Balancing Act

This is a sampling of organizations that may appear to be striving for balance but still have significantly out of balance practices.

Nike.com

Corporate responsibility report

As a global company, we are committed to continually expanding and improving our corporate responsibility initiatives wherever we operate around the world. It is our intent and hope that this report will help to outline the challenges facing us - and what we're doing to make a difference. Concern: Social action organizations have raised the question as to whether Nike is committing labor abuses in factories outside the U.S. To respond to this, Nike has produced a corporate responsibility report and has placed a global citizenship link on their web site. These organizations claim: "While the women who wear NIKE shoes in the United States are encouraged to perform their personal best -- the Indonesian, Vietnamese and Chinese women making the shoes often times suffer from inadequate wages, corporal punishment, forced overtime and/or sexual harassment." http://www.now.org/issues/economic/nike.html "We are the largest consumer packaged goods company on earth.We are also 169,000 talented and diverse employees, who keep Philip Morris Companies' business fundamentals strong and its companies growing. Our people are the force behind more than four decades of contributions to the communities in which we operate. They are also key players in helping to find reasonable solutions to many of society's concerns about our businesses." www.philipmorris.com Concern: Manufacturer of tobacco products since the mid-1800s. The tobacco industry has been pressured and sued by citizens and states to account for unethical and illegal practices in both production and marketing. "Philip Morris, the world's largest tobacco multinational, has engaged in smuggling and drug-money laundering for years in a scheme to avoid taxes and boost sales of its cigarettes, according to allegations in a new racketeering lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court." http://www.public-i.org/story_01_052300.htm "We are GE For 124 years, what has remained constant is our dedication to change and progress. And it's what will keep us growing over the next 100 years. From jet engines to power generation, from financial services to plastics, from television to medical imaging, GE people worldwide are dedicated to turning good ideas into products and services that make the world a better place." www.ge.com Concern: "May 6, 2002 -- According to a new report released today, many of the U.S. government's largest contractors have repeatedly broken the law or engaged in unethical conduct. However, they are never even temporarily suspended, let alone debarred, from gaining additional government contracts. Smaller contractors are not so lucky. The report, profiled in U.S. News and World Report today, was published by the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). 'The hard work of our nation's law enforcement officials is undermined by billions of dollars in federal contracts flowing to companies who repeatedly break the law and raid the U.S. Treasury,' stated Seth Morris, Research Assistant and primary investigator on the project." · Only one of the 43 top contractors were ever suspended or debarred from doing business with the government. That one suspension action, against General Electric, lasted only five days, when typical suspension and debarment actions last 18 months to three years. KEY: Contractor (headquarters); # of Violations and Alleged Violations; Total Fines/Penalties Restitution, and Settlements; FY99 Contract Awards General Electric (CT); 63; $982,859,555; $1.6 billion http://www.pogo.org