From Amazon to Starbucks, How Corporations Used the System Against Workers and Consumers This Year
We’ve been tracking corporate power — including how companies wield it, and how working people and key allies in the government are fighting back.
by Paul Blest, More Perfect Union
We saw some of the biggest tests of corporate power in recent memory this year, and although big business expects a friendlier federal government to take office in January, the labor movement and consumer protection advocates are showing no sign of backing down.
Drivers for Amazon across the U.S. went on strike before Christmas, and employees at a major warehouse in North Carolina have filed for a union election next year. Starbucks baristas are walking off the job as the company drags its feet on reaching a deal. The Kroger-Albertsons merger, which was opposed by the United Food and Commercial Workers and would have resulted in a major consolidation of the U.S. grocery market, died after the FTC won a major court battle.
Check out some of the major fights we’ve covered this year, all of which center around how a select number of companies are wielding immense influence to crush workers and squeeze consumers. Thanks for supporting us in 2024, and we hope you continue to do so next year. If you want to help fund our non-profit journalism, you can contribute here, or consider subscribing to our Substack.
How Corporations Abuse Bankruptcy to Rob Their Victims
Johnson & Johnson knew their baby powder contained asbestos and caused cancer. They covered it up. A generation of women suffered, linking their ovarian cancer to J&J. But the $370 billion company could get away with it using a shady legal move: the Texas Two Step.
How Corporations Use This Button To Exploit You
When you sign up for Disney+ and Uber, you’re tricked into signing away rights you never knew you had. Buried deep in your terms of service is a “forced arbitration clause.” It takes away your right to bring corporations to court — and lets them get away with harming you.
Workers Plan to Shutdown Amazon Over Christmas
We broke the news that Amazon workers in NYC were going on strike right before Christmas — the company's busiest time. The first unionized Amazon warehouse is going to shut down in a historic walkout. Workers plan to hit the company where it hurts to win their first union contract. In addition to JFK8, more than a half-dozen delivery stations around the country have been picketed.
The Hidden Horrors of Whole Foods
Whole Foods workers say they’re surveilled, tracked to the minute, and have to work two jobs to survive. Amazon bought the grocery chain in 2017. Now it’s like “walking around in the corpse of what used to be.” So workers are organizing to form the first Whole Foods union.
Subscriptions Are Ruining Our Lives. Here's Why They're Everywhere Now.
Everything is a subscription now — your printer, your refrigerator, even your car. It’s all just another way for greedy corporate execs to rake in profits without meaningfully improving their products. You’re forced into renting everything you already own, and their revenue goes up and up and up.
Corporate Landlords Are Taking Over Housing. The Consequences Are Horrifying
Giant institutional investors are gobbling up thousands of homes in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and so many other communities around the country — making housing both more unaffordable and lower quality. And one of the biggest culprits is a publicly traded company called Invitation Homes, which owns 80,000 properties across the country.
Thanks to the Federal Trade Commission under Chair Lina Khan, they were forced in October to refund $48 million to renters they ripped off.
BlackRock: The Conspiracies You Don’t Know
BlackRock and other asset managers are profiting off of every aspect of your life. It's not a conspiracy — it's an open restructuring of society.
We Put 7 Uber Drivers in One Room. What We Found Will Shock You.
We put 7 Uber & Lyft drivers in one room and had them open their apps. We found Uber paying different drivers different amounts for the same ride. Lyft too. It’s proof corporations are using secret algorithms to pay workers less. And all of our jobs could be next.
What Ticketmaster Doesn't Want You To Know: Concerts Were Cheap For Decades
Ticketmaster and Live Nation have destroyed the concert experience. But it didn't use to be this way. Today, Oasis and Taylor Swift tickets might go for thousands of dollars, but back in 1955, you could see Elvis Presley in concert for less than the modern-day equivalent of $20.
We investigated further and found ticket stubs from the biggest acts between 1970-1989, and they all cost around $45. Now you’re paying exorbitant service fees and indie venues are getting squeezed, all because two corporations gobbled up the industry.
Alabama Is Generating Billions by Trapping People in Prison
Alabama is farming out incarcerated people to work at hundreds of companies, including McDonald’s & Wendy’s. The state takes 40% of wages and often denies parole to keep people as cheap labor. Getting written up can lead to solitary confinement. This is modern day slavery.
We Found Corporate America’s Biggest Enemy
Billionaire CEOs and political donors want to get Lina Khan fired. As chair of the FTC, she’s taken on Amazon, Kroger, Microsoft, Meta, Airbnb, and more. She’s challenging powerful corporations like never before — and they’re terrified.
This Strike Could Determine the Future of Video Games
The performers behind video games like Call of Duty and Fortnight are locked in a battle with massive studios over the future of AI. The stakes are enormous.
“It could very well potentially replace us. And I don't say ‘us’ the entertainment union. I mean us, labor. Workers.”
How DoorDash, Grubhub & Uber Are Robbing You
How John Deere Robs Farmers Of $4 Billion A Year
John Deere is costing American farmers $4.2 billion a year by restricting them from fixing their own tractors. Apple, Amazon, and major automakers use the same strategies on everything you own. It's bad for consumers and local mechanics, but excellent for corporate profits.
Why 32,000 Boeing Workers Are Striking
Greedy CEOs crashed Boeing — and workers raised some of the biggest red flags. Well before their high-profile strike this fall, Boeing workers took us inside the airplane company's failures, including how executives eliminated safety inspections, sent away engineers, and forced suppliers to cut corners.
Starbucks Tried to Crush Its Baristas. What Happened Next Will Shock You
Earlier this year, workers did what many thought was impossible — force one of the largest corporations in the world to negotiate a union contract. It was a major turning point for Starbucks Workers United and the labor movement.
But after Starbucks hired a new CEO away from notorious union-busting company Chipotle, workers are back to fighting for a new deal on the streets.
What Dollar General Doesn’t Want You To Know
Dollar General is stealing from their customers. It’s a major scam that’s siphoning hundreds of millions of dollars from the poorest people in America. We dug into it.
This Private Equity Firm Owns Every Chain
One private equity firm owns more chains than you can count: Dunkin’, Sonic, The Cheesecake Factory, Wingstop, Arby's, and more — Roark Capital. They’re notorious wage thieves. They've made billions exploiting 1.4 million workers and killing the $15 minimum wage. We're exposing their tactics.
How Volkswagen Workers in Tennessee Won a Union
Over 4,000 Volkswagen workers in Tennessee just joined the UAW. They’re the first American workers to win a union at a non-union car company in decades. This historic victory will change the auto industry, and the future of American labor.