown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 02:15 PM
Response to Reply #18
19. Golden Rule and insurance in the same title???
That's the biggest oxymoron since the Clean Skies Initiative.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
truthseeker1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 02:18 PM
Response to Original message
20. Bin Laden family investments
How about companies the Bin Laden family has invested heavily in?

Carlyle Group - at least $2 million
Citigroup
General Electric
Merrill Lynch
Goldman Sachs
Fremont Group (Bechtel sub)
Microsoft
Boeing

Not companies but also:
Harvard - $2 million
Tufts - $300,000
Middle East Policy Council

And don't forget Unocal, Enron, and Halliburton.

Source: Michael Moore's "Dude Where's My Country?"
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ButterflyBlood Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 02:27 PM
Response to Reply #20
22. Goldman Sachs is Sen. John Corzine's old company
it's strange how he can be great but they keep appearing to be way evil. They're also one of the top outsourcing companies, yet he's been backing most Democratic attempts to block outsourcing. Maybe that's why he left, he wasn't as evil as them.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Blue_Tires Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 02:38 PM
Response to Original message
23. lone vote for nike n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Lone_Wolf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 06:26 PM
Response to Original message
25. I'm surprised the General Electric isn't on the list.
n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Shopaholic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 06:35 PM
Response to Original message
26. I gotta go with NewsCorp & Rupert Murdoch
I don't care who donates the most money to the Repugs--I care about who is a 24-hour a day publicity machine for the party--and that's ole' Rupert & his various media outlets.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
number6 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-29-04 10:10 PM
Response to Original message
30. thanx, good info
..
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
dusty64 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-04 07:45 AM
Response to Original message
31. There seem to be an overwhelming
number of bad companies. Finding the top ten DECENT ones to do business with may be even harder. Here are some I've found, any thoughts? Heres a list based on treatment of gay people.

Tempting Gay Employees, The Advocate’s Top Ten Companies for 2000 Adds to a Growing List of Sweet Workplaces for Gays and Lesbians

By Jeremy Quittner, The Advocate, October 24, 2000

Given that most people spend more than half their weekday waking hours on the job, deciding where to work can be one of the most difficult decisions to make. The choice can be even more complicated for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people. After all, it’s emotionally and intellectually draining to hide who you are or to work in a homophobic environment.

Now, however, gay workers are in something of a buyers’ market. Though many companies still have a long way to go in fostering an atmosphere of inclusion, many others have made important strides over the last few years, offering domestic-partner benefits for same-sex couples and including written nondiscrimination policies for sexual orientation in their corporate statements. “In this tight job market, people are seeking out companies that offer domestic-partner benefits, knowing it is a place that welcomes everybody,” says Selisse Berry, executive director of the Pride Collaborative, a gay and lesbian work association in San Francisco.

There are a number of resources for figuring out which company is right for you. Grant Lukenbill, an author whose titles include Smart Spending: The Gay and Lesbian Guide to Socially Responsible Shopping and Investing, compiles a yearly list that rates some of the largest companies in the United States, which he calls the glvIndex, or gay-lesbian values index. It ranks private companies on a ten-point scale that takes into account whether the company includes sexual orientation in its nondiscrimination policy, has same-sex domestic-partner benefits, and does not support groups that oppose passage of rights protections for gays and lesbians, among other things.

Beyond that, Lukenbill says, it is also vital to consider the company’s overall values. “It is important to consider not only if it is a great place to work but also if it’s making great products and if it’s listening to its investors,” says Lukenbill. “Those three things must work together equally.”

Likewise, the Human Rights Campaign, as part of its yearly report on the U.S. workplace, keeps an ongoing list of private and public companies and organizations, in addition to state and federal governments and agencies, that provide domestic-partner benefits and that have written policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Last year The Advocate presented a list of 25 gay-friendly companies. Among the main criteria used to determine which companies to include were whether the companies had (or were working toward) domestic-partner benefits, a sexual orientation nondiscrimination policy, and education on sexual orientation issues.

The following is a list of ten additional companies that have made significant strides in those three areas. It is not intended to be a list of the ten best companies—only ten more good ones to add to last year’s list.

The Companies

Wainwright Bank & Trust Company
Boston
1999 Assets: $376 million
Employees: 106

One of the nation’s most progressive banks, Wainwright has offered domestic-partner benefits since 1994. It also convinced the Massachusetts Bankers Association health insurance group to offer the benefits to its 160 member banks. It owns 30% of Trillium Asset Management, a progressive investment fund involved in overturning antigay corporate policies nationwide. Half of the bank’s officers are women, and 40% of its directors are minorities. It has the only openly lesbian board member of any publicly traded bank in the country.

AT&T
New York City 1999
Sales: $62.4 billion
Employees: 151,000
Fortune 500 Ranking: 8

AT&T was one of the first Fortune 500 companies to have a written sexual orientation nondiscrimination policy. The firm stood up to religious conservatives who attempted to boycott the company in the mid 1990s for its nondiscrimination policy. AT&T was also a pioneer in targeting advertisements to the gay and lesbian community.

Oracle
Redwood Sales: $10.1 billion
Employees: 41,320
Fortune 500 Ranking:195

One of the largest manufacturers of computer software, Oracle was an early supporter of the Employment Non- Discrimination Act (ENDA), the federal bill that would ban antigay workplace discrimination, as well as AIDS and breast cancer organizations. The company even pays for its corporate gay group to march in the San Francisco gay pride parade.

Prudential
Newark, N.J.
1999 Sales: $25.7 billion
Employees: 50,000
Fortune 500 Ranking: 48

Prudential has domestic-partner benefits that allow all employees to add a second adult to their benefits packages. The insurer also supports a full roster of AIDS charities and other gay and lesbian causes. It also has a corporate gay pride month in which members of the board actively participate.

Reebok
Stoughton, Mass.
1999 Sales: $2.9 billion
Employees: 6,500

According to Lukenbill, Reebok was the first sports-shoe manufacturer to offer domestic-partner benefits to same-sex employees. The company has also avoided the overseas labor abuses of some of its competitors. It is affiliated with gay rights groups, and it sponsors gay and lesbian service groups. Additionally, it advertises in the gay and lesbian press.

Scholastic
New York City
Fiscal 2000 Sales: $1.4 billion
Employees: 9,600

Scholastic is the publisher of educational and children’s books, including the Harry Potter series. Its stock is held by the progressive Meyers Pride Value Fund mutual fund. The company offers full domestic-partner benefits and has a written nondiscrimination policy.

Starbucks
Seattle
Fiscal 2000 Revenues: $1.7 billion
Employees: 37,000

The latte giant actively supports its gay and lesbian employee group. In addition to a written nondiscrimination policy, it provides health benefits to all of its employees working 20 hours or more a week, including same-sex domestic-partner benefits. The company displays a portion of the AIDS quilt at its corporate headquarters.

Subaru of America
Cherry Hill, N.J. (corporate parent located in Tokyo)
Total Fiscal 1999 Revenues: $11.3 billion
Employees: 14,995 worldwide

Before the Detroit automakers fell in line, Subaru of America was the first car manufacturer in the United States to institute domestic-partner benefits, in May 2000. The company has conducted gay-oriented advertising campaigns and is consequently one of the most popular cars among American lesbians. Subaru sponsors Visa’s Rainbow credit card, which donates a portion of profits to gay organizations.

Sun Microsystems
Palo Alto, Calif.
Fiscal 2000 Sales (preliminary figures): $15.7 billion
Employees: 29,000
Fortune 500 ranking: 150

The computer hardware manufacturer that brought us Java software was a sponsor of the 2000 San Francisco International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (as were Prudential and Wells Fargo) and the San Jose Gay Pride 2000 parade. The company actively recruits gay and lesbian employees, and the gay and lesbian group has an internal corporate Web site. The human resources office has helped employees who want to change genders get counseling support.

Wells Fargo
San Francisco
1999 Assets: $218 billion
Employees: 103,052
Fortune 500 Ranking: 68

Wells Fargo is listed in the Domini Social Index, a stock portfolio of socially responsible companies, along with AT&T, Reebok, Scholastic, Starbucks, and Sun Microsystems. The bank conglomerate has run ad campaigns aimed at gay and lesbian audiences. It provides support to its gay and lesbian employee group, though groups of any kind were allowed to form only a year ago. The bank also supports the volunteer efforts of its gay and lesbian employees outside the bank, and its diversity training includes sexual orientation.http://www.wainwrightbank.com/site/m2e1f.asp
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Sat Dec 07th 2024, 01:52 PM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (Through 2005) Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC