General Motors’ engine plant in Flint stops using city water after discovering it is corroding engine parts, switching to Lake Huron water from a neighboring township at an anticipated cost to the city of $400,000. GM reports that the super-high levels of chloride in Flint River water are …
General MotorsDarnell EarleyFlint City Governmentflint-water-crisisenvironmental-racismcorporate-accountabilitygeneral-motors
In 1989, major fossil fuel and automobile companies formed the Global Climate Coalition (GCC), an industry front group that would spend over a decade blocking international climate action while publicly claiming the science was uncertain. Internal documents later revealed the coalition’s own …
ExxonMobilShellChevronFord Motor CompanyGeneral Motors+3 moreenvironmentalclimate-denialcorporate-lobbyingfossil-fuelsregulatory-capture+1 more
Roger Blough, the 65-year-old retired chairman of U.S. Steel, founds the Construction Users Anti-Inflation Roundtable (CUAIR) in 1969, “affectionately known” as “Roger’s Roundtable,” with the explicit goal of breaking construction union power. Blough’s intention …
Roger BloughConstruction Users Anti-Inflation RoundtableU.S. SteelGeneral MotorsGeneral Electric+3 morebusiness-roundtable-precursoranti-unioncorporate-coordinationlabor-suppressionceo-coordination
On September 9, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, establishing the first federal safety standards for automobiles and creating what would become the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The legislation passed unanimously after …
President Lyndon B. JohnsonRalph NaderGeneral MotorsJames RocheSenator Abraham Ribicoffconsumer-protectioncorporate-lobbyingregulatory-reformautomotive-industrywhistleblower
On November 30, 1965, attorney Ralph Nader published “Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile,” a meticulously researched indictment of the auto industry’s prioritization of styling and profits over passenger safety. The book documented how …
Ralph NaderGeneral MotorsFord Motor CompanyChrysler CorporationAmerican Automobile Manufacturers Associationconsumer-protectioncorporate-disinformationautomotive-industryregulatory-capture
On June 29, 1956, President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, creating the Interstate Highway System—the largest public works project in American history. While celebrated as an engineering triumph, the $25 billion program (equivalent to over $300 billion today) systematically …
Dwight D. EisenhowerU.S. CongressBureau of Public RoadsGeneral MotorsAmerican Petroleum Institute+2 moreinfrastructureinstitutional-racismurban-renewalcorporate-interestsautomotive-industry
The Senate Armed Services Committee confirms Charles Erwin “Engine Charlie” Wilson as Secretary of Defense by a vote of 77 to 6, despite controversy over his massive General Motors stockholdings valued at more than $2.5 million (approximately $24 million in 2018 dollars). Wilson had …
Charles Erwin WilsonDwight EisenhowerGeneral MotorsSenate Armed Services CommitteeDepartment of Defensemilitary-industrial-complexrevolving-doorconflict-of-interestcorporate-state-fusiondefense-policy
General Motors and the United Auto Workers sign a landmark five-year contract on May 23, 1950, that Fortune magazine christens the “Treaty of Detroit.” The agreement provides unprecedented wage increases and benefits but requires the UAW to abandon demands for a voice in corporate …
General MotorsUnited Auto WorkersWalter ReutherCharles Wilsonlabor-policycorporate-strategyunion-containmentwagescollective-bargaining
The National Association of Manufacturers launches a massive multi-faceted propaganda campaign in response to the unprecedented 1946 strike wave, when nearly 10 percent of the US workforce goes on strike including major actions by the United Auto Workers against General Motors, United Steel Workers …
National Association of ManufacturersNational Industrial Information CouncilGeneral MotorsU.S. SteelGeneral Electric+3 morepropagandalabor-suppressioncorporate-lobbyingnamunion-busting+1 more
Corporate profits explode during WWII mobilization, with the largest 200 corporations more than doubling annual profits from $576 million (1936-39) to $1.225 billion (1940-44) - a 113% increase. Cost-plus contracting allows companies to inflate costs with lavish executive salaries while earning …
U.S. corporationsGeneral MotorsSteel industryWar Industries BoardCharles E. Wilsonwar-profiteeringcorporate-powerdefense-industryexecutive-compensationcost-plus-contracts
On February 11, 1937, General Motors—the world’s largest industrial corporation—capitulates to the UAW after 44 days of sit-down strikes, signing a one-page agreement that recognizes the United Auto Workers as exclusive bargaining representative for union members for six months and …
United Auto WorkersGeneral MotorsAlfred Sloan Jr.William KnudsenFisher Body workers+2 morelabor-rightsstrikessit-down-strikesuawgeneral-motors+2 more
At 8:00 p.m. on December 30, 1936, UAW autoworkers occupy General Motors Fisher Body Plant Number One in Flint, Michigan, launching one of the most significant labor actions in American history—a 44-day sit-down strike that transforms the fledgling United Auto Workers from a collection of isolated …
United Auto WorkersGeneral MotorsFisher Body workersBob TravisWalter Reuther+4 morelabor-rightsstrikessit-down-strikesuawgeneral-motors+2 more
The Senate Subcommittee on Education and Labor, chaired by Senator Robert M. La Follette Jr. of Wisconsin, begins hearings on June 6, 1936, launching a four-year investigation that systematically exposes the violent and illegal tactics American corporations use to suppress union organizing. The La …
Robert La Follette Jr.U.S. SenatePinkerton Detective AgencyBurns Detective AgencyRepublic Steel+3 morelabor-rightscorporate-surveillanceunion-bustingcongressional-investigationprivate-security
The La Follette Civil Liberties Committee subpoenas records from major private detective agencies in early 1936, exposing the vast scale of corporate labor espionage in American industry. The investigation reveals that the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, Burns International Detective Agency, …
La Follette CommitteePinkerton Detective AgencyBurns Detective AgencyCorporations Service BureauRailway Audit and Inspection Company+2 morelabor-surveillancecorporate-espionageunion-infiltrationprivate-securitylabor-rights
In 1935, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) under president Robert Lund launches what Business Week headlines as “The NAM Declares War” (December 14, 1935)—an unprecedented multi-million dollar propaganda campaign to discredit Roosevelt’s New Deal and promote …
National Association of ManufacturersRobert LundDu PontGeneral MotorsAT&T+3 morecorporate-resistancepropagandanew-dealinstitutional-capturemedia-manipulation+1 more
On August 22, 1934, the American Liberty League is announced in Washington, D.C., as a purportedly bipartisan organization to defend the U.S. Constitution against “radical” New Deal policies, with Jouett Shouse appointed as president. The League’s formation represents the first …
Irénée du PontJohn Jacob RaskobJouett ShouseAl SmithJohn W. Davis+4 morecorporate-resistancenew-dealpropagandainstitutional-capturethink-tanks+2 more
Pierre du Pont assumes the presidency of General Motors in December 1920 and installs Alfred P. Sloan as operating head, consolidating DuPont family control over the nation’s largest automaker after DuPont Company acquires 23% of GM stock. The arrangement creates a paradigmatic example of …
Pierre du PontAlfred P. SloanJohn J. RaskobDuPont CompanyGeneral Motorscorporate-consolidationinstitutional-captureantitrust-evasioncorporate-governance