Russell Mokhiber
ndi Robert Weissman
In
1998, ku Corpus Christi, Texas, Matthew Hendricks wazaka 17 anali paulendo wopita
kunyamula bwenzi lake. Iye anali kuyendetsa Ford Explorer. Kupondako kunang'amba imodzi
za matayala a Ford's Firestone, zomwe zinamupangitsa kuti alephere kuwongolera. Iye anaponyedwa kuchokera
galimotoyo ndipo anafa.
"Liti
Ndinauzidwa kuti mwana wanga wamwalira, ndinamva ngati munthu wafikira ndikunding'amba
mtima, "Vicki Hendricks, amayi a Matthew, adatero sabata yatha.
Matthew
Hendricks ndi m'modzi mwa anthu opitilira 150 omwe amwalira padziko lonse lapansi olumikizidwa ndi Firestone
kupondaponda kupatukana. Mabanja ndi mabwenzi a anthu amene anaphedwa pa ngozizi
ndikufuna kudziwa - kodi Ford ndi Firestone ankadziwa chiyani za matayalawa ndipo adadziwa liti
iwo akudziwa izo?
Atolankhani,
mamembala a Congress, ndi maloya oweruza akufuna kupereka mayankho. Atolankhani
atidziwitsa kuti Ford ndi Firestone amadziwa kuti ali ndi vuto, koma
adalephera kudziwitsa olamulira a federal. Miyezi yambiri yapitayo, Ford ndi Firestone anali
kulamula kukumbukira kwa matayala ovuta ku Saudi Arabia, Venezuela ndi Asia - koma
osati ku United States.
Ford
ndipo Firestone adadziwa za anthu osachepera 35 omwe afa komanso kuvulala 130 pamaso pa federal
boma lidakhazikitsa kafukufuku wawo kumayambiriro kwa chaka chino. Iwo ankadziwa za milandu iyi,
chifukwa anali kutsutsidwa ndi mabanja a ophedwawo. (Abambo a
Matthew Hendricks anathetsa mlandu wawo motsutsana ndi Firestone koyambirira kwa chaka chino.) Ndipo
monga chikhalidwe cha midziyi, Ford ndi Firestone ankafuna kuti
maloya omwe amabweretsa milanduyi samalankhula ndi aliyense pazomwe adapeza
pa kutulukira.
ndi
Misonkhano ya Congression ikuyaka mchaka chazisankho, klieg light fever
kugonjetsa akuluakulu athu osankhidwa, ndi osunga moto wamakampani, monga
Billy Tauzin (R-Louisiana), Thomas Bliley (R-Virginia) ndi John Dingell
(D-Michigan), asinthidwa usiku umodzi kukhala ma clones a Ralph Nader.
Apo
ndizokamba zambiri ku Washington zokhuza kukulitsa ulamuliro wa federal enforcement
akuluakulu, zoonjezera zilango, zofuna makampani a magalimoto kuti apereke lipoti
kutsidya kwa nyanja amakumbukira akuluakulu aboma kuno ku United States.
koma
kusintha uku akukankhidwa ndi liberal corporate elite kuti awonetsere kwambiri
moto wotentha womwe ukuwopseza osati mbiri ya Ford ndi Firestone, koma
zomwenso zitha kubzala mbewu yakukayikira m'malingaliro aku America (m'chaka cha chisankho,
komabe) zokhudzana ndi maziko abwino amakampani aku America. (Kapena ngati Business
Mlungu adafunsa m'nkhani yake yoyamba sabata ino, "Too Much Corporate Power?")
The
mabanja a ozunzidwa sikuti amangofuna choonadi, ndi kusintha, komanso amatero
kufuna chilungamo. Ndipo chilungamo chimayamba ndikutha ndi lamulo laupandu.
Pomaliza
sabata, Attorney General Janet Reno adati akuyang'ana ngati pali chigawenga
mlandu ukhoza kubweretsedwa. Koma pamene lamulo la chitetezo cha galimoto linaperekedwa koyamba mu 1966, a
makampani opanga magalimoto adaletsa zilango zaupandu kukhala malamulo. Ndipo atero
anatsekereza zilango zaupandu kuyambira pamenepo. Nanga bwanji Janet Reno akuwuzira utsi?
Senema
Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) adatenga pansi pa Senate sabata yatha ndipo
adakhazikitsa malamulo omwe angakhazikitse chilango kwa akuluakulu
amene amagulitsa mwadala chinthu chosokonekera chomwe chimapha kapena kuluma. Chitetezo pamagalimoto
omenyera ufulu akufuna zilango zaupandu pakudziwa kapena kuphwanya mwadala
lamulo la federal auto Safety. Koma izi sizikuthandizira kubweretsa chilungamo pano komanso pano
mabanja ndi ozunzidwa chifukwa cha chiwawa cha Ford ndi Firestone.
Michael
Cosentino akudziwa zomwe masewerawa akukhudza. Cosentino ndiye woyimira milandu waku Republican
loya wa Elkhart, County Indiana. Zaka makumi awiri ndi ziwiri zapitazo, Cosentino adabweretsa a
mlandu wopha anthu a Ford Motor Co. pa imfa ya atsikana atatu achichepere.
Atsikanawa anali atakwera Ford Pinto yawo pomwe idamalizidwa kumbuyo. Zitseko zatsekedwa
Pinto anatseka, thanki ya gasi inang'ambika, gasi inatuluka, inayaka moto ndipo
atsikanawo anatenthedwa.
Cosentino
anali akuwerenga za memo ya 1973 yomwe oyang'anira Ford adalemba za
Vuto la tank gasi la Pinto. Mu memo, Ford anaika mtengo pa moyo wa munthu ($200,000)
ndi kuvulala kwamoto ($ 67,000) ndikuwerengera kuti mtengo wopulumutsa miyoyo ndi
kuletsa kuvulala kwamoto pokumbukira za Pinto ndi kukonza thanki yamafuta ($ 11
pa auto) zingakhale zoletsedwa.
Kungowerenga
ndi mlandu wakupha, Ford adabweretsa mfuti zake zabwino kwambiri zalamulo, ndikulemba ganyu oweruza
bwenzi lapamtima monga uphungu wake. Woweruza nayenso adagamula zambiri za
Umboni wa Cosentino (kuphatikiza mtengo wamfuti wosuta/memo ya phindu) sunapezeke
kwa oweruza, ndipo oweruza adapeza kuti Ford alibe mlandu.
We
adayimbira Cosentino sabata yatha ndikumufunsa ngati angaganizire zachiwembu
kuyimba mlandu Ford kapena Firestone lero. Iye adati zinthu sizinachitikebe
kudziwonetsera yokha.
E.
Michael McCann, loya wachigawo ku Milwaukee County akudziwa kuti atero
yambitsani kafukufuku wopha anthu ngati zinthu zikuyenda bwino. Iye
wapempha dokotala woyeza zachipatala kuti afufuze ngati pali imfa yaposachedwa
Milwaukee County yalumikizidwa ndi kupatukana kwa matayala a Firestone. McCann
ali ndi mbiri yoimba mlandu mabungwe opha anthu mosasamala.
Pakali pano ali ndi kafukufuku wotsegulira anthu atatu omwe anamwalira
mu crane kugwa pomanga pa Milwaukee Brewers ballpark yatsopano.
koma
mndandanda wa ozenga milandu omwe ali ndi zida zokwanira komanso kulimba mtima kuti atenge
Mabungwe amphamvu kwambiri aku America ndiafupi. Mabanja a anthu ozunzidwa ayenera kutero
kwa oweruza awo akumaloko ndikuwauza kuti atsegule zakupha
kufufuza tsopano. (Ngati afuna upangiri, aziyimbira McCann kapena
Cosentino.)
Poyambirira
sabata ino, The New York Times anathamanga yaitali kafukufuku nkhani Keith Bradsher.
Bradsher akumaliza kuti nkhani ya kusokoneza matayala a Firestone ndi imodzi mwazo
"anaphonya malangizo ndi kutaya mwayi." Kuti izo zikhoza kukhala. Koma izo
Mwinanso upandu wamakampani ndi ziwawa. Ndipo mwina ngakhale kupha. Ndi
nthawi yomwe tidazindikira.
Russell
Mokhiber ndi mkonzi wa Washington, DC-based Corporate Crime Reporter.
Robert Weissman ndi mkonzi wa Multinational Monitor ya Washington, DC.
Ndiwolemba nawo a Corporate Predators: The Hunt for MegaProfits ndi
Kuukira kwa Demokalase (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1999).