One of the ongoing debates among analysts of the structure and dynamics of U.S. capitalism has been the question of who owns and controls the giant companies which dominate the economy. Until now, an important ingredient lacking in this debate has been systematic empirical data on the stockvoters of these companies. Though the companies and their major stockvoters generally attempt to conceal this data from the public, a meticulous search of company reports, regulatory agency records and financial directories can reveal many of the principals involved. Such a search, on a systematic basis, is the task the Corporate Data Exchange has set for itself. The CDE was organized in 1975 as a non-profit, tax-exempt organization by Michael Locker, Stephen Abrecht and Robert Seltzer, all of whom had formerly worked with NACLA – Locker having been one of NACLA’s original founders. CDE is tackling the job by industry sector. Its first product was a directory of the transportation sector, including introductory essays on the dynamics of eight different transportation modes (railroads, airlines, trucking, etc.) and profiles of 176 companies, listing the top stock-voters of each, as well as other pertinent corporate data. A second directory profiling 220 of the largest agribusiness firms (inputs, food processing, whole-sale and retail) will be available this spring. Future planned directories include banking and finance, and energy. In addition to producing the directories, CDE consults and contracts with a wide variety of clients, including: labor unions which want to identify the true owners of the companies they are bargaining with; church and public interest groups seeking support from large stockvoters on corporate challenges around such issues as investment in South Africa and infant formula abuse; and the Senate’s Subcommittee on Reports, Accounting and Management, for which CDE prepared a report on stock-voting rights in 122 of the largest U.S. corporations. CDE Stock Ownership Directory: Transportation Industry, 336 pp., $57.50, CDE, 198 Broadway, Room 706-7, New York, NY 10038. (Limited budget non-profit organizations should inquire for reduced rates.) Voting Rights in Major Corporations, Staff Study of the Senate Subcommittee on Reports, Accounting and Management, 600 -plus pp., $6, USGPO, Washington, DC 20402, stock no. 052-070-04371-7.
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