Good Jobs First’s Violation Tracker, inarguably the most comprehensive collection of data on corporate misconduct in the United States, turns 10 this month. It celebrates this milestone at a time AutoInformed opines of growing public awareness of the damages of consolidated corporate power. During the past decade, Violation Tracker’s coverage has grown from 13 federal agencies to more than 450 federal, state, and local regulators and prosecutors, as well as class action lawsuits in a dozen categories. VT now contains 700,000 cases dating back to 2000, representing total penalties of more than $1 trillion. The database, produced by the non-profit research center Good Jobs First, covers everything from bribery and price-fixing to wage theft and government contracting fraud. It is free to search at violationtracker.org.
“Our aim has been to make Violation Tracker the definitive resource on corporate wrongdoing of all kinds,” said Philip Mattera, who created the database and leads its growth and maintenance. “We hope it serves a valuable role both for those researching corporate abuses and those working to end them.”
Among the most enthusiastic are corporate accountability activists. Charlie Cray, Greenpeace Senior Strategist, said, “Persistence, meticulous attention to detail, careful integration of data from agencies and departments that have differently-designed record-keeping systems has made Violation Tracker the most reliable and easy to use source of information for corporate accountability campaigners and researchers.”
Rick Claypool, a research director at Public Citizen, added, “Corporate lawbreakers want us to forget their misconduct — and government websites, unfortunately, all-too-often aid and abet this forgetfulness by burying violation records in systems poorly designed for public accessibility. Thankfully, Violation Tracker, which has been enormously helpful for my research tracking corporate crime enforcement, never forgets.”
VT is widely used by labor union researchers, especially in organizing campaigns. “The Good Jobs First Violation Tracker is an invaluable resource for unions when we need to quickly understand the track record of companies we may be organizing or otherwise contending with in our industries. We can more effectively campaign for workers’ rights with this information readily at hand,” said Nell Geiser, director of research for the Communications Workers of America.
Many academics have embraced Violation Tracker as a unique resource for scholarly analyses of corporate behavior. More than 400 faculty members and graduate students at 274 universities in 35 nations have licensed full VT datasets.
Violation Tracker is also widely used by legal researchers, public officials, investment analysts, and many others.
“We gratefully acknowledge seed funding for Violation Tracker from the Bauman Foundation and early add-on support from the Surdna Foundation and the Reva & David Logan Foundation,” said Good Jobs First Executive Director Greg LeRoy. “Their investments have created a public good that has inspired our two additional Violation Trackers in the U.K. and our 60-nation Global version.”
Usage of VT has soared over the past decade. It now receives 400,000 page views per month from users around the world. These users come from many walks of life. Learn more about using Violation Tracker, and our newest database, Violation Tracker Global, during a special webinar on Oct. 23 at noon PT/3 p.m. ET. Register here.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Milestones – Good Jobs First Violation Tracker at Ten Years
Good Jobs First’s Violation Tracker, inarguably the most comprehensive collection of data on corporate misconduct in the United States, turns 10 this month. It celebrates this milestone at a time AutoInformed opines of growing public awareness of the damages of consolidated corporate power. During the past decade, Violation Tracker’s coverage has grown from 13 federal agencies to more than 450 federal, state, and local regulators and prosecutors, as well as class action lawsuits in a dozen categories. VT now contains 700,000 cases dating back to 2000, representing total penalties of more than $1 trillion. The database, produced by the non-profit research center Good Jobs First, covers everything from bribery and price-fixing to wage theft and government contracting fraud. It is free to search at violationtracker.org.
“Our aim has been to make Violation Tracker the definitive resource on corporate wrongdoing of all kinds,” said Philip Mattera, who created the database and leads its growth and maintenance. “We hope it serves a valuable role both for those researching corporate abuses and those working to end them.”
Among the most enthusiastic are corporate accountability activists. Charlie Cray, Greenpeace Senior Strategist, said, “Persistence, meticulous attention to detail, careful integration of data from agencies and departments that have differently-designed record-keeping systems has made Violation Tracker the most reliable and easy to use source of information for corporate accountability campaigners and researchers.”
Rick Claypool, a research director at Public Citizen, added, “Corporate lawbreakers want us to forget their misconduct — and government websites, unfortunately, all-too-often aid and abet this forgetfulness by burying violation records in systems poorly designed for public accessibility. Thankfully, Violation Tracker, which has been enormously helpful for my research tracking corporate crime enforcement, never forgets.”
VT is widely used by labor union researchers, especially in organizing campaigns. “The Good Jobs First Violation Tracker is an invaluable resource for unions when we need to quickly understand the track record of companies we may be organizing or otherwise contending with in our industries. We can more effectively campaign for workers’ rights with this information readily at hand,” said Nell Geiser, director of research for the Communications Workers of America.
Many academics have embraced Violation Tracker as a unique resource for scholarly analyses of corporate behavior. More than 400 faculty members and graduate students at 274 universities in 35 nations have licensed full VT datasets.
Violation Tracker is also widely used by legal researchers, public officials, investment analysts, and many others.
“We gratefully acknowledge seed funding for Violation Tracker from the Bauman Foundation and early add-on support from the Surdna Foundation and the Reva & David Logan Foundation,” said Good Jobs First Executive Director Greg LeRoy. “Their investments have created a public good that has inspired our two additional Violation Trackers in the U.K. and our 60-nation Global version.”
Usage of VT has soared over the past decade. It now receives 400,000 page views per month from users around the world. These users come from many walks of life. Learn more about using Violation Tracker, and our newest database, Violation Tracker Global, during a special webinar on Oct. 23 at noon PT/3 p.m. ET. Register here.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.