Category: Corporate Abuse of Power

The following blog post, originally posted on Earthrights.org, was written by our Legal Advisory Committee member Katie Redford. The post is a part of Blog Action Day, an annual event aimed at uniting bloggers around a common theme, this year’s theme being human rights. For a full list of our new Legal Advisory Committee with brief bios for each member, click here.
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Recently the Statesmen Journal featured a powerful opinion piece written by Mike Sumner, a small business owner and Republican from Woodburn, Oregon. His piece illustrates the threat of corporate dominance in our elections due to increased power from campaign contributions, and the particular concern for small business owners and consumers alike.

It begins, 

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Three years after Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision that granted corporations the right to free speech and the power to flood our elections with campaign contributions, comes a new battle.
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Yesterday former Massey Coal Executive, David Hughart, was sentenced to prison for 42 months for failing to follow basic safety practices, such as limiting the buildup of coal dust, which led to the death of 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch mine blast in 2010 — the worst U.S coal-mining disaster in 40 years.

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Reader Supported News asks exactly this question in their new piece entitled, "Love, Corporate Style." Corporations spend big money on getting consumers to engage and interact with their corporate "friends" through social media and other means. But what are these corporations missing in their tweets and facebook posts?

From the article:

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Citing logic from the 2010 Citizens United ruling, a federal appeals court last week ruled that companies, whether for-profit or not, have religious rights too.

From the article:

A divided federal appeals court said Thursday that companies, whether for profit or not, have religious rights.

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On Tuesday, June 11, 2013, Free Speech For People Co-Founder and President, Jeff Clements, provided testimony to the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the Joint Committee on Public Health Public Hearing. 

Here is a brief excerpt below: 

"Chairman Sanchez, Chairman Keenan and Members of the Committee:

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An article from the Center for Public Integrity reports that Chevron Corp. shareholders recently rejected a resolution seeking to prohibit the company from using corporate funds for political activities. Chevron’s statement reads: "Chevron’s participation in the political process is an important means of protecting the interests of the Company and its stockholders." Read the full story here.

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In the latest move by corporations to claim constitutional rights that properly belong only to actual, living, breathing people,

"A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a National Labor Relations Board rule requiring most private sector employers to post a notice informing employees of their right to unionize."

…according to an article in Wednesday’s New York Times, which goes on to note that:

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Steven Rosenfeld Alternet April 11, 2013 This article was published in partnership with GlobalPossibilities.org. Excerpts: “A Pennsylvania judge in the heart of the Keystone State’s fracking belt has issued a forceful and precedent-setting decision holding that there is no corporate right to privacy under that state’s constitution, giving citizens and journalists a powerful tool to
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