U.S. Corporations Awarded Iraq Contracts
Cherie Mills
BLACK & VEATCH HOLDING COMPANY (BV)
CREATIVE ASSOCIATES INTERNATIONAL INC. (CAI)
DYNCORP /COMPUTER SCIENCES CORP. (CSC)
FLUOR CORPORATION (Fluor)
INTERNATIONAL RESOURCE GROUP (IRG)
MENLO WORLDWIDE FORWARDING (MWF)
PARSONS CORPORATION
RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE (RTI)
SKYLINK AIR AND LOGISTIC SUPPORT USA INC.
WASHINGTON GROUP INTERNATIONAL (WGI)
BLACK & VEATCH HOLDING COMPANY (BV)
CREATIVE ASSOCIATES INTERNATIONAL INC. (CAI)
DYNCORP /COMPUTER SCIENCES CORP. (CSC)
FLUOR CORPORATION (Fluor)
INTERNATIONAL RESOURCE GROUP (IRG)
MENLO WORLDWIDE FORWARDING (MWF)
PARSONS CORPORATION
RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE (RTI)
SKYLINK AIR AND LOGISTIC SUPPORT USA INC.
WASHINGTON GROUP INTERNATIONAL (WGI)
Labor Relations:
Principal Subsidiaries:
Contract(s)Awarded:
Connection to Bush Administration:
Political Contributions:
Social Responsibility Record:
1 Jul, 2003
IRAQ/USA: Profile of U.S. Corporations Awarded Contracts in
by Gerhard Lange (Gerhard Lange c/o GIV
<G.L...@NADESHDA.org>)
BLACK & VEATCH HOLDING COMPANY (BV)
Founded in 1915 in Kansas City by engineers E. B. Black and Tom Veatch,
BV is now privately held through an Employee Stock Ownership Program
(employee-owned). It has more than 90 offices worldwide; its
headquarters is in Overland Park (Kansas City), KS. In the Kingdom, BV
was previously (1890 to 1990) named Binnie and Partners; its name there
now is Black & Veatch. A global firm, it is ranked of the 500 largest
private companies in the US, where it receives of its $2.0 billion
annual (2002) revenues.
From Argentina to Zimbabwe, BV provides the ABCs of construction,
engineering, and consulting. Targeting infrastructure development for
the energy, water, and information markets, the group engages in all
phases of building projects, including design and financing and
procurement, and construction. Among its services are environmental
consulting, operations and maintenance, security and consulting, and
management consulting. During the 1980s, BV on a water project in
Basra, Iraq. In January 2003, BV announced the creation of a separate
group in its Energy Engineering and Construction Division to handle the
growing demand for nuclear technology. BV expects a big source of new
business to be aging nuclear plants with expiring federal licenses. It
expects to double its nuclear-based design and construction revenue
during about three years as power plant owners strive to meet federal
licensing requirements. the firm will seek design work on new plants.
BV expects to leverage its recent experience designing the "nuclear
island" for the Lungmen Nuclear Power Project in Taiwan, where the firm
is also providing equipment and the information -management system.
Labor Relations:
Black & Veatch has a history of anti-union activity in the U.S.
involving numerous unfair labor practices. The International Brotherhood
of Teamsters, the only union representing BV employees, has contracts
with BV in Kansas and Colorado.
Principal Subsidiaries:
Black & Veatch Corporation Black & Veatch Construction, Inc. Black &
Veatch Consulting - Europe (formerly Binnie Black & Veatch) Black &
Veatch Contracting - Europe (formerly Paterson Candy Ltd.) Black &
Veatch Hong Kong Limited Black & Veatch International Company Black &
Veatch Pritchard, Inc. Black & Veatch Special Projects Corp. Black &
Veatch Telecommunications Division BV Solutions Group, Inc. Overland
Contracting Inc. PROWA Engineering GmbH
Contract(s) Awarded:
BV has been given a contract as part of the $900 million in contracts
given by USAID for reconstruction in Iraq.
Connection to Bush Administration:
BV's Political Action Committee (PAC) gave $5,000 to George W. Bush's
2000 presidential campaign. During the 2000 election cycle, BV also
contributed $7000 to John Ashcroft's senatorial campaign.
Political Contributions:
* During the 2000 election cycle, BV contributed: $6,000 to Democratic
House candidates; $8,000 to Republican House candidates; $8,500 to
Democratic Senate; and $10,000 to republican Senate candidates.
* The PAC contributed $5,000 to George W. Bush's 2000 election campaign;
it made no contribution to any Democratic presidential candidate. It
contributed $7000 to John Ashcroft's senatorial campaign.
* Leonard Rodman, CEO of BV, gave $1,500 to the PAC during the 2000
election cycle and $2,500 during the 2002 election cycle. He also
contributed to both Senator Mel Carnahan's (DMO) and presidential
candidate Bill Bradley's (D-NJ) 2000 campaigns.
* During the 2002 election cycle, the BV-PAC contributed $33,500 to
federal candidates.
* During the 2003 election cycle, BV-PAC gave $5,000 to Democratic House
candidates and $11,000 to Republican House candidates; $4,500 to
Democratic Senate candidates; $13,000 to Republican Senate candidates.
Social Responsibility Record:
* Labor Rights: BV was charged with Unfair Labor Practices on November
7, 2000 in Oregon. The charges were for interfering with, restraining,
or coercing employees in exercise of their rights to join or assist a
labor organization or refrain from doing so; and discrimination to
encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization.
* In 1998 in Florida and Kansas, Black & Veatch was found to have failed
to pay proper overtime to two employees resulting in $12,672 in fines.
In 1999 in Georgia, BV was fined for failing to pay minimum wage to an employee.
* Environment: BV contracts with communities to fix environmental
problems (like pollution from coal power plants). Two communities were
not so happy with their work: the Escambia County Utilities Authority
fired BV from its job upgrading its sewer plant because "the firm's
design work (was) brought into question by the plant's hundreds of
recent water quality violations and (an) environmental lawsuit filed by
the state;" and the Wastewater Reclamation Authority of Des Moines Iowa,
angry with BV for building a sludge storage facility too close to homes,
forcing people to relocate.
* * *
CREATIVE ASSOCIATES INTERNATIONAL INC. (CAI)
Creative Associates International Inc. (CAI) is a private consulting
firm based in Washington, D.C., that provides community development
assistance to transitional regions. CAI specializes in institution
building in post-war/post-economic crisis countries. The firm, which has
annual revenues of $35 million, has completed more than 400 contracts
since its inception in 1979. It employs 200 employees worldwide and 89
at its headquarters in Washington DC. In 2001, the firm managed $200
million in contracts, almost exclusively with USAID. CAI's contracts
have included community-based "democracy- building" and basic education
projects in Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, and Afghanistan.
Labor Relations: CAI is a non-union company.
Contract(s) Awarded:
* USAID awarded CAI a $1 million contract initially and up to $62.6
million over one year to address the "immediate educational needs" of
Iraq's primary and secondary schools as part of the Revitalization of
Iraqi Schools and Stabilization of Education (RISE) program. The goal is
to begin the massive task of getting Iraq's estimated 4.2 million
schoolchildren back into classrooms by October. Many Iraqi schools,
closed at the beginning of the war, remain shuttered -- or were
destroyed. Looters took supplies and equipment, and soldiers dug up
floors and walls in search of weapons.
* CAI will lead an alliance of partners on the RISE Project. The CAI
team has responsibility for primary and secondary teacher training and
for providing students with school supplies and developing testing
methods to track student performance. The Iraqi schools contract is one
of the largest in the 26-year-old firm's history.
Connection to Bush Administration: Undetermined
Political Contributions:
$2,000 (all to Democrats) Total to President Bush: $0
Social Responsibility Record:
* Creative Associates International, along with other for-profit firms,
is also exploring how to make money advising the "corporate sector" -
companies that need expertise on the ground. CAI has contracts with two
well-known oil companies (not identified) and has acquisition offers
pending from other unidentified corporations.
* While CAI's contract does not call for production of new the
rebuilding team certainly will be assessing instructional needs. After
this assessment, contracts to publish new textbooks/curricula are
anticipated by US publishing houses. At the very least it is anticipated
that the U.S.-led interim Iraqi government will be involved in rewriting
textbook content.
* * *
DYNCORP /COMPUTER SCIENCES CORP. (CSC)
Founded in 1946, DynCorp has long provided U.S. government agencies
particularly the Defense Department - with logistical and training
support. DynCorp provides diversified management, technical, engineering
and professional services primarily to U.S. Government customers
throughout the United States and internationally. customers include
various U.S., state and local government agencies, commercial clients
and foreign governments. In 2001, DynCorp derived 96 percent of its $1.9
billion in revenues from contracts and subcontracts with the U.S.
Government. In December, 2001, DynCorp employed over 22,200 full-time
and over 1,100 part-time employees who work at more than 500 company and
customer locations around the world. Approximately 3,100 employees were
located outside of the United States. By last year Dyncorp,
headquartered in Reston, Virginia, was the nation's 13th largest
military contractor with $2.3 billion in revenue.
Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) acquired DynCorp in March of this year for
$950 million. CSC is one of the world leaders in the information
technology ("I/T") services industry and reported revenues of more than
$11 billion in 2002. CSC offers a broad array of professional services
to clients in the global commercial and government markets and
specializes in the application of advanced and complex I/T to achieve
its customers' strategic objectives. Its service offerings include I/T
and business process outsourcing, systems integration
consulting/professional services.
Labor Relations:
Of DynCorp's U.S. employees, approximately 5,000 were covered by various
collective bargaining agreements with labor unions. Over 3,000 of these
union workers are members of the International Association of Machinists.
Contract(s) in Iraq:
The U.S. State Department awarded DynCorp a multimillion-dollar contract
on April 18 to advise the Iraqi government on setting up effective law
enforcement, judicial and correctional agencies. DynCorp will arrange
for up to 1,000 U.S. civilian law enforcement experts to travel to Iraq
to help Iraqis "assess threats to public order" and to mentor personnel
at the municipal, provincial and national levels. The company will also
provide any logistical or technical support necessary for this
peacekeeping project. DynCorp estimates it could recoup up to $50
million for the first year of the contract. DynCorp is actively
recruiting former and current members of the New York City Police
Department (NYPD). Some members the NYPD have been involved in the past
in physically brutalizing, killing and otherwise violated the rights of
African-Americans, immigrants and other people of color, resulting in
highly publicized prosecutions and law suits.
Connections to Bush Administration:
Through contract work for the Defense Department and CIA for many years,
DynCorp has established working relationships with major players in the
Bush Administration. In addition, during the first Bush Administration,
DynCorp Board Member General Michael Carns (Retired) served as chief
administrative aide to Colin Powell on the joint chiefs staff and became
vice chief of staff and the Pentagon's chief operating officer.
Political Contributions:
* (1999-2002) DynCorp contributed $226,865 (72 percent to Republicans)
Total to President Bush: $7,500
* (1999-2002) CSC contributed $276,975 (74 percent to Republicans) Total
to President Bush: $10,250
Social Responsibility Record:
* Army-for-hire: Under the Plan Colombia contract, the company has 88
aircraft and 307 employees - 139 of them American - flying missions in
Colombia where it is involved in drug interdiction, transport,
reconnaissance, search and rescue missions, medical evacuation and
aircraft maintenance, and crop fumigation and eradication, among other
operations. The investigative organization CorpWatch reports that
DynCorp's $600 million dollar contract with U.S. State Department covers
operations in Colombia, Bolivia and Peru. Soldier of Fortune magazine
once ran a cover story on DynCorp, proclaiming it "Colombia's
Coke-Bustin' Broncos." US Rep. Janice Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat,
has charged that DynCorp's employees have a history of behaving like
cowboys." A former employee who is suing the company has charged that
DynCorp routinely inflates its bills to the government.
* DynCorp's private army protects Afghan president Hamid Karzai, its
planes and pilots fly the defoliation missions over the coca crops in
Colombia. Back home in the United States, Dyncorp is in charge of the
border posts between the US and Mexico, many of the Pentagon's
weapons-testing ranges and the entire Air Force One fleet of
presidential planes and helicopters. The company also reviews security
clearance applications of military and civilian personnel for the Navy.
* Fraud: The Project on Government Oversight reports that during the
1990's, DynCorp settled two court cases for a total of $1.85 million for
failing to do required work for which it billed the government and for
taking a part from a damaged aircraft to put into another aircraft
without reporting it.
* Environment: On September 11, 2001, a lawsuit was filed against
DynCorp in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
on behalf of citizens of Ecuador, alleging personal injury, property
damage and wrongful death as a consequence of the spraying of narcotic
crops along the Colombian border adjacent to Ecuador. Spraying
operations are conducted under a DynCorp subsidiary contract with the US
Department of State in cooperation with the Colombian government. No
spraying operations are conducted in Ecuador, although the complaint
alleges that sprayed material has drifted across the border into
Ecuador. The State Department has publicly denies that the spray
material is toxic to human beings.
* As part of the 1988 divestiture of a petrochemical engineering
subsidiary, DynCorp undertook an obligation to install and operate a
soil and water remediation system at the firm's subsidiary research
facility site in New Jersey and also is required to pay the costs of
continued operation of the remediation system. In addition, pursuant to
the 1995 sale of its commercial aviation business, DynCorp is
responsible for the costs of the clean up of environmental conditions at
certain designated sites.
* DynCorp has been advised by the purchasers of two former subsidiaries
of environmental claims by Dade County, Florida, arising out of the
former subsidiaries' conduct of business at Miami International Airport.
DynCorp's former subsidiary is one of an additional 200 companies that
Dade County has identified as having possible responsibility for
contamination at the airport. The lawsuit asks for up to $450 million in damages.
* Prostitution: DynCorp was recently involved in a scandal when some of
its employees were allegedly involved in a prostitution ring in Bosnia.
According to an Associated Press report, "The United Nations concedes
that two dozen officers with the 2,000-member U.N. International Police
Task Force, including eight Americans, have been fired for offenses
ranging from bribery to sexual impropriety. But it insists most officers
carry out their duties in exemplary fashion." DynCorp Technical Services
held the State Department contract to recruit American law enforcement
officers. It claims to have had a strict code of conduct, violated by
only a small number of those recruited.
* Drug Running: In 2000, officers of Colombia's National Police
intercepted and opened a USbound Federal Express package at Bogotá's El
Dorado International Airport. The parcel "contained two (2) small
bottles of a thick liquid" that "had the same consistency as motor oil"
that tested positive for heroin. The package belonged to an unnamed
employee of DynCorp, who was sending the parcel to the company's Andean
operations headquarters at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida.
* A 2001 Associated Press report suggests that CSC, which provides
cyber-security software to the U.S. military, may also be developing
classified cyber-warfare capabilities. The company refused to comment.
Executive Compensation:
Van Honeycutt, Chairman and CEO of CSC: Raked in $11,924,338 in
compensation in 2002, including stock options granted by CSC. From
previous years' stock options granted, he exercised his options on stock
valued at $3,021,988. Honeycutt has another $29,113,099 in unexercised
stock options from previous years.
* * *
FLUOR CORPORATION (Fluor)
Fluor is a publicly traded corporation that provides services on a
global basis in the fields of engineering, procurement, construction,
operations, maintenance and project management. Headquartered in Aliso
Viejo, Calif., Fluor is a Fortune 500 company with over 50,000 employees
in 25 countries on six continents, and revenues of $10 billion in fiscal
year 2002. In 2002, Fluor reported earnings of $173 millions, a 33
percent increase over 2001. Fluor's various subsidiaries involve it in a
wide range of industries including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals,
chemicals and petrochemicals, microelectronics, mining and
manufacturing, oil and gas production and processing, power generation,
commercial and institutional equipment, government services,
transportation and telecommunications.
Labor Relations: Undetermined
Description of Contract:
On April 4, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded Fluor
Intercontinental, a subsidiary of Fluor, and two other companies, Perini
Corp and Washington Group International, three indefinite
delivery/indefinite quantity contracts with a minimum guaranteed
contract value of $500,000 and a maximum contract value of $100 million.
The performance period is one year. The contracts allow the Army to call
upon the contracted companies to rapidly execute design and construction
services as needed anywhere in the US Central Command's area of
operations to support military operations, other U.S. government
agencies, or friendly foreign governments under established agreements.
According to Engineering News Record, a trade publication, "sources in
Iraq say the contracts likely will involve a broad range of fast-track
infrastructure repair work throughout Iraq. This could include some
responsibility for maintaining key Army supply routes where security
conditions permit. A contracting officer may seek proposals from any or
all of the awardees for individual 'task orders' or award urgent work
more directly."
Connections to Bush Administration:
* Philip Carroll, Chairman and CEO of Fluor from April 1998 until
February 2002, and formerly President and CEO of Shell Oil Company from
1993 until 1998, was appointed by the Defense Department as chairman of
an advisory committee to oversee the production of Iraqi oil. Carroll
receives more than $1 million a year from Fluor in retirement benefits
and bonuses pegged to the company's performance. He also owns about 1
million of its shares, worth about $34 million.
* Kenneth Oscar, former deputy assistant secretary of procurement the
US Army under President Clinton, is Vice-President of Strategy for Fluor.
* Fluor's Board of Directors includes Bobby R. Inman, Admiral, U.S. Navy
(retired) and former director of the National Security Agency and deputy
director of the Central Intelligence Agency; and Dr. Martha R. Seger, a
financial economist and former member of the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System.
Political Contributions:
(1999-2002) Contributions: $489,378 (57 percent to Republicans) to
President Bush: $3,500
Social Responsibility Record:
* Labor Rights (Domestic & International): In April 2003, lawyers
representing a group of black South Africans sued Fluor for at least $1
billion as compensation for discrimination and abuse under apartheid.
The suit was filed in a US federal court in California, where Fluor is
headquartered. Allegedly Fluor and Sasol, a formerly state-owned South
African corporation, paid black workers less than their white
colleagues, acted violently to quell legal strikes and subjected the
workers to "slave-like" working conditions. The lawyers alleged that
during a strike in 1987, Fluor and Sasol managers used state police and
their own security personnel to assault and set dogs on the striking
workers. Some workers were killed in the conflict and all the employees
were fired.
* In 2002, Fluor's Massey Energy subsidiary settled a civil case in the
amount of $6.9 million for delinquent workers' compensation premiums
from the late 1980s and early 1990s. In five other employment or
labor-related cases involving a Fluor subsidiary, the company paid fines
or settlements totaling more than $1.1 millions.
* Environment: In 1997, a chemical tank exploded in a deserted at the
Hanford Nuclear Reservation outside Richland, Wash., the final storage
location for more than two-thirds of US highlevel nuclear waste. The
explosion was the result of mismanagement by Hanford's lead contractor,
Fluor Daniel, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fluor. An internal US
Department of Energy (DOE) assessment of the near-disaster allegedly
skewered Fluor for numerous safety and reporting violations, noting that
the chemical tank had not been inspected for over six months. Before the
internal review was released to the public, Fluor's lawyers were
successful in allegedly editing out key findings relating to possible
violations of federal law, risks to human health and the extent of
off-site contamination.
* In 2001, Fluor subsidiary Massey Energy (Martin County Coal) was fined
and charged cleanup costs in the amount of $41.5 million (as of October
of 2001) for violating the Clean Water Act by allegedly allowing 250
million gallons of coal slurry to pollute rivers and streams in Kentucky
and West Virginia. In two other environmental legal cases involving
Fluor subsidiaries, the company paid out $373,500 for fines or to settle
claims against it. Two other lawsuits are still pending.
* Fraud: In 2001, Fluor Daniel settled a case in the amount of $8.5
million for charging millions of dollars in commercial costs to the
government for violation of the False Claims Act in contracts with the
Department of Defense. In 1997, Fluor Fernald settled another case under
the same Act for $8.4 million for seeking government reimbursement for
an employee party. In 1994, Fluor FD Services paid $3.2 million to
settle a claim that it submitted heavily padded repair bills for
cleaning up Navy bases after Hurricane Hugo. A law suit is still pending
against Fluor Daniel for allegedly artificially inflating its reported
profits and the price of its common stock so that top executives could
collect millions of dollars in bonus compensation.
* Other Scandals:: In a 1997 US General Accounting Office report, a
Fluor subsidiary that had a contract to clean up the US DOE's Fernald,
Ohio federal nuclear site was criticized for a total of $65 million in
estimated cost overruns and almost 6 years of schedule slippages for two
projects. Also, some of the contractor's practices for maintaining
performance and financial systems made it difficult for DOE and the
contractor to exercise effective control and oversight of the
contractor's costs and activities.
Executive Compensation:
See section above on Connections to Bush Administration for Philip
Caroll's retirement benefits.
* * *
INTERNATIONAL RESOURCE GROUP (IRG)
International Resource Group is a privately held international
professional services firm based in Washington, D.C., with 300 employees
and annual revenue of about $40 million. Since 1978, the firm has been
awarded more than 600 contracts in 120 countries, with more than half -
327 worth a combined $420 million - from USAID. In 2001, IRG merged with
Alternative Energy Development of Silver Spring, MD, giving it greater
capabilities in the energy consulting area.
* Energy - Worldwide experts in electric power, industrial energy,
conventional fuels, renewable resources, and energy efficiency offer
technical and financial analysis skills to address rapid energy sector
growth and restructuring. IRG identifies and develops renewable and
clean energy sources, designs energy efficiency and demand-side
management improvements, aids in power sector restructuring and
regulatory reform and restructuring - appears to have been involved in
privatization efforts.
* Natural Resources Management - assistance to public and private
institutions, helping them manage natural resources in ways that are
environmentally sustainable, equitable, and financially viable.
Expertise includes community-based resource management (land, forests,
fisheries, and water systems), applied environmental economics and
policy, and environmentally sound urban and industrial development and capacity-building.
* Relief and Reconstruction - including risk and vulnerability reduction
and mitigation; refugee assistance and reintegration; civil society
conflict prevention and transition; famine countermeasures, food aid,
food security; training aimed at strengthening institutions, promoting
rule of law, democracy and governance.
Labor Relations:
IRG is a non-union company. The Laborers International Union has filed
several complaints against IRG regarding violations of freedom of association.
Contract(s) Awarded:
* Given an initial $7.18 million contract to assist USAID with
contingency planning for the implementation of emergency relief and near
term rehabilitation of a post-war Iraq. Contract provided without
competitive bidding - USAID went to IRG as a sole-source based on
Company's prior track record.
* Provides key personnel support to USAID's Asia Near East Bureau. IRG
will assist USAID to restore basic services in Iraq. The initial
contract will cover 90 days with the option to extend for two additional
one-year periods. IRG will support USAID in the overall planning,
monitoring, coordination, management, and reporting on reconstruction
and rehabilitation activities across a variety of sectors including
education, health, agriculture, civil society, and infrastructure. IRG
has hired Crown Agents, a British firm, to perform site preparation for
USAID's reconstruction headquarters in Baghdad.
Connection to Bush Administration:
Four of IRG's vice-presidents have all held senior posts with USAid, and
24 of the firm's 48 technical staff have worked for USAid.
* David Joslyn, Corporate Vice President and Managing Director,
Environment and Natural Resources, formerly director of USAID's Food for
Peace Program
* Matthew S. Mendis, Corporate Vice President and Managing Director,
Energy and Environmental Management, formerly with the USAID; previously
worked for the World Bank and serves in an advisory capacity with the
World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UN Development Programme and other
bilateral development agencies.
* Doug Clark, Vice President and Director of EPIQ, Environment and
Natural Resources, currently serves as program coordinator for the
$100-million USAID Environmental Policy IQC (EPIQ), has more than 30
years of experience in international economic development include 27
years with USAID.
* Timothy R. Knight, Vice President and Managing Director, Relief and
Reconstruction, formerly served as assistant director of USAID's Office
of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, managing its $220-million program
in former Yugoslavia.
Political Contributions:
Between 1999-2002: $3,800 (61 percent to Democrats) Total to George W.
Bush: $0
CEO & President Asif M. Shaikh (2000-2002 Election Cycle): $2,000 (100% Democrats)
Investors:
In 1992, the world's largest forest products consulting company,
Helsinki-based Jaako Poyry Oy, was reported to have bought a 20 per cent
stake in International Resource Group.
Social Responsibility Record: Undetermined
* * *
LOUIS BERGER GROUP (LBG)
LBG is a global engineering firm founded in 1953 by the late Dr. Louis
Berger. The company provides civil, structural, mechanical, electrical,
and environmental engineering services. LBG has a long history of
working on international contracts - many linked to USAID. In 1959, the
company's first international project, the Rangoon to Mandalay Road, was
built through a war-zone area in Burma. Over the years, LBG has worked
on major projects in Nigeria, Thailand, Norway, Sweden, China, Haiti,
Argentina, Uruguay, and the Philippines. In the early 1980's, LBG
participated in the design/ construction team that won a Department of
Defense citation for the construction of the Ovda Airbase in Israel,
which was built the Camp David Peace Agreement between Israel and
Egypt. LBG has offices in over 60 other countries, including England,
France, India, Japan, Peru, the Philippines, Romania, Thailand and Turkey.
* After the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan, LBG was hired to
destroy that country's old currency and replace it with new bills called
Afghanis. About 2,000 local people were hired to handle the job.
* The company also landed a $300 million contract to rebuild linking
Kabul, Kandahar and Herat in Afghanistan. On April 3, 2003, the Afghan
newspaper Payam-e Mojahed, criticized the conduct of LBG with regard to
its involvement in rebuilding the main road from Kabul to Kandahar. The
paper said the company is proceeding with the project without
coordinating with the Afghan government or donor countries and is making
its own conditions on the appointment of subcontractors.
Labor Relations: LBG is a non-union company.
Contract(s) Awarded:
LBG was one of the finalists for the $680 million construction and
engineering contract that was awarded to Bechtel. A subsidiary of LBG,
Berger/ABAM, was awarded a $4.8 million federal contract to help clear
the harbor at Umm Qasr. LBG expects to receive additional contracts in
Iraq whether they are directly with USAID or through subcontracting
deals with other major companies such as Bechtel.
Connection to Bush Administration: Undetermined
Political Contributions:
(1999-2002) Louis Berger Group Inc. made $89,000 in political
contributions (56 percent to Republicans, 44 percent to Democrats).
$1,000 to the George W. Bush presidential campaign. Social
Responsibility Record: Undetermined
* * *
MENLO WORLDWIDE FORWARDING (MWF)
In December 2001, CNF (NYSE: CNF) formed Menlo Worldwide Forwarding. At
that time, Emery joined CNF sister companies Menlo Worldwide Logistics,
Vector SCM and Menlo Worldwide Technologies under the new Menlo
Worldwide brand umbrella. Since the formation of Menlo Worldwide, Emery
Expedite! has changed its name to Menlo Worldwide Expedite! and Emery
Customs Brokers has changed its name to Menlo Worldwide Trade Services.
MWF, based in Redwood City, Calif., is a $2.9 billion company with
12,000 employees. It has over 500 service and agent locations in North
America and around the world with service to 226 countries. MWF offers
international air and ocean forwarding, North American overnight,
expedited, second-day and deferred air freight, customs brokerage and
project management services.
MWF's Global Project Management group has managed projects for mining,
oil, gas, power generation, government and military, construction, food,
healthcare and high-tech organizations in Argentina, Aruba, China,
Korea, Singapore, Trinidad & Tobago, the Philippines, Peru, Puerto Rico
and Uzbekistan. Menlo Worldwide has extensive government and military
logistics experience with all branches of the Department of Defense,
including the U.S. Army and the Defense Logistics Agency, and the Air
Mobility Command. MWF began shipping directly into the Middle East for
the Army & Air Force Exchange (AAFES) in October 2001 with shipments to
Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, and has been for the
worldwide airfreight forwarding of AAFES materials for the past eight
years. MWF just finished moving AAFES shipments in of Operation Iraqi
Freedom to Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan,
Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Jordan, Turkey and Djibouti, Africa.
MWF is following its work with Operation Iraqi Freedom by helping to
support rebuilding efforts in Iraq through its Global Project Management
and Government Services groups. Their experience covers work with major
construction, engineering, drilling, oil and gas, food companies
throughout the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait,
Kyrgystan and other locations. In addition to regular forwarding
services, Menlo Worldwide Forwarding has recently handled numerous
direct charter flights into Kuwait, as well as flights into Bahrain with
subsequent trucking of materials into Kuwait. MWF has also been provided
with "approved vendor" status from the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) and the United Nations. Menlo Worldwide Forwarding
has a strategic task focused specifically on Iraq, and is among the
first transportation and logistics services providers with operations in
place in Umm Qasr, Basra and Baghdad. The team integrates key
disciplines of logistics management, including customs, transportation,
information services, accounting, product purchasing, inventory
management and order processing.
Labor Relations:
Menlo is an anti-union employer. There have been many instances the
company has violated workers' rights of freedom of association. The
International Brotherhood of Teamsters has several collective bargaining
agreements with Menlo and/or other subsidiaries of CNF.
Contract(s) Awarded:
* Terms of the company's contract in Iraq are undetermined. The company
assigned a management team with more than 400 years of collective
international logistics, transportation, operations and governmental
experience to support the transportation and logistics needs of
reconstructing and providing humanitarian relief for Iraq.
* WMF has developed a flexible deployment plan of personnel prepared to
operate from multiple locations within Iraq and the region to support
end-to-end accountability of the transportation and logistics work it is
assigned to support the Reconstruction and Humanitarian Relief of Iraq.
Connection to Bush Administration: Undetermined
Political Contributions: Undetermined
Social Responsibility Record: Undeteredmined
* * *
PARSONS CORPORATION
Parsons is a privately held firm that is engaged in planning,
construction and engineering, with a strong background in highways and
airports. Their projects include "Homeland Security," bridges and
tunnels, roads and highways, water and infrastructure, rail and transit,
urban planning, aviation, commercial and industrial The company
operates in 38 countries and is owned by its roughly 9,100 employees. In
2002, its revenues exceeded $2.4 billion.
Labor Relations: In the US, Parsons is a non-union employer.
Contract(s) Awarded:
* Submitted a bid for a $600 million contract that provides the
contractor will reopen half of Iraq's "economically important roads and
bridges," repair 15% of the high-voltage electricity grid, provide half
of the population with access to "basic health services," renovate
several thousand schools as well as up to 8,000 dwellings. [This
contract was ultimately awarded to Bechtel.]
* Works closely with Halliburton, and is likely to perform subcontractor
work for KBR. The bid submitted above was a joint-effort with KBR.
* Built the Saudi City of Yanbu in the Arabian Desert. Yanbu is a
military city that will have a population of 200,000. Parsons is also
firmly entrenched in Kuwait.
* Performed extensive postwar reconstruction work in Bosnia and Kosovo.
(Parsons then-Chief Executive Leonard Pieroni was killed in an airplane
crash along with US Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown in 1996 during a
scouting trip to Bosnia).
Connection to the Bush Administration:
Until 2001 its Board of Directors included current United States
Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. Elaine Chao's husband is Mitch
McConnell, the assistant U.S. House of Representatives Majority leader
and the chairman of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee,
a key foreign policy position. McConnell has links to defense contractor
Northrop Grumman, and has received donations from Halliburton and arms
firm Lockheed-Martin. Also sitting on Parsons' board of Directors is
Admiral RJ Zlaptoper, a former Commander-In-Chief for the U.S. Pacific
Fleet. James NcNulty, Parsons' Chairman and CEO, had a 24-year Army
career before coming to Parsons in 1998.
Political Contributions:
$249,401 contributed between 1999-2002. 61% of this went to Republicans
(roughly $152,000), with $2000 given specifically to George W. Bush.
Social Responsibility Record:
* Parsons is a Vice-Chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council's Corporate
Cooperation Committee, comprised of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman,
Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The Corporate Cooperation Committee
seeks to "inform American leaders and the public about the shared
interests and common concerns" of the U.S. and the six members of the Council.
* In 1997 Parsons was one of the corporate sponsors of a major
conference seeking to attract American business investment and trade in
Southeast Asian countries such as Myanmar, whose regimes engage in human
rights abuses.
* Parsons was at the center of a New Jersey investigation involving a
seven-year contract to operate the state's vehicle-inspection program.
Frozen equipment and cost-overruns added $200 million to the $400
million contract. Parsons had been a generous donor to then -Governor
Christine Whitman (Republican), the recently-resigned Head of the US
Environmental Protection Agency under the G.W. Bush administration, and
was the sole bidder on the contract. At the time, Parsons Board of
Directors member Jack Kheuler also sat on the Board of Directors of a
company called Mail.com with Governor Whitman's husband.
* * *
PERINI CORPORATION
(American Stock Exchange: PCR)
Based in Massachusetts, Perini Corp. provides general contracting,
construction management and designbuild services to private clients and
public agencies worldwide. Perini's infrastructure services include
highway, street, tunnel, bridge, water, sewer and utility line
construction. The Perini Management Services Division operates in over
70 countries. Perini Corporation reports revenues in excess of $1 billion.
Labor Relations:
In the U.S., fewer than one-quarter of Perini sites use union workers.
Perini does have some union contracts with the Carpenters, Operating
Engineers, Teamsters, Plasterers, and Bricklayers unions.
Contract(s) Awarded:
* $100 million construction contract in Iraq awarded by the US Army
Corps of Engineers
* Won a separate $25 million contract awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers to construct barracks and other facilities for the Afghan army.
Connection to the Bush Administration:
Perini's major stockholders have connections to the Carlyle Group the
private Washington, DC-based global investment firm. Former President
George H.W. Bush, former Secretary of State James Baker, and many other
former world leaders including ex-British Prime Minister John Major sit
on Carlyle's Boards of Directors and Advisors. Much of Perini's common
stock is controlled by Richard Blum, a multi-millionaire investor
married to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (Dem.-CA) Blum is also a
director of URS Corp, which acquired EG&G from the Carlyle Group.
Political Contributions:
Thousands of dollars (exact amount undetermined) were donated to the
Bush campaign and Republicans by Perini CEO Ronald Tutor and the
Chairman of the company David Perini between 2000-2002.
Executive Compensation:
Between 2000 -2002, Ronald Tutor, CEO received $1.2 million in
compensation and exercised $1 million in stock options.
Social Responsibility Record:
* Has a reputation for fraud: In San Francisco, CA the City Attorney is
suing the company for overbilling, while a Los Angeles, CA transit
agency claims that the company used bogus minority subcontractors to
land millions of dollars worth of construction contracts on the San
Francisco subway. Perini also has a reputation for seeking millions of
extra dollars on state and municipal projects and waging expensive court
battles if they are not paid.
* Sued by shareholders of preferred stock who have alleged that they are
owed millions of dollars in dividends.
* * *
RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE (RTI)
Research Triangle Institute is a private non-profit organization based
in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. For more than 20 years, RTI
has frequently been a contractor with USAID for work in "transitional
regions." RTI has completed governance work in South Africa, Indonesia
and El Salvador, and most recently won a $60 million USAID contract for
educational development in Pakistan.
Labor Relations: RTI is a non-union company.
Contract(s) Awarded:
* On April 11, 2003, was awarded a $7.9 million contract by USAID to
promote Iraqi civic participation in the reconstruction process. RTI
will provide technical assistance and training programs for local
administrators to develop management skills as they relate to municipal
services. RTI will also have the authority to grant contracts to Iraqi
and foreign non -governmental organizations that will help train
administrators and civilians in communication, conflict resolution,
leadership and political analysis. Increasing political participation of
"at-risk" groups - including those that represent the interests of
women, minorities and youth in Iraq - will be a top priority for RTI.
* Will receive $167.9 million for its first year in Iraq, but could get
millions more if USAID exercises its right to extend the contract an
additional two years. RTI will be expected to assist in creating 180
local and provincial governments in Iraq. One of RTI's immediate tasks
is to help identify "appropriate, legitimate" Iraqis to assume key
government posts in villages and towns to help restore water, sewage and
electricity in Iraq.
* Will help form educational policy within the Iraqi Ministry of
Education as a subcontractor to Creative Associates, a Washington firm
that received a $62 million contract to help rebuild Iraq's educational
system. RTI's role, for an undisclosed amount, will be to help form
educational policy within the Iraqi Ministry of Education.
Connection to Bush Administration: Undetermined
Political Contributions: Undetermined
Social Responsibility Record: Undetermined
* * *
SKYLINK AIR AND LOGISTIC SUPPORT USA INC.
SkyLink USA is a subsidiary of the Skylink Group of Companies, a
privately held Canadian corporation. SkyLink is a contractor that
provides services to international agencies and governments that require
highly sensitive operations. For 12 years, SkyLink has had experience
supporting the United Nations and government-sponsored programs with
management and logistics on peacekeeping missions, humanitarian support,
non-combatant evacuations, emergency relief, and airport rebuilding.
SkyLink (USA) has provided expertise in project management for numerous
operations in remote areas which have been plagued by natural disaster
and/or war-related circumstances. SkyLink teams coordinate with sponsor
governments and other stakeholders to deliver services.
* SkyLink maintains worldwide capability in performing airdrop maneuvers
or air delivery of vast tonnages of oversized or palletized cargo (food
and aid). SkyLink is able to manage 8,000-15,000 passengers in a single
operation. SkyLink has administered sensitive programs in many
post-conflict countries for the United States Government and the United
Nations, including support for six U.S. Government Departments, and the
three major uniformed services.
* The Canadian parent company started as a travel agency 20 years ago.
The company has grown to include several operating companies and joint
ventures including a network of worldwide travel agents, a brokerage and
consultancy business that provides aircraft for international charter
flights, and SkyLink owns master franchise rights in Canada for Dollar
Rent A Car and the Global Travel Network.
* The Canadian parent also operates SkyLink Security Systems, a
subsidiary that provides state-ofthe-art airport building security
technologies. SkyLink Security Systems provides computerized security
controls and face recognition biometric technologies.
* SkyLink has a history of contracting for high-risk missions in war
zones. SkyLink's pilots flew the first food drop into Kosovo days before
NATO ceased its bombing runs in 1999. It was also the first western
airline allowed to deliver food aid to North Korea. SkyLink's aircraft
have come under fire from Serbs in the former Yugoslavia, the Khmer
Rouge in Cambodia and UNITA rebels in Angola.
SkyLink Group Executives:
* Surjit Babra, Chairman & President: Babra is an immigrant born in
India and lived in the UK prior to moving to Canada. Babra started the
business as "two room air travel wholesale business." In 1980, Babra
became partners with Walter Arbib and soon after, they obtained their
first contract with the UN providing transportation for troop rotations
to Namibia to keep the peace and oversee the country's first free election.
* Walter Arbib, CEO: Arbib has specialized in creating business
opportunities by providing transportation services to political
hotspots, areas in need of humanitarian aid, and war zones. While living
in Israel, Arbib was the first to arrange for tourist transportation
from Israel to Egypt following the Camp David Peace Agreement.
* Ken Taylor, Member of Board of Directors: Taylor is former Ambassador
to Iran and former Canadian Consul in New York. He is the recipient of
the United States Congressional Gold Medal and is an Officer of the
Order of Canada. Taylor is Chairman of Global Public Affairs Inc. and is
currently Chancellor of Victoria University of Toronto.
* Ralph E. Lean, Member of Board of Directors: Lean is currently a
partner in the Toronto law firm of Cassels, Brock & Blackwell. He has
served as political campaign chairman or senior advisor to various
candidates for Federal, Provincial and Municipal election campaigns
since 1980. He has also served as a director on numerous boards
including the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, World Film Festival of
Toronto Inc., and Sirit Technologies Inc.
* Harjit Kalsi, Member of Board of Directors: No other information available.
* G. Robert Fraser, Member of Board of Directors: No other information available.
Labor Relations: Both U.S. and Canadian operations are non-union.
Contract Awarded:
USAID awarded SkyLink Air and Logistic Support (USA) Inc. a $10.2
million contract to manage three commercial airports in Baghdad, Basra
and Mosul. SkyLink will provide and oversee an international staff in
its efforts to assess airport damage and get operations up and running.
Ultimately, the company will turn over airport management to Iraqi
staff. The re-opening and effective management of the airports is
considered a critical link in the US government's humanitarian and
reconstruction assistance to the people of Iraq, according to USAID.
SkyLink will also develop plans to ensure smooth airfreight and
passenger service and prioritize improvements to insure that the
airports operate in accordance with International Civil Aviation
Organization standards.
Connection to Bush Administration: Undetermined
Political Contributions:
(1999 to 2002) $3,900 (74 percent to Republicans)
Social Responsibility Record:
* Suspended UN Contracts: For five years, the UN suspended SkyLink as a
contractor. The UN charged the Company with a litany of malpractices
ranging from rigging contracts to safety violations. According to the
Toronto Star, the UN took action against SkyLink in response to
complaints from a U.S. competitor, Evergreen Helicopters, Inc. Evergreen
charged that the UN contracts with SkyLink were marked by "secrecy and
irregularities" and that through a secret process SkyLink obtained a
"virtual monopoly on UN procurement." The UN investigation led to the
suspension of eight UN employees, including two Canadians, in a
department responsible for awarding the SkyLink contracts. SkyLink
battled with the UN over the suspension and eventually an arbitration
panel dismissed the charges against it. The settlement that SkyLink
reached with the UN included a payment to the UN of $6.9 million.
* Incorporation Lapses in US: When SkyLink USA was awarded the USAID
contract, the Washington Post reported that the Company had allowed its
U.S. incorporation to lapse until just before the contract was awarded.
According to the D.C. Consumer Affairs Office, SkyLink USA has not yet
applied for a master business license, which it is required to have by
July 31, 2003. Officials at SkyLink referred telephone calls to
Washington public relations firm Murphy Frazer & Selfridge, which
represents the company. Laura Vallis, an associate at Murphy Frazer,
said the lapsed corporate status was an "administrative problem." Vallis
also told the Washington Post that the D.C.-based SkyLink is
"affiliated" with the Toronto firm and the two have partnered in the
past. But Vallis said the D.C. firm is financially and operationally
independent from the Toronto company and the two will not work together
on the Iraq contract.
* * *
WASHINGTON GROUP INTERNATIONAL (WGI)
WGI is a leading international engineering, construction and
environmental firm. With more than 30,000 employees at work in over 40
states and more than 30 countries, the company offers a full life-cycle
of services as a preferred provider of engineering, construction,
operations, maintenance, program management and development services in
14 major markets. WGI is one of the largest construction and engineering
firms in the U.S. Its design and construction contracts include bridges,
highways, manufacturing plants, mining, nuclear and power facilities,
pipelines, and railroads. It also operates mines and provides
environmental management and facilities and operations management.
WGI is best know for its 1996 purchase of Morrison Knudsen, the
engineering and construction company that built the Hoover Dam and
Golden Gate Bridge. In 2000, WGI doubled its size when it purchased
Raytheon's engineering and construction unit. However, the Raytheon
acquisition resulted in financial difficulties that led the company to
slide into bankruptcy. WGI emerged from bankruptcy in early 2002.
WGI receives about 16 percent of its $ 3.7 billion annual business from
the U.S. government. Much of the company's defense contract work is for
destroying weapons of mass destruction in the United States. Washington
Group destroys chemical weapons stockpiles - including corroding bombs
at Anniston Army Depot in Alabama -- and is also involved in the cleanup
of certain nuclear weapons plants, including the one at Hanford in the
state of Washington.
Labor Relations:
A number of unions have contracts with WGI - International of
Machinists, International Union of Operating Engineers, and
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers represent the units.
WGI has had significant health and safety problems at some of its
facilities. Since 1994, U.S. regulatory agencies have fined the company
approximately $70,000 for these safety violations.
Contract in Iraq:
* The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded WGI an initial contract
$500,000 that could rise to $100 million. The WGI contract was part of a
package deal that the Army Corps of Engineers also offered to Fluor and
Perini Corp. As with WGI, Fluor and Perini are guaranteed $500,000 in
business with the possibility of increasing to $100 million.
* The WGI contract does not identify any specific work or location, but
in general terms the company was told it could be involved in
"design-build activities, construction (new work, renovation or repair),
and short-term operations and maintenance." The contract is not
necessarily limited to work in Iraq - it may include work done in
Afghanistan and other countries in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)
areas of operations. The contracts give U.S. Central Command the
authority to call upon the three companies to rapidly execute design and
construction services either to support military operations, other U.S.
government agencies, or friendly foreign governments.
Political Campaign Contributions:
(1999 to 2002) made $756,221 in contributions. (42 percent went to
Democrats; 57 percent to Republicans) Contributed $500 to George W.
Bush's presidential campaign.
Connection to Bush Administration: Undetermined
Social Responsibility Record:
In 2002, the Inspector General for USAID requested documentation and
made inquiries into the contractual relationships between one of WGI's
U.S. joint ventures and a local construction company in Egypt. The focus
of the inquiry is whether the structure of the business relationship
with the Egyptian company violated USAID contract regulations. WGI is
responding to these inquiries and cooperating with the investigation.
Executive Compensation:
For a company just coming out of bankruptcy, WGI has given its
executives generous bonuses. President and CEO Steve Hanks received a
bonus of more than $1.4 million in 2002. This amount is more than four
times greater than the $300,000 bonus he got in 2001. All together five
current executives and one former executive received more than $5
million in bonuses in 2002 compared to just more than $1.2 million in
2001. According to the 2002 proxy statement, another round of large
bonuses is scheduled in 2003.
Gerhard Lange c/o GIV <G.L...@NADESHDA.org>
Captain Compassion
<chmi...@surfbest.net> wrote:
Excellent. Ought to help the economy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"You must realize that at it's inception and in continual practice
marriage is simply a license to fuck. Without this and the resulting
children the institution of marriage would not be necessary nor would
it exist." -- Captain Compassion
"In this world, which is so plainly the antechamber of another, there
are no happy men. The true division of humanity is between those who
live in light and those who live in darkness. Our aim must be to
diminish the number of the latter and increase the number of the
former. That is why we demand education and knowledge." -- Victor Hugo
"There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other
is wrong, but the middle is always evil." -- Ayn Rand
Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate -- William of Occam
Joseph R. Darancette
res0...@NOSPAMverizon.net
gaffo
> On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 14:22:46 -0500, Cherie Mills
> <chmi...@surfbest.net> wrote:
>
> Excellent. Ought to help the economy.
>
did Nam?