Some of the world’s biggest companies have been accused of undermining democracy around the world by funding far-right political movements, contributing to the climate crisis, and violating trade union and human rights, according to a report by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) published on Monday.

Amazon, Tesla, Meta, ExxonMobil, Blackstone, Vanguard and Glencore are the companies listed in the report, the Guardian reports. The lobbying arms of these firms are trying to influence global politics during the United Nations Future Summit, which will be held in New York on September 22 and 23.

Regarding Amazon, the report highlights the company’s size and role as the world’s fifth-largest employer and largest online retailer, as well as a provider of cloud computing services, which has a huge impact on the industries and communities in which it operates.

“The company has become notorious for suppressing union organizing and low wages on multiple continents, e-commerce monopolies, massive carbon emissions through its AWS data centers, tax evasion and lobbying at the national and international levels,” the report said.

The report mentions Amazon’s high employee injury rates in the US, a challenge to the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the US, the company’s efforts in Canada to repeal labor law, the banning of Amazon lobbyists from the European Parliament for refusing to attend hearings on violation of workers’ rights, and refusal to negotiate with unions in Germany. Amazon has also funded efforts by far-right political groups to undermine women’s rights and antitrust laws, and its retail website has been used by hate groups to raise funds and sell products.

Regarding Tesla, the report cites opposition to union organizing in the US, Germany and Sweden, human rights violations within the supply chain, as well as Elon Musk’s personal opposition to unions and democracy, challenging the NLRB in the US, and his support for political leaders Donald Trump, Javier Miley in Argentina and Narendra Modi in India.

The report criticizes Meta, the world’s largest social network, for its enormous role in enabling and spreading far-right propaganda and movements that use its platforms to rally members and gain support in the US and abroad. It also mentions the company’s retaliation due to regulatory measures in Canada and a set of lobbying activities against data privacy laws.

Glencore, the world’s largest mining company by revenue, was named in the report for funding campaigns around the world against indigenous communities and activists.

Blackstone, the private investment firm run by billionaire Stephen Schwartzman, a supporter of Donald Trump, has been criticized for funding far-right political movements, investing in fossil fuel projects and deforestation in the Amazon.

“The Blackstone network has spent tens of millions of dollars supporting politicians and political forces that promise to prevent or repeal regulations that could hold them accountable,” the report said.

The Vanguard Group is also included because of its role in financing some of the most anti-democratic corporations in the world. ExxonMobil has been criticized for funding research that denies climate change and aggressively lobbying against environmental regulations.

Even in “stable democracies,” workers’ demands “are stifled by corporate lobbying operations, whether in policy-making or elections themselves,” said Todd Brogan, director of campaigns and organizing at the ITUC.

“This is a question of power, who has it and who sets the agenda. As trade unionists, we know that if we are not organized, the employer sets the agenda in the workplace, and as citizens of our countries, we know that if we are not organized and do not demand governments that are responsible according to the people, corporate power will set the agenda.

They’re playing a long-term game, and it’s a game of shifting power away from democracy at every level to a system where they’re not interested in impacting workers — only maximizing their influence, exploitation and profit,” Brogan added.

“Now is the time for international and multisectoral strategies, because in many cases it is about multinational companies that are more powerful than states and do not have any democratic responsibility, except for organized workers,” he pointed out.

The ITUC includes trade unions from 169 nations and territories around the world, representing 191 million workers, including the AFL-CIO, the largest trade union federation in the US, and the UK Congress of Trade Unions.

With 4 billion people worldwide set to vote in 2024, the federation is pushing for an international binding agreement that works to hold transnational corporations accountable under international human rights law.

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