Corporate underminers of democracy

Corporate underminers of democracy is the ITUC’s list of companies that benefit financially by continuing to violate trade union and human rights, monopolise media and technology, exacerbate climate catastrophe, and privatise public services. They represent a wider corporate world that protects and expands its own profits by undermining democracy. These companies deploy complex lobbying operations to undermine popular will and disrupt existing or nascent global policy that could hold them accountable. They are invariably led by ultra-wealthy individuals that support and finance far-right politicians and parties to further their own interests.

Corporate underminers of democracy is an ongoing project that will continue to identify market-leading companies that are emblematic of corporate power’s adverse impact on democracy at work, in societies, and in global institutions. These companies have platformed or financed far-right and authoritarian political forces and are subject to active complaints and campaigns by unions and social movements around the world. The list relies on publicly available news reports and research, as well as consultation with various partners:

• To map the relationship between corporate power and far-right politicians, the ITUC partners with Reactionary International Research Consortium and The Autonomy Institute.

• To track the cooperativeness of companies with workers’ organisations, the ITUC consults with partners in the Council of Global Unions.

• To understand corporate violations and responses to requests for remedy, the ITUC reviews public information from the Committee on Workers Capital, the Good Jobs First Violations Tracker, and the company pages of the Business and Human Rights Resource Center.

• To understand the lobbying influence deployed by companies, the ITUC uses research from the Transnational Institute and other resources.

Corporate underminers of democracy 2024

The list of corporate underminers of democracy for 2024 is:

1. Amazon.com, Inc.

2. Blackstone Group

3. ExxonMobil

4. Glencore

5. Meta

6. Tesla

7. The Vanguard Group

When the far-right wins power, it discredits and defunds democratic global institutions; reduces taxes on the wealthy and on corporations; undercuts living wages; favours bilateral aid financing over multilateralism; and cracks down on human, trade union, and democratic rights, as evidenced by the ITUC’s Global Rights Index.

Just the beginning

While the listed seven corporations are among the most egregious underminers of democracy, they are hardly alone. Whether state-owned enterprises in China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, private sector military contractors, or regulation-busting tech startups, the ITUC and its partners will continue to identify and track corporate underminers of democracy and their links to the far-right.

It is the ITUC’s view that the root cause of the crisis facing democracy is “the prevailing neoliberal, corporate-dominated global economy.” This fundamental flaw results in progressive policies being blocked and inequalities around the world being reinforced. However, reformed global institutions can play a transformative role in building a new economic model, one that delivers a New Social Contract for workers in which decent jobs, social protections, inclusion, equality, workers’ rights and decent wages are guaranteed. The future could be one where people and planet are prioritised over exploitative profits. But this will only be realised if we win the fight for democracy at work, in societies, and within those same global institutions.

Learn how you can join the ITUC campaign For Democracy today.

Source: ITUC