Web site touted as ally of workers

Friday, November 18, 2005

Web site touted as ally of workers
Working America lists firms that outsource, OSHA data

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES

An affiliate of the AFL-CIO on Thursday introduced an online database of information about U.S. companies it says export jobs and violate workers' rights.

The Job Tracker site also lists CEO salaries and firms that have broken federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations, according to information compiled by Working America.

Nathasja Skorupa, a director in the group's Seattle office, hopes workers will use the database to better understand businesses in the community and around the nation.

"We're looking for folks to take this information as motivation to contact their congresspeople," she said. "So that we, all the taxpayers, have a say in the policies that affect us."

The Washington, D.C.-based group says it has 1 million members, including 50,000 in Washington state.

Much of the information in the database -- particularly records of OSHA violations -- was obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests. It also includes information from media outlets.

The site organizes information geographically, allowing users to enter their ZIP codes to get results for companies in their areas.

For example, the Web site says that within a 100-mile radius of Seattle's Belltown neighborhood, there are 19 companies that have exported jobs and 140 businesses that have had safety and health violations.

In addition, 11 companies in that radius have had a National Labor Relations Act violation in the past five years, the site says.

Although some pages link directly to specific information on federal government Web sites, others -- such as the area discussing exported jobs -- are more vague.

In the case of exported jobs, some pages say only that positions have left the country. Working America said it was difficult in some cases to obtain specific information.

The database lists Seattle online retailer Amazon.com as a company that has exported jobs or laid off workers because of trade.

Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith said the company is hiring in Seattle, noting there are more than 300 open positions. That number includes software development and database jobs.

"(But) we're a global company," she said. "We have employees in Europe and Asia, and we need to get products close to customers wherever they need to be."

Seattle resident JoAnne McGaw, a Working America member, said the database information would help her when she talks about the economy with local elected officials.

She also pointed out another way to use the information. "You can decide whether you are going to frequent a company as a customer," she said.

This report includes information from P-I reporter Brad Wong and The Associated Press.

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