For environmental protection and secure jobs at BAYER – worldwide!
GLOBAL PLAYER
Large multi-national companies determine political policy in all areas of the globe. One of the largest in the „global game“ is the Bayer AG. There isn‚t a country on Earth where BAYER is not active. The old IG FARBEN subsidiaries BASF, BAYER and HOECHST dominate the German and European chemical industries and have a combined annual turnover of
$ 90 billion. No government, politician or institution can escape influence of this powerful bloc. Any criticism of BAYER is principally criticism of multi-national companies in general and specifically of the chemical industry.
WONDERS AND DANGERS
The „wonders of chemistry“ were once rashly applauded as „advances for the human race,“ but the dangers of chemical poison production have long become a hostage of modern times. No one can escape – we are all affected. Criticism and remedies are the needs of the day.
The Coalition against BAYER-Dangers (CBG), which began as a neighborhood initiative in 1978, has been working to publicize the risks of large-scale chemical production, remove potential dangers and develop alternatives.
FROM ASPIRIN TO FORCED LABOR
Products like ASPIRIN are not the only things that have been connected to BAYER throughout its history, which extends well into the 19th century. The company is also identified with chemical warfare agents, for „medications“ such as HEROIN (an early BAYER trademark), and for countless insecticides and household poisons. The company only thinks of its own profits and continually works with dictators and war criminals – from Hitler to Pinochet. BAYER head Carl Duisberg personally propagated the concept of forced labor during First World War. The idea was later warped to mass murder at the company‘s own IG FARBEN concentration camp, Monowitz. The company placed itself under a large burden of guilt due to its heavy involvement in the planning, preparation and implementation of both world wars. The International War Crimes Tribunal pronounced the company guilty for its share of responsibility in the war and the crimes of the Nazi dictatorship.
SOLIDARITY AGAINST THE POWER OF LARGE COMPANIES
The CBG is successful in its fight against global dangers and the apparent all-pervading power of the BAYER group using action, information and international solidarity. The CBG unites people and organizations into a network that continually fight against the BAYER front in order to assert themselves for humane living and working conditions and the security of intact ecological balance. The CBG‚s strength results from the solidarity and cooperation. Many volunteers throughout Germany and in foreign countries work together in the CBG. The CBG cooperates with partners in 46 countries – within and outside of the many BAYER factories around the world.
PUBLICIZING ABUSE
In its work, the CBG assumes that the large multi-national companies are decisively responsible for the global ecological, social, ethical and political problems. The CBG sees BAYER as one of the trendsetters in the chemical industry and an example of multi-national company policy. The CBG‘s goal is to make company policy more transparent and publicize cases of abuse in factories throughout the world, help those affected by the abuse, organize resistance, fight for improvement and come up with alternatives, as well as assure environmental protection, human rights and social security at BAYER. The CBG uses its knowledge to help by assuring that acts of resistance by neighbors, employees‚ families, environmental groups and other groups are successful throughout the world. CBG activists work together on location if necessary to assure that BAYER pays attention to environmental protection, social security and human rights. The informational brochures STICHWORT BAYER and KEYCODE BAYER are published quarterly and inform its readers of the latest actions.
ACTION WITH SHARES
Gone are the days of peace and quiet that BAYER used to enjoy at its annual shareholders meetings in Cologne. Equipped with the voting rights of smaller shareholders, the Critical BAYER Shareholders
(a project group of the CBG) has confronted company management, banks and large shareholders with the drawbacks of BAYER profits since 1982. It has become tradition to invite the persons affected from throughout the world to come to the meeting and personally speak to those present at the annual shareholders meeting. A very special form of international solidarity.
Something must be done about the large companies.
We are – with success.
1982: Spectacular exposure of BAYER‘s involvement in the development
and production of chemical weapon VX for the US Army
1983: Participated in organizing of the International Water Tribunal in
Rotterdam and drawing up of the suit against BAYER.
A prominent jury of international experts found the BAYER group
guilty on all points.
1984: The Critical Shareholders first address the shareholders at the
BAYER general meeting. This action became an example for
many similar actions – also against other large companies and
banks. We were involved in the founding of the „Association of
Critical Shareholders in Germany“ in 1986.
1985: Exposure of the BAYER group’s responsibility for the „salad oil
scandal“ in Spain, which cost thousands of people their lives or
their health.
1986: Participated in the „Diluted Acid Blockade“ at the BAYER
factory in Antwerp. As a result of the blockade, the legislation was
changed and BAYER „voluntarily“ stopped dumping highly toxic
diluted acid in the North Sea.
1987: Protests against building a BAYER factory in the middle of the
Australian mud flats. The factory was not built.
1988: Campaign against exploitation and the deprivation of rights of
Latin American workers with motto „Repression instead of
Wages.“ BAYER had to rehire fired union workers.
1990: Campaign against the BAYER pesticide LEBAYCID in Greece.
The mayor of the island Paxos thanked the CBG for their support
in the fight against BAYER. The CBG is a founding member of the
Pesticide Action Network (PAN).
1991: Sensational CBG victory in the German Federal Constitutional
Court. The CBG achieved a victory that went beyond the conflict
with BAYER for freedom of speech and democracy. BAYER failed
miserably in their attempt to dismantle democratic rights.
1992: Exposure of deadly work conditions at the BAYER subsidiary
CHROME CHEMICALS in South Africa.
1993: Colombian flower harvesters spoke out at the BAYER
shareholders meeting against BAYER pesticides.
1994: Actions started against BAYER for the scientific and deadly
infection of many thousand hemophiliacs throughout the world with
the AIDS virus through contaminated BAYER blood products.
1995: Initiation of the campaign „Never again!“ for BAYER and other
companies to financially compensate former IG FARBEN forced
laborers
1996: The CBG was able to force an ecologically oriented items on the
shareholders meeting agenda for the first time in history. A large
number of the shareholders that were present sided with the CBG.
That was a bitter defeat for BAYER.
1997: Further actions and successes depend on the financial support of
our sponsors. We need your participation.
The list of our successes is incomplete and contains only a few
examples of our work.