The "Corporate Campaign" Strategy
Helping Labor Unions and Public Interest Groups Confront Unbridled Corporate and Political Greed since 1981
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Helping Labor Unions and Public Interest Groups Confront Unbridled Corporate and Political Greed since 1981
THERE ARE MEANS other than long, costly strikes and boycotts to challenge powerful institutions that are irresponsible in their social and economic policies. I am referring to a "corporate campaign," an approach that should become as important a confrontation strategy in the future as strikes, boycotts, and other forms of protest have been in the past. (Read Op-Ed)
Working Papers: Your name is associated with the "corporate campaign" that was used by the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' union in its efforts to force the J.P. Stevens Company to sign a contract. What exactly is a corporate campaign?
Rogers: Here is the definition that I always gave in the Stevens case. The corporate campaign focused primarily on Stevens' corporate headquarters and. on those institutions heavily tied to Stevens' financial interests through interlocking directorates, large stock holdings, and multimillion dollar loans, The goal of the campaign was to cause those institutions tied with Stevens to exert their influence on the company to recognize the rights and dignity of the workers and sit down and bargain in good faith--realizing, of course, that these companies would put pressure on Stevens only if it was in their own primary self-interest. In order to make it in their primary self-interest, these institutions had to be drawn heavily into the Stevens controversy so that their own image, reputation, credibility and prosperity would be seriously jeopardized. (Read Interview)
"If union leaders want to make 'solidarity' more than just a slogan, they should identify, case by case, the forces behind the corporate assault on workers and be prepared to move against them in unison."
The failure by union leaders to plan and act strategically in the early stages of situations headed for a crisis is a major reason why unions have suffered so many setbacks recently. While Ronald Reagan is certainly no friend of the labor movement, his Administration's policies are not the sole or even the major reason for organized labor's predicament. (Read Article)
Ray Rogers generates controversy--in corporate boardrooms and in union headquarters. The architect of the "corporate campaign, " Rogers has made a career of taking on anti-labor firms by using innovative and confrontational tactics. He first earned national recognition for masterminding the winning campaign of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union for union recognition at the J.P. Stevens Company in 1980. (Read Interview)
The tactics for protest Rogers created more than two decades ago have revolutionized labor actions worldwide.
They've also made him a legend.
The premise is simple.
"A lot of people don't understand where power comes from," Rogers said. "It comes from organized concentrations of money and people.
"I realized that inherent with large organizations, like unions and all the members they represent, there is a lot of financial power there that had never been tapped," Rogers said. "That financial power was and is being used against them." ... (Read Article)
Labor organizer/strategist and human rights activist Ray Rogers speaking at Ralph Nader's "Breaking Through Power" Conference in Washington, DC on September 27, 2016 .
Mr. Rogers talks about the history of the "Corporate Campaign" strategy, which led to the epic union victory against textile giant J.P. Stevens & Co. on which the Emmy Award winning film "Norma Rae" was based.
Mr. Rogers also discusses the environmental disaster in Ecuador caused by Chevron/Texaco, and what environmentalists and the Ecuadorian government can do to challenge Chevron and the the U.S. court system, which arbitrarily overturned a $9.5 billion damage award won by Ecuadorian villagers in a court of Chevron's choosing.
Ray Rogers on Labor Press Radio Discussing NYC Construction Trades and the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) November 20, 2016
The Radical Imagination: "Imagining a New Power for Labor" with Labor Rights Activist Ray Rogers October 30, 2019
Dynamic interview by host Jim Vrettos, Professor at the City University of New York's John Jay College, with Ray Rogers covering numerous issues on "Confronting Power With Power."