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General Electric

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General Electric is one of the world's largest corporations and is a major manufacturer and service provider spanning products from "jet engines to power generation, financial services to plastics, and medical imaging to news and information." [1] The company has over 95 subsidiaries including GE Healthcare, GE Plastics, GE Security, General Electric Capital Corporation, NBC, MSNBC, Bravo, SCI FI Channel, USA Network, and Universal Studios. [1]

Contents

PR and lobbying industry cleans up, Hudson River loses out

From 1990 to 2005, General Electric spent more than $122 million on public relations, lobbying and legal efforts "to fight demands that it clean up three contaminated polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) sites," reports O'Dwyer's. The three sites are "a 200-mile stretch of the Hudson River (the nation's biggest Superfund site), Housatonic River (Pittsfield, MA) and a transformer facility (Rome, GA)." [2]

GE's disclosure comes after a decade of pressure from the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment, a coalition of Roman Catholic groups that filed shareholder resolutions requesting the information. Coalition director Patricia Daly said the money could "have gone a long, long way in cleaning up the problem," had it not been "wasted on PR, lobbying and courtroom delaying tactics." The Environmental Protection Agency ordered GE to clean up the Hudson in 2002.

"In October 2005, more than 20 years after the EPA designated the Hudson River among the worst Superfund sites, GE agreed in a settlement to begin dredging the river. The EPA estimated that dredging the toxic sediment would cost $700 million by the time the project was complete. But the agreement obligates GE for costs only in the first year, which could allow the company to avoid $600 million in cleanup costs, according to Leo Rosales, who was an EPA spokesman at the time" [3].

Tobacco industry involvement

General Electric worked with Philip Morris circa 1984-1985 to provide a power source for a confidential non-combusting smoking article "that can satisfy smokers without the properties of conventional cigarettes such as sidestream smoke. Philip Morris was interested in using "photoflash bulbs" as heat or power sources for these experimental smoking articles, and obtained these from GE.[2]The project was known internally at Philip Morris as Project Advance.[3]

Labor Issues

The nonprofit economic research organization, Policy Matters Ohio, interviewed workers in 2007 in one of GE's Chinese suppliers and published a report of their findings in 2008. Xiamen Topstar Lighting Co., a joint venture of GE and China's Topstar, employs 6,000 people in Fujian Province making compact (and energy efficient) florescent lightbulbs for GE. GE's own audit of the factory in late 2007, Policy Matters Ohio investigators found a range of unfair and unsafe labor practices, including 64-hour workweeks without overtime pay or worker access to their own paystubs. Most seriously, workers were being exposed to mercury without their knowledge.[4]

Coal

GE Energy Financial Services, GE's energy investing arm, owns 51.5% of the coal-fired Birchwood Power Facility near King George, Virginia. J-POWER acquired a 49.5% stake in the 242-megawatt power plant in May 2008.[5]

Ecomagination

See the related article, General Electric's Ecomagination Campaign.

Ad boycott against Air America Radio

General Electric refused to advertise on the progressive Air America Radio. In October 2006, around 90 companies, including General Electric, told ABC Radio Networks that they did not want their ads to play on any radio station that carried Air America Radio. [6] [7] [8]

Political contributions

General Electric's political action committee (PAC) gave $1,281,400 to federal candidates in the 05/06 election cycle - 37% to Democrats and 63% to Republicans. [9]

Lobbying

GE spent $19,420,000 for lobbying in 2006. $4,050,000 of this total went to 39 outside lobbying firms including Ernst & Young, BKSH & Associates, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, and Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. [10]

Personnel

Key executives and 2006 pay: [11]          Options
exercised
Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer    $8,300,000    $3,100,000
Keith S. Sherin, Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer    $3,780,000    $1,490,000
Robert C. Wright, Vice Chairman and Executive Officer    $9,400,000    $9,860,000
Michael A. Neal, Vice Chairman, Vice Chairman of Commercial Financial Services    $4,700,000    $2,940,000
John G. Rice, Vice Chairman, Chief Executive Officer of GE Infrastructure    $3,950,000    $1,660,000

Directors (2008)

Accessed November 2008: [12]

Directors (2006)

Source 2006

Contact details

3135 Easton Turnpike
Fairfield, CT 06828-0001
Phone: 203-373-2211
Fax: 203-373-313
Web: http://www.ge.com

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

References

  1. ↑ GE Subsidiaries/Affiliates Covered By Hoover's, Hoovers, accessed June 2007
  2. ↑ Murphy Sprinkel, Philip Morris Untitled letter 3 pp. April 30, 1985. Bates No. 2022210503/0505
  3. ↑ P.N. Gauvin, Philip Morris Monthly Development Summary - May, 1984 Memorandum. 2 pp. June 1, 1984. Bates No.2022217613/7614
  4. ↑ "GE supplier abuses workers, group says" March 28, 2008.
  5. ↑ "J-POWER Acquires 49.5 Percent of 242-Megawatt Birchwood Power Plant in King George" Reuters, May 8, 2008.
  6. ↑ Marc Fisher, "Air America, in the Throes of Victory?", The Washington Post, December 10, 2006.
  7. ↑ "Air America on Ad Blacklist?", FAIR, October 31, 2006.
  8. ↑ "Air America Blackout", FAIR.org/ABC memo, October 25, 2006.
  9. ↑ 2006 PAC Summary Data, Open Secrets.
  10. ↑ General Electric lobbying expenses, Open Secrets, accessed October 2007.
  11. ↑ General Electric Key Executives, Yahoo Finance, accessed October 2007.
  12. ↑ Directors, General Electric, accessed November 25, 2008.

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