tobacco industry
September 1, 2022 -
When North Carolina tobacco companies began manufacturing cigarettes in the 1880s, they needed skilled rollers, so they turned to Jewish immigrants on strike at cigarette factories in New York City. The bosses thought the workers wouldn't dare organize in the union-hostile South, but they were proven wrong.
October 11, 2018 -
The same secret-money group that pushed the U.S Senate to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh is dominating spending in judicial elections in Arkansas and elsewhere in the South. In some states, justices are looking to be re-elected with the help of campaign cash from corporations and law firms that have business before the courts.
March 16, 2018 -
Nursing homes and other corporations that do not like being sued are pushing state constitutional amendments to limit damages juries can award — the latest move in a long corporate-funded campaign to limit access to civil justice.
April 17, 2015 -
Tobacco giants Reynolds American and Altria are suing the federal government over regulation of color-coded cigarette packing, arguing that it impinges on the corporations' free-speech rights.
February 26, 2015 -
The Atlanta-based utility giant is in the news for funding a controversial researcher whose work has been used to cast doubt on the overwhelming scientific consensus that human activity is driving global warming. It isn't the first time the company has been involved in promoting questionable climate science.
December 16, 2014 -
While discussing a proposal to require supply-chain monitoring for slavery risks, a British House of Commons member described human rights abuses he and a colleague witnessed on a recent fact-finding visit to North Carolina's tobacco fields.
July 25, 2014 -
The deal joining North Carolina-based tobacco giants Reynolds American and Lorillard also unites two of the state's biggest corporate political contributors. Besides donating directly to candidates and committees, the companies have also been funneling money into outside spending groups active in the state's politics.
