Column: Vote for the corporate abuser that's the worst

Who says there's no justice for consumers?

Opportunity has come again for consumers to vote their displeasure with corporate abuse.

The polls opened last week for the crowning of the worst corporations of the year, a

14-year-old project of Corporate Accountability International.

It's sort of like the Razzies (you know, the worst actor, worst picture Hollywood awards) for corporations that behaved badly over the past year.

Of course, the Consumer's Edge refers to them as members of the Greedy Family.

There are eight nominees this year for the so-called Corporate Hall of Shame. The idea is by calling them out, consumers might persuade them to get their acts together. (You know, like when the teacher yells Johnny's name in front of the whole class and he gets embarrassed).

Well, one of the nominees is Nestle, for, among other things, "threatening community water supplies with its bottled water brands."

Sara Joseph, a spokeswoman for Corporate Accountability International, contacted me about Nestle's nomination after reading my reports on drinking water on March 14 and 15. (Find it at

www.tampabay.com/news/)

In the reports, I pointed out that the state allows Nestle to draw up to 588-million gallons a year for free from a state park in northern Florida. In addition, Nestle uses the same water at the same plant to bottle some of its different brands and then sells them at different prices at the grocer.

This highlighted to Joseph the reason why her operation had nominated Nestle as a potential inductee to the Hall of Shame.

The others rounding out the eight nominees are Mattel, Countrywide, Wal-Mart (which is up for induction into the Hall of Shame for its second year in a row), Toyota, Wendy's, Blackwater Worldwide and Archer Daniels Midland.

Consumers can cast their vote through July 4. The three companies with the most votes will be inducted this year.

"Make no mistake, we believe all of the nominees deserve this infamous dishonor, but we look forward to seeing which corporations the voting public selects as the worst of the worst," Kelle Louaillier, executive director of Corporate Accountability Interntional, said in a statement.

Last year's inductees were Wal-Mart, ExxonMobil and Halliburton. The illustrious club includes Philip Morris/Altria, Columbia/HCA and waste disposal giant Waste Management.

Don't think it doesn't matter. Thomas Frist, CEO of Columbia/HCA, didn't take kindly to his company's induction: "I can't tell you how much that hurts — the Hall of Shame," he told the Wall Street Journal after his company's 2000 induction.

Here's your opportunity to voice your displeasure with some corporate actions. Visit

www.stopcorporateabuse.org to cast your ballot.

Ivan Penn can be reached at ipenn@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2332.