Following the Buckley v. Valeo decision, corporations rapidly established Political Action Committees to influence elections. The number of corporate PACs grew from 89 in 1974 to 1,206 by 1980 - a 1,254% increase. This represented a systematic corporate mobilization to capture political influence, …
Corporate AmericaBusiness RoundtableChamber of CommerceFECcorporate-pacscampaign-financesystematic-corruptioninstitutional-capture
On December 29, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and establishing for the first time comprehensive federal authority to set and enforce workplace safety standards. The legislation responded …
President Richard NixonU.S. CongressAFL-CIONational Association of ManufacturersChamber of Commerceworker-rightsregulatory-reformcorporate-lobbyinglabor-movementpublic-health
On December 15, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), prohibiting employment discrimination against workers aged 40 to 65 (later extended to all workers over 40). The law banned discrimination in hiring, firing, compensation, and terms of …
President Lyndon B. JohnsonU.S. CongressSecretary of Labor W. Willard WirtzChamber of Commerceworker-rightsdiscriminationregulatory-reformemployment
On February 26, 1954, the United States Senate rejected the Bricker Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have severely limited the President’s treaty-making power. The amendment, backed by conservative Republicans and corporate groups including the American Bar Association …
John BrickerDwight D. EisenhowerAmerican Bar AssociationU.S. SenateAmerican Medical Association+1 moreisolationismcongressional-actionconstitutional-amendmentcold-warcorporate-interests
A sophisticated anti-communist network coordinated by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and Chamber of Commerce reaches peak effectiveness in suppressing labor organizing during the early Cold War. The Hagley Museum and Library’s NAM collection contains extensive materials from …
National Association of ManufacturersChamber of CommerceAmerican LegionJ.B. MatthewsHearst Corporation+1 moreanti-communismlabor-suppressioncorporate-propagandared-scareunion-busting+1 more
Business leaders including Henry Clay Frick, Judge Elbert Gary, and John D. Rockefeller Jr. launched a coordinated campaign to roll back labor gains by promoting the “open shop” as patriotic while branding union membership as “un-American.” Meeting in Chicago in 1921, …
National Association of ManufacturersChamber of CommerceU.S. SteelHenry Clay FrickElbert Gary+1 morelabor-suppressioncorporate-captureanti-unionsystematic-corruption