A Class Based Assault Requires A Class Action

Taking Activism To a New Effective Level

The letter below from Corporate Accountablility International describes a victory against a global mega-corporation, Nestlé. Thanks to the generosity of their supporters they were able to fund a campaign which persuaded Nestlé to desist.

There are very important techniques here which go beyond any single campaign. It is important we learn them.

The ACLU uses the same principle to maintain and advance civil liberties, it gathers funds to pursue cases which it believes are in the (class of) public interest. The outcome theoretically can be applied to us all.

In the last few lines of the letter is a call to its supporters to build a fund to fight corporate abuse in the future , it is a general fund against one or many unspecified corporations. It is a simple effective class response to a Corporation which would otherwise overwhelm individuals and indeed town councils.

One of the key reasons for the advance and hegemony of Corporations over the interests of ordinary people are their deep pockets and control of Congress and the executive.

Laws do exist to protect people but they are not exercised because individuals generally don't have the money to match effectively disenfranchising them from the democratic system and disengaging them from the legal system.

Establishing a class action fund to be used against against overwhelming corporate lobbying, media control and intimidating lawyer based correspondence would allow the invocation of law to protect individuals through a class action.

Thats why I reproduce this letter here, there is a lot in it, even the possibility of prosecuting the banks and government for negligence.

CREDO Mobile donate to progressive causes, ACLU are fighting for civil rights, Corporate Accountability are getting after the corporations. In the absence of justice due to poverty a class action fund against unspecified corporate abuse in the future is a good solution.

Subject: Victory: Nestlé Drops Bottling Plans in FL!
From: "Kristin Urquiza, Corporate Accountability International"
Date: Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:24:38 -0400 (EDT)

Protect more communities from Nestlé's water grab!

Dear Philip,

Breaking news: Last night, Nestlé Waters announced that it is abandoning plans to pump the Wacissa River to manufacture bottled water.

Over the last 15 years, Nestlé’s water grab in rural America has been ugly. Nestlé has made backroom deals with public officials against widespread public objection and even tried to bankrupt community groups with lengthy legal battles. The community of Wacissa was no exception to Nestlé’s bullying.

But your actions made a difference. In April, over 1,400 people contacted Nestlé Water's CEO Kim Jeffery calling on the corporation to stop undermining local control of water and pull out of Wacissa.

Then dozens of people across the country chipped in to run a full-page ad in the local paper exposing the corporation’s long history of undermining community water rights. On the ground organizing by the Friends of the Wacissa, backed by the ad and national media exposure, led to a groundbreaking resolution being passed in Jefferson County. The resolution called on the water management board to deny permits like Nestlé’s to pump and sell water from the headwaters of the Wacissa.

Let's create a Wacissa Victory Fund to support other communities working to protect their springs from Nestlé's water grab. Your donation will fund local and national media work, online ads and trainings for activists to bring Nestlé's backroom deals to the light of day.

If just 110 of us donate a small amount, we can seize this moment to build a rapid response fund to support communities challenging Nestlé. Click here to chip in.

Across the U.S., Nestlé is trying to control water resources to profit at the expense of the environment. Nestlé's strategy is to lock in support from local public officials and seal the deal before the community has a chance to have a voice.

The Wacissa Victory Fund will give us the ability to respond when it matters most – before the drilling starts – and partner with local activists to wage and win campaigns that combine on the ground organizing with media exposure and online organizing that gets results.

Let’s protect more communities from Nestlé's water grab. Click here to donate.

As the people of Wacissa celebrate today, we know that there is more work ahead. Our movement is showing that the people can take on Nestlé and win – let’s build the movement.

Onward,

Kristin Urquiza
Think Outside the Bottle Campaign Director

You can read about the campaign against bottled water here

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future