Talk about “direct action at the point of decision.” Mini-mobilizations and actions around the 2008 shareholder season has been quite lively. Especially around the issues of coal and climate.
Three weeks ago, Citi and Bank of America’s CEOs got earfuls about their investments in the coal industry inside and outside their meetings in New York and Charlotte. Last week, Duke’s CEO Jim Rogers got more of the same about the company’s Cliffside plant in North Carolina.
On Wednesday, the Clean Up Dynegy Coalition (I heard carloads are going from Georgia to raise some hell over the Long Leaf plant) will be holding Dynegy to account inside and outside their shareholder’s meeting in Houston.
Over the years, I’ve done my fair share of inside and outside actions at the shareholder meetings of Exxon, Halliburton and Wells Fargo. It’s an exciting set of tactics that have reminded me of the mass mobilizations that occurred at the beginning of this decade around corporate globalization (ex: Battle in Seattle).
These “mini-mobilizations” have the potential to not only send a message to corporate and media decision-makers about a company’s wrongdoing, but also help build a grassroots movement and direct action community that make a living revolution possible.
I am glad the climate movement is on it!